LA JOLLA, Calif. - Senior
Vance Albitz became UCSD's all-time hits leader on Senior Day as the 3rd-ranked UC San Diego baseball team completed a four-game sweep with a 9-1 victory over No. 10 Cal State Dominguez Hills on Sunday afternoon at Triton Ballpark. Albitz tied the mark in the third inning and set the record with a 4th-inning RBI single up the middle to put UCSD on top 3-0. Senior
Matt Rossman earned the victory, throwing seven shutout innings and allowing just four hits. "That was a special Senior Day to cap off an outstanding weekend," said head coach
Dan O'Brien. "We are starting to play our best baseball at the right time," continued O'Brien.
With the win, UCSD improves to 41-6, 31-5 California Collegiate Athletic Association, while Cal State Dominguez Hills drops to 34-15, 24-12 CCAA. The win was career victory No. 399 for O'Brien.
The Tritons, who have already clinched the CCAA regular season title, finish up the conference slate next week at San Francisco State.
UCSD wraps up the 2010 home slate with a 26-5 record at Triton Ballpark.
The first run of the game was a solo homerun by Michael Benton, his third of the year. Leading 3-0 in the fifth, the Tritons plated three runs in the inning, two unearned to lead 6-0 through five.
In the sixth inning, Brandon Gregorich connected on his seventh homerun of the year, a two-run shot to push the UCSD lead to 8-0. The two RBI brought Gregorich's single-season record RBI total to 70.
Robert Sedin scored UCSD's final run after leading off the eighth with a double, which just missed being a homerun by two feet.
15 different Tritons had at-bats in the game as UCSD added 12 more hits to its season total. Aaron Bauman went 3-for-3 with a double, triple and two RBI. Gregorich, Albitz and Grant Bauer also had multi-hit games.
Rossman's seven shutout innings included one walk and three strikeouts. Richard Kilbury pitched the eighth and allowed one run while Daniel Simmons pitched a scoreless ninth.
Shane Youngdale of CSUDH took the loss giving up eight runs, six earned and 11 hits in six innings of action.
Kevin Pillar of the Toros singled in the ninth inning to extend his hitting streak to 47 games. The NCAA D-II record is 49 games.
UC San Diego is back in action next week when it faces San Francisco State. First pitch on Friday is set for 3:00 p.m. on the Gator campus.
