TURLOCK, Calif. ? The 12th-ranked UC San Diego baseball team split its two games on Saturday, losing the first game by a 7-0 score and taking the second game 5-2 against Cal State Stanislaus on the Warrior campus. Despite a strong outing by UCSD's Guido Knudson (4-2), CSUS broke through with five runs in the eighth inning, scoring four unearned runs while the Tritons managed just a first-inning single against the Warriors Marquis Flemming (7-3). In the second game, Evan Kehoe drove in two RBI in a three-run second inning and Keith Noe helped the Tritons out of a jam, earning his single-season school record ninth save of the season. UCSD is now 30-8, 14-5 CCAA, while CSUS is 25-12, 17-6 CCAA.
Vance Albitz led off the game with a single through the left side, which would be the Tritons lone hit of the game.
CSUS got on the board on homeruns by Jeff Bellotti and Jacob Thelen to lead 2-0 through three frames. The score remained unchanged through seven innings, as both pitchers were in control.
CSUS took advantage of a couple Triton errors in the eighth inning to break open a 2-0 lead into a 7-0 win.
The Tritons had not been shutout since March 5, 2007 when they lost 2-0 at Sonoma State. Since that game, the Tritons had gone 78 consecutive games scoring at least one run.
In the second game, Albitz, Kehoe and Chris Franco had two hits apiece, while Kehoe and Franco drove in two RBI each. UCSD scored one run in the first and three in the second, while CSUS scored single runs in the second and third.
The key inning game in the CSUS sixth with the Tritons leading 4-2. With one out, CSUS recorded back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners. Noe entered the game and struck out the first Warrior he saw. After a walk loaded the bases, Noe got a fly ball to leftfield to retire the side with the Tritons still ahead 4-2.
Franco came through in the UCSD seventh, driving in Kehoe who led off with a double for UCSD's 5-2 lead. Matt Rossman earned the win, improving to 7-2 on the year. Rossman went 5.0 innings, allowing one earned run while striking out a career-best 11 batters.
The 11 strikeouts by Rossman was the most by a UCSD hurler since Daniel Simmons recorded 11 in the first round of the 2007 CCAA tournament against Sonoma State.
The four-game series will conclude with a single game on Sunday. First pitch is slated for a 12:00 p.m. start.
