SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. ? The UC San Diego baseball team pounded out 20 hits on Friday afternoon and defeated Cal State San Bernardino 13-7 in CCAA action. David Morehead, Garrett Imeson and James Ferguson all homered for UCSD. Tim Mort had four hits, while Vance Albitz, Morehead and Imeson had three hits apiece. Matt Lawson, John Roth and Ferguson had two hits apiece. On the mound, Todd Gimenez earned the win in relief, pitching 5.1 innings and allowing one run while striking out seven. The Tritons improve to 18-8, 10-4 CCAA, while the Coyotes drop to 15-10, 11-7 CCAA. The teams will conclude the series with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch of the first game is slated for 11:00 a.m. at Triton Baseball Field.
David Moreland, Garrett Imeson and James Ferguson belted home runs for the Tritons as they improved to 18-8 on the season and 10-4 in the CCAA while the Coyotes dipped to 15-10 overall and 11-7 in the CCAA.
UCSD leads the series 2-0 heading into a doubleheader Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Tritons field in La Jolla.
Moreland was 3-for-3 with four runs batted in and two runs scored while Imeson was also 3-for-3 with one run scored and 3 RBI. Tim Mort was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and Vance Albitz was 3-for-6 with three runs scored and an RBI for UCSD.
Nick Hammer was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI for the Coyotes. Patrick Walker was 2-for-4 including a solo home run in the seventh. Drew Valenzuela was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored in the Coyotes' 13-hit attack.
After CSUSB took a 1-0 lead in the first on a run-scoring single by Kyle Walton, the Tritons got to Coyotes starter Tim Montoya for a run in the second on a squeeze bunt with one out by Jonathan Erickson. UCSD then scored three in the third on RBI singles by John Roth and Albitz and a sacrifice fly by Morehead for a 4-1 lead.
The Tritons tacked on five runs on six hits in the fourth off Montoya and reliever Steven Crang. Ferguson led off the inning with a home run and Morehead followed with a two-run blast to left. Imeson then drilled a homer off Crang for a 9-1 lead.
Cal State came back with five runs of its own on seven hits in the bottom of the fourth. Hammer came up twice in the inning and delivered RBI singles both times. Walton, Valenzuela and Bryan W. Hart also drove in runs to make it 9-6.
The Tritons picked up four more runs in the seventh for a 12-6 advantage. Matt Cantele brought in one run with a sacrifice fly and a hit batsman forced in another run and Imeson finished off the scoring with a two-run single.
Walker's solo home run in the bottom of the seventh ended the scoring.
UCSD left-hander Todd Gimenez came out of the bullpen in relief of starter Trevor Decker to restore order in the bottom of the fourth and then finished the game, hurling 5.1 innings, giving up just three hits including Walker's solo home run and striking out seven.
Montoya and Crang yielded 17 hihts and 12 runs between them while Ward Minich pitched the final 2.1 innings, allowing just three hits and striking out four.
