UC San Diego baseball (2-4, 0-0 Big West) erased a three-run deficit with an explosive seventh inning to defeat Creighton (2-4, 0-0 Big East) 8-7 on Friday night at Triton Ballpark. Senior first baseman J.C. Allen’s go-ahead grand slam highlighted UCSD’s comeback in the first of a three-game Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament.
The opening inning hinted at a pitchers’ duel as Triton redshirt sophomore pitcher Steele Murdock began with a clean top half. Similarly, Creighton junior pitcher Jack Pineau held the Tritons scoreless in the first, stranding a one-out walk with back-to-back strikeouts.
Creighton struck first in the top of the second with two singles and a sacrifice fly. However, the Tritons answered immediately, with senior left fielder Alex Leopard doubling and graduate right fielder Nick Costello ripping an RBI double down the left-field line to tie it. Junior infielder Anthony Potestio lifted a sacrifice fly to put UCSD up 2-1 after the second inning.
Creighton clawed back in the third as a leadoff single, a wild pitch, and a walk set up a Bluejay single to tie the game at 2-2. UCSD’s bats then cooled for a stretch as the Bluejays scratched across a pair of runs in the middle innings to move ahead 4-2. Murdock’s outing ended after 4 ⅔ innings, but he finished with eight strikeouts, tying his career high.
Despite the pitching change, UCSD refused to let the game slip. In the bottom of the fifth, Potestio walked, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error before junior center fielder Michael Crossland’s sacrifice fly brought him home. The unearned run cut Creighton’s advantage to 4-3.
Creighton answered again in the sixth, capitalizing on a Triton throwing error and two singles to extend its lead to 5-3. UCSD’s threat in the bottom half fizzled out on a rally-killing double play.
UCSD seized control of the game in a defining seventh inning. Creighton crafted yet another run with a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly to go up 6-3. In the bottom of the seventh, UCSD finally landed the counterpunch it had been building toward all night. With the bases loaded, junior first baseman Gabe Camacho worked a bases-loaded walk to force in a run and bring home sophomore catcher Trevian Martinez from third. Then, Allen crushed a grand slam to the deep left, flipping a three-run deficit into an 8-6 Triton lead in one swing.
From there, UCSD’s bullpen delivered the follow-through the team needed. Junior pitcher Devon King fired a scoreless top of the eighth. Freshman pitcher Kayden Henson’s ninth began with three straight singles, but UCSD turned a huge 6-4-3 double play to gain back control before a flyout ended the game.
UCSD’s late runs lifted the Tritons to an 8-7 comeback win in their home opener. UCSD fell 9-7 to BYU on Saturday afternoon and 5-2 to Western Michigan on Sunday to close out the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament. The Tritons will be back in action against USD on Tuesday at Triton Ballpark.
