April 22
UC San Diego 15, Academy of Art 1
In his first game in over three weeks, first baseman KC Rentfro led an offensive barrage that saw 10 Tritons get hits.
Rentfro went three-for-three with four RBI, redshirt freshman Nick La Face was three-for-six with four runs and two RBI, as the Tritons dominated the Urban Knights from start to finish. La Face and Rentfro each went deep in the game. The damage could have been worse, as UCSD left nine runners on base in the game.
Senior Triton ace Tim Shibuya (8-3) was perfect through four innings, and pitched five innings to pick up the win. Academy of Art had just three hits in the game.
April 23
UC San Diego 12, Academy of Art 2
The Tritons continued their bombardment of the Urban Knights to win their ninth straight game.
Academy of Art put up a run in the top of the first to take a surprise lead, but UCSD responded right away with a run in the bottom half and five more in the second. Senior Grant Bauer was three-for-four with three RBI, and redshirt freshman Scott Liske went two-for-three with two RBI. Liske and senior catcher Michael Benton launched their first home runs of the season in the game.
With the game comfortably in hand, the Triton used 22 players in the game, and used every pitcher on the roster over the two-game series. Senior Guido Knudson (6-3) was credited with the win, despite pitching only three innings as the Tritons gave innings to their bullpen.
The Tritons are now 30-12 overall, and remain in second place in the conference after two non-league games.
“I can’t say enough about the job our guys did that haven’t been getting a lot of playing time,” head coach Dan O’Brien said. “They’ve been working their tails off in practice. In a short two games we got a lot done, and a lot of that is from the guys coming off the bench.”
The Tritons have scored 45 runs in their last three games.
“I think our guys have been playing great baseball,” O’Brien said. “Our practices have been very intense, but also very short and to the point. We’re getting our work in and staying fresh.”
The Tritons will head north to face conference leader Chico State next weekend in a four-game series starting on Friday.
