If the No. 18 UCSD baseball team keeps pitching the way it has, it won’t have much to worry about. Junior southpaw Jose Navarro (2-0) is the latest hurler to notch another stellar performance on the mound, pitching six scoreless innings in UCSD’s 4-2 win against Northern Kentucky on March 8 at Triton Baseball Field. Senior third baseman Alex Gascon had two RBIs, including the game-winner, and in the eighth inning, senior left fielder Craig King fired a rocket to sophomore catcher David Morehead to eliminate the potential tying run. Senior Shlomo Lipetz was credited with the save.
On the books:
This win splits the two-game nonconference series at 1-1, with UCSD (10-4 overall, 4-1 California Collegiate Athletic Association) falling to the Norse (4-3 overall), 6-4, on March 7.
“We had great pitching in both games against a good ball club,” UCSD head coach Dan O’Brien said.
In addition, junior Byron Grubman (1-0) pitched a complete game to shut out Cal State Los Angeles (5-6 overall, 4-6 CCAA), 9-0, on March 6 at Triton Baseball Field. Grubman, who retired 19 consecutive batters, struck out five, walked none and gave up only two hits.
The Tritons were picked to finish first in the CCAA South Division, and they have been on track thus far, losing only one conference game. Although it’s still early in the season, O’Brien is pleased with the Tritons’ performance and expects the team to continue improving.
“We expect to finish first,” he said. “We have high aspirations. We’ve been getting better and better, and we continue to build on that, so it doesn’t matter who we play, whether it’s conference or nonconference. We know we can win.”
In the win against Northern Kentucky on March 8, Robinson blasted a home run in the third inning for a 1-0 UCSD lead. The Tritons scored another run in the sixth when Gascon singled up the middle to score Morehead.
UCSD ran into trouble in the eighth inning when Lipetz balked in a run to make it a 2-1 score. With two outs, Northern Kentucky’s Connor McGeehan singled to left, but King threw out Keith Jackson at home plate to protect the Tritons’ lead.
The UCSD bats came alive inthe bottom of the eighth when Gascon doubled and advanced to third, driving senior pinch hitter Ryan Langone home. Gascon later scored the Tritons’ fourth run of the game off a sacrifice by Robinson. The two runs UCSD scored proved to be crucial in the ninth when the Norse scored to make it 4-2, with two outs and runners at the corners. However, Lipetz came through for the Tritons to earn his first save of the season.
In the 6-4 loss to Northern Kentucky on March 7, the Norse scored six runs in the third inning, including back-to-back home runs, giving themselves a 6-1 advantage. The loss went to junior Ryan Leake, usually a closer, who pitched three opening innings. Seniors Trent Crotts, Logan Boutilier and Lipetz combined in the relief effort, giving up no runs and only three hits the rest of the game.
Against Cal State Los Angeles on March 6, the Triton offense, aided by eight Golden Eagles errors, lit up the scoreboard with three runs in the fifth, two in the seventh and four more in the eighth for the 9-0 victory. Senior second baseman Ricky Pinnochio led the offense with two hits, scoring two runs and driving in an RBI.
Senior shortstop Keith Hernandez reached a milestone with his single in the fourth inning, making him fourth in the UCSD record books for career hits with 208.
The Tritons return to action in a three-game series against Cal State San Bernardino (11-4 overall, 8-2 CCAA) on March 11, then a doubleheader on March 12 with an 11 a.m. start time. All games will be played at Triton Baseball Field.
