On May 5 and May 6, the UCSD baseball team was eliminated at the 2004 California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship, losing against Chico State and top-seed Sonoma State in the double-elimination tournament.
The Tritons beat defending CCAA champion Sonoma State in the first game of the 2004 CCAA Championship tournament on May 5 at Arrowhead Credit Union Park in San Bernardino, Calif. by a score of 6-2. This put the Tritons in the winners’ bracket for competition on the second day of the tournament. On May 6, UCSD lost to Chico State, 11-4. The Tritons then faced Sonoma State again, which had knocked Cal State San Bernardino out of the tournament earlier in the day, in an elimination game where Sonoma State downed UCSD, 6-2, and knocked the Tritons out of the double-elimination tournament. The Tritons finished the season with an overall record of 35-24.
In UCSD’s first ever postseason game, the Tritons came from behind to overtake Sonoma State. Down 2-1 through seven innings, UCSD put together a five-run rally in the top of the eighth inning to earn the victory.
Triton junior shortstop Keith Hernandez led off the big inning with a single to right field. Senior designated hitter Jeff Riddle then singled to left-center and junior first baseman Brian Robinson drew a walk. With the bases loaded, junior leftfielder Joel Clark flied out to right field and drove in Hernandez. UCSD scored two runs through a series of walks and stolen bases. Junior second baseman Ricky Pinocchio doubled home the final two runs of the inning.
Hernandez, Riddle, Clark and Pinocchio all earned conference honors and were named to the All-CCAA conference second team. Senior outfielder Brett Burton and sophomore pitcher Jose Navarro were named to the All-CCAA third team.
“The guys acted like they’ve been [in the playoffs] before, even though this is our first time,” UCSD head coach Dan O’Brien said. “Our guys were confident and relaxed all game, and that was the key.”
UCSD pitcher Navarro threw eight innings, allowing just seven hits and two runs while striking out eight and not walking a single Seawolf batter. He held the Sonoma State heart of the order, All-CCAA first-teamers center fielder Nate Durham-Hammer, right fielder Brandon Burgess and first baseman Tom Everidge, to a 3-for-12 day with an RBI and two runs scored. Navarro improved to 6-2 with the victory. The first-time conference honoree as a third team selection has won each of his last four decisions.
“[Our success] all starts on the mound,” O’Brien said. “Jose [Navarro] set the tone for the entire day. He kept us in the ballgame until our bats came alive.”
UCSD was not nearly as successful on May 6, the second day of the conference championships, when Chico State handily downed the Tritons 11-4. UCSD committed five errors in the field against Chico State, while the Wildcats produced a double-digit run total for a second straight game.
With UCSD ahead 1-0 and junior right-handed pitcher Logan Boutilier throwing a solid game, Chico State put together a six-run fourth inning.
All six runs were unearned due to a pair of fielding errors by Pinocchio. The Wildcats sent 10 batters to the plate, with the key two-run double down the left field line by junior second baseman Jeff Walker. Chico State added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, and three runs in the eighth to close out the game.
The loss pitted the Tritons against Sonoma State for a second time in the tournament, and this time, the Seawolves sought revenge. Sonoma State beat the Tritons 6-2, the identical score of the first game between the two of which UCSD had come out on the winning end.
For the Tritons, UCSD’s first run came with two outs in the second inning, as senior third baseman Keith Albrecht came through with a single, following freshman catcher David Morehead’s double. After Sonoma State put up four runs in the bottom of the fourth, the Tritons got one back with the duo that produced their first run playing a key role again. Morehead and Albrecht opened the inning with consecutive singles, with Morehead advancing to third on Albrecht’s hit. Sophomore Damian Fante, pinch-hitting for David Gomez, then put down a perfect bunt to first base that allowed Morehead to score his second run of the game.
Those two runs were all UCSD could muster as it fell to Sonoma State, eliminating the Tritons from the double-elimination tournament.
Sonoma State went on to face Chico State in the CCAA championship game on May 7. The two teams battled it out and the game came down to the wire. Chico State, the only CCAA team to play in all six CCAA championship baseball tournaments, captured its second CCAA title on May 7 with an 8-7 victory over Sonoma State.
Although a first-ever berth is not likely, the Tritons will now have to sit and wait for the announcement of the NCAA Division II Championship field. The top four teams in each region advance to the NCAA postseason. UCSD is in fifth as of the latest poll, with Sonoma State at No. 4.
