After a difficult weekend at UC Davis April 2-4, the UCSD baseball team bounced back with a nonconference victory on April 7 over fourth-ranked crosstown rival Point Loma Nazarene, a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The Tritons came from behind to earn the victory 7-4 over the Sea Lions. UCSD improved to 26-26 overall and remained 15-13 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
“Our goal was to put a tough weekend at UC Davis behind us and focus on the next task at hand, and we did that,” UCSD head coach Dan O’Brien said. “While I’m proud of the way the team bounced back, I’m certainly not surprised. [The team is] a committed and determined group.”
Triton sophomore pitcher Byron Grubman, who threw a complete game against Point Loma Nazarene at Petco Park earlier in the season, started on the hill for UCSD. In this second meeting, Grubman faced 13 Sea Lion batters and gave up three runs through two and two-thirds innings. Fellow sophomore pitcher Jose Navarro came on in the third and threw five innings of solid baseball. With the win, Navarro improved to 4-2 on the season and sophomore closer Ryan Leake earned his third save.
Down 3-1 through four and a half innings, the UCSD offense picked up and put up three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Junior rightfielder Ryan Langone doubled to center field and advanced to third on a balk to open the inning. With one out, junior shortstop Keith Hernandez drew a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Senior first baseman Jeff Riddle then doubled down the left field line and plated Langone and Hernandez. With two outs, freshman designated hitter Brian Trump singled to left-center field and scored Riddle, which gave the Tritons a 4-3 advantage.
UCSD scored a single run in the sixth inning and two more in the bottom of the eighth to secure the victory.
Though the Sea Lions attempted a comeback in the top of the eighth inning, they were only able to earn one run, which would not be enough to overtake the Tritons.
Riddle finished three-for-four with a double, a walk, three RBIs and a run scored for UCSD. Trump, making his first collegiate start after getting on base in all five previous plate appearances this season, all as a pinch-hitter (two doubles, two HBP, one walk), was two-for-three with a walk, an RBI and a run scored. He singled off the third-base bag in his first at-bat before finally getting retired for the first time in his college career by grounding out to third to begin the fourth inning. Junior Joel Clark, starting in left field for the first time all year, drove in two runs. Langone and Hernandez each had a pair of hits, with Langone scoring twice.
UCSD and Point Loma Nazarene will meet one final time for the 2004 season on April 14.
The Tritons then return to CCAA action in a four-game series against
league power Chico State at Triton Baseball Stadium April 23-25.