Keita Kobayashi
It’s the bottom of the third inning during a sunny Sunday afternoon at the University of Hawai’i’s Les Murakami Stadium. Junior pitcher Jake Villar stands on the mound with his Tritons trailing 3-1, bases loaded and one out. It has been a rough inning so far — having just walked a Rainbow Warrior for their third run of the game — but if the Triton defense can force a few outs, it’s nothing UC San Diego can’t come back from.
After a potential flyout falls through the grasp of the outfielder and lands in foul territory, Villar’s next pitch gets away from him, hanging right in the center of the strike zone for an easy hit. As the ball sails toward right field, the Tritons watch their chances of advancing to the Big West Championship disappear. Junior right fielder Alex Leopard jumps to try and save the day, but it’s no use. It’s a crushing grand slam.
It was the dagger in the UCSD Tritons’ (26-25, 15-15 Big West) 13-2 defeat against the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (33-19, 16-14 Big West) in both teams’ regular season finale on Sunday night, May 18. After dropping the win-or-go-home outing, the Tritons will prepare for the long offseason ahead of them, while the ‘Bows advance to the Big West baseball championship.
The Tritons entered the series with a 14-13 record in conference play, putting them in a three-way tie for fourth in the Big West alongside Hawai’i and UC Santa Barbara. However, with UCSB emerging victorious against Cal State Bakersfield to close the regular season, both the Tritons and the ‘Bows knew a series win would be the only way to guarantee a spot in the Big West Tournament. After Hawai’i kicked off the series with a 6-3 win on Thursday, May 15, the Tritons bounced back with a 12-6 victory on Friday, May 16, to force a winner-take-all match on Sunday.
The Tritons could not have started the game off on a better note — just five pitches into the game, sophomore center fielder Michael Crossland hit a solo home run to open up the scoring. It was the 15th homer of the season for Crossland, the conference leader. The following inning, Hawai’i promptly answered with an RBI single of its own to knot the game up at one a piece.
It wasn’t until the third inning when things really began to spiral for the Tritons. The collapse started off slowly, when a trio of hits for the ‘Bows led to their second run of the game. After a few more hits and some poor fielding efforts by the Tritons, UCSD found itself with its back against the wall — bases loaded and just one out. After a walk pushed Hawai’i’s lead to two, a devastating grand slam put the Tritons in a 7-1 hole.
Though the grand slam all but sealed the game, both teams were still able to get some batting practice in before the regular season concluded. Junior third baseman J.C. Allen had a solo homer in the fourth that put some pressure on Hawai’i. UCSD’s comeback hopes were short-lived, as the ‘Bows answered right back in the fifth with a solo shot of their own to bring their lead back to six. The hits continued to roll in for Hawai’i throughout the afternoon, as it finished with 15 hits en route to its 13 runs.
Despite their season concluding on a sour note, it’s hard to imagine the Tritons are too disappointed with their performance as a whole. In just their first year of postseason eligibility, the Tritons ended with an above-.500 record and a sixth place finish in one of the most competitive mid-major conferences in the nation. Coming off three consecutive winning seasons — including a Big West regular season championship in 2023 — the future of this team is bright.