LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 2nd-ranked UC San Diego baseball team used a seven-run second inning and the pitching of All-American Tim Shibuya in a 10-2 conference win over Sonoma State on Friday afternoon at Triton Ballpark. Shibuya went 8.0 innings, allowed just two hits, no runs and struck out four. "When you have an outing like that on the mound, you know your club is going to have a solid day," said head coach Dan O'Brien. "Tim was outstanding once again." With the win, UCSD improves to 20-3, 11-2 California Collegiate Athletic Association, while Sonoma State drops to 9-10, 2-7 CCAA.

UCSD's 20-3 start is the best start for a Triton baseball team since the move to Division II. UCSD's previous best start came during the 1994 season when UCSD started 28-3. UCSD finished that year at 33-8 and finished third at the DIII College World Series.

UCSD sent 13 hitters to the plate in the seven-run seventh inning. UCSD had only four hits in the inning, but SSU walked five and hit a batter to keep runners on base. The Tritons did not score until two outs were recorded in the inning. Kellen Lee got things started with a solo homerun to left field for the game's first run. Brandon Gregorich came through with a bases loaded single which ended up clearing the bases after a fielding error by the SSU outfielder. In his second at-bat of the inning, Evan Kehoe had an RBI double and UCSD had its 7-0 lead.

Tim Shibuya cruised through the Sonoma State lineup, yielding a single in the first inning and a single in the third inning. Shibuya did not allow a hit from the fourth inning through eighth inning.

The UCSD bullpen could not preserve the shutout as Sonoma State scored two runs in the ninth inning.

Kehoe led the way with three hits while Aaron Bauman, Blake Tagmyer and Kellen Lee had multi-hit games. Bauman's first inning single extended his hitting streak to 19 games.

UCSD is back in action on Saturday with a double header against Sonoma State. First pitch of the first game is set for 11:00 a.m. at Triton Ballpark.