Showdown on Tobacco Road

 

John Hanacek & Emily Ku/Guardian

The most important week of the Triton baseball season has arrived. The No. 1-ranked team will head to Cary, N.C. this weekend for the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division-II championships. This is the second straight year the Tritons have earned a spot in the eight-team D-II College World Series: Last year they bowed out in a heartbreaking loss to Emporia State in the semifinals.

The Tritons currently have a 51-7 win-loss record overall, and are 35-5 in conference play. Though the team was ranked No. 3 nationally in the preseason, it had moved into the top spot by mid-March. Following a stumble against conference rivals Cal State San Bernardino, the Tritons dropped to No. 4 on April 9, but regained the No. 1 spot on May 5, where they currently sit.

UCSD will enter the tournament on a hot streak, having just won the D-II west regional title and 18 of their last 19 games overall.

“We look forward to performing well there, and finishing what we started last year in Cary, North Carolina,” senior catcher Kellen Lee said.

The Triton pitching staff has stayed solid all year long, combining for a 3.17 earned run average — the lowest in California Collegiate Athletic Association, which includes all D-II public schools in California. Come May 22, senior right-hander Matt Rossman and junior righty Tim Shibuya will lead off the rotation. Rossman — a transfer from UC Riverside — has gone 9-0 with a 2.45 ERA in an impressive senior campaign, earning CCAA Pitcher of the Year honors for his efforts. Shibuya, a Wyoming native and Triton walk-on, has also put together an outstanding season, going 12-2 with a 1.95 ERA.

Having two aces like Shibuya and Rossman is a rare luxury for any team, but the Tritons’ real pitching strength lies in their depth at the position.

Rounding out the rotation are right-handers senior Kirby St. John and junior Guido Knudson. St. John is 11-1 on the year — compiling a 3.92 ERA — while Knudson is 9-3 with a 4.09 ERA. The bullpen is led by senior closer Daniel Simmons, who has given the Tritons a solid game-closing option this season with a 2.25 ERA and three saves.

The team’s pitchers have seen no lack of offensive support. Overall, the Triton offense has batted .371, and leads the CCAA in hits, runs scored and nearly every other offensive category.

Their stacked lineup is headed by senior first baseman Brandon Gregorich, who has batted in 84 runs — a school record. He also led the team in average (.469) and hits (99), earning him the CCAA Player of the Year award.

Aaron Bauman, Evan Kehoe and junior catcher Kellen Lee tied for a team best eight home runs, while senior shortstop Vance Albitz became the all-time Triton hits leader. Like the pitching staff, the UCSD offense is deep with talent: Ten players racked up 30 RBIs throughout the season.

At the helm is head coach Dan O’Brien, who — in his 13th season — has turned the program into one of the nation’s best. For the second straight season, the Tritons earned a CCAA regular-season title, a CCAA tournament title and a trip College World Series. His efforts have not gone unnoticed: O’Brien snagged his second straight CCAA Coach of the Year award in 2010.

The Tritons will open championship play in a double elimination tournament against southeast region champion Georgia College & State University — which holds a record of 39-15 — beginning at 5 p.m. EST on May 22. The tournament will be held at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.

“We are preparing by having solid and quality practices with a great focus and intensity,” Knudson said. “We are going to keep working hard in being fully prepared for that first pitch in Cary.”

Should UCSD win its opening game, they will face the winner of the Tampa and Central Missouri match-up. The Spartans and the Mules are ranked second and third in the nation respectively.

Readers can contact Cameron Tillisch at [email protected].

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