LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The 8th-ranked UC San Diego baseball team suffered two losses to No. 2 Sonoma State on Saturday afternoon in La Jolla. SSU took advantage of 11 walks in game one and cruised to the 13-2 win. In the second game, the Tritons took a 4-0 lead in the second inning, only to see the Seawolves score nine runs in the next two innings and win the game 9-6. With the losses, UCSD drops to 35-11, 19-8 California Collegiate Athletic Association, while Sonoma State improves to 37-6, 21-4 CCAA. The teams return to the field for the series finale on Sunday, with a first pitch slated for 11:00 a.m.
In the first game, the Tritons went through five different pitchers, and no pitcher was able to hold the Seawolves without a run. Matt Cantele and Tim Mort had two hits apiece, while Imeson had a two-RBI double.
In the second game, Imeson went 2-for-2, while Chris Hom had a two-out two-RBI double. Matt Rossman (8-3) took the loss. Tim Strombel pitched well out of the pen, pitching three shutout innings.
SSU's Kyle Jones hit an RBI single in the first of the first game. The Seawolves would go on to load the bases with one out and Tyrese McDaniel hit an RBI single for the 2-0 lead. Nick Nosti followed with a double to center for two RBI and SSU led 4-0. The Tritons got out of the inning without further damage.
In the UCSD first with two on and two outs, Imeson found the left center gap for a two RBI double to pull the Tritons within 4-2.
In the SSU fourth, Kris Haycock hit an RBI double for the 5-2 SSU lead. With two out, Konrad Theime doubled down the left field line for an RBI and SSU led 6-2.
In the SSU fifth, the Seawolves drew five walks and scored three times to lead 9-2.
Sonoma State would end up winning the first game 13-2. The Seawolf offense tallied 15 hits in the game.
Gary Moran earned the win, improving to 5-2, while Matt Garnett pitched the final three innings for his second save of the year.
In the second inning of the second game, Burke recorded an RBI single through the left side for the 1-0 lead. With two on and one out, Hom doubled to left center for two RBI. Bonelli followed with a single through the right side for an RBI and UCSD led 4-0.
With two outs in the SSU third, Kris Haycock tripled down the right field line for two RBI, cutting the UCSD lead down to 4-2. Kyle Jones singled to center for an RBI, and SSU was within 4-3. Theime followed with a two-run homerun to center, giving SSU a 5-4 lead.
In the UCSD third with two outs, Imeson just missed a homerun to left, hitting a double off the wall. Mort then reached on an error, allowing Imeson to score an unearned run, tying the game at 5-5.
With two outs in the SSU fourth, Dave Herman singled through the left side for the go-ahead RBI at 6-5 SSU. The Seawolves would go on to load the bases and Jones would clear the bases with a double, pushing SSU ahead 9-5.
In the UCSD fifth, Tim Mort hit an RBI single to left with two outs, making the score 9-6 SSU.
