POMONA, Calif. ? The 9th-ranked UC San Diego baseball team took two games from Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday, completing the four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association series sweep. The Tritons won both games with strong pitching performances. In the 6-4 game one win, Kirby St. John allowed one run in five innings of work, while Keith Noe earned his second save of the season. In game two 2-0 win, Derek Barham went the distance, pitching 7.0 innings, scattering five hits and allowing no runs. With the wins, UCSD improves to 17-3, 7-0 CCAA, while the Broncos drop to 3-12, 0-6 CCAA.
UCSD has now won 16 of its last 17 games, after beginning the year 1-2. The 17-3 start is best at UCSD since the move to Division II and best since the 1994 team went 28-3.
In the first game, Vance Albitz went 3-for-5 at the top of the lineup with one run scored and one RBI. Matt Cantele and Garrett Imeson had two hits apiece. UCSD trailed 1-0 through three innings before breaking through with single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth. Both teams scored two runs in the seventh inning. CPP cut the Triton lead down to 5-4 in the eighth, but the Tritons came away with an insurance run in the ninth.
In the second game, the Tritons scored single runs in the third and fourth innings, including a Tim Mort solo homerun and an Imeson RBI double. The Tritons stole five bases in the game as Barham pitched the complete-game shutout.
UCSD returns to action next week when it faces the defending NCAA West Region champions, Cal State L.A. The Tritons and Golden Eagles play single games on Thursday, March 6 and Friday, March 7 in Los Angeles. The series will head to Triton Baseball Field on Saturday, March 8 for a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 a.m.
