LA JOLLA, Calif. - Jonah Northrop made his first collegiate hit count in a big way as he knocked in the game winning run in the 11th inning to give No. 2 UC San Diego a 3-2 victory over No. 17 Mesa State Saturday at Triton Ballpark. UCSD went on to win the tail end of the doubleheader 3-0 behind a complete game two hitter by pitcher Daniel Simmons.
UCSD (6-1) has won three straight against Mesa State (0-3) as it opened the series with a 6-1 victory Friday night.
Saturday's first game went to extra innings after Mesa State tied it at 2-2 in the top of the ninth inning. In UCSD's half of the 11th, outfielder Kyle Saul led off with a single to left center. Pinch hitter Scott Liske was then hit by a pitch, setting the table for Northrop. With two on and no outs, Northrop, who had entered the game in the 10th inning to play second base, stroked a single to center that plated Saul for the win.
It was just the second at-bat of Northrop's college career with his first coming on Feb. 5 against Western Oregon. Northrop, out of Covina and Charter Oak High School, redshirted the 2010 at UCSD.
The Mavericks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a single run in the first inning. However, the Tritons took a 2-1 lead after plating a pair of runs in the third. The first came as freshman shortstop Garrett Tuck singled in catcher Michael Benton, who had doubled to left center to lead off the inning. Left fielder Aaron Bauman's single moved Tuck over to second. Center fielder Danny Susdorf flied out deep to center and the speedy Tuck tagged and scored all the way from second base.
Two rare errors by the Triton defense led to Mesa State's game tying run in the ninth. Zac Barger reached on an infield error and was pinch run for by Colton Little. The next batter reached on a fielder's choice and Little was safe at second and advanced to third on a throwing error. A groundout by Erik Nordine plated Little to tie the game at 2-2.
UCSD had one base runner in the ninth and two in the tenth, but couldn't score any of them. Both teams left eight runners on base in the game.
UC San Diego starting pitcher Guido Knudson went seven innings, giving up one run on eight hits while striking out seven. Elias Tuma (1-0) came on in the eighth and gave up the tying run, but ended up winning his first game of the season. Neither pitcher gave up a walk.
Seven different Tritons had hits in the game. Four Mavericks had two hits apiece including shortstop Ken Evanson, DH Jeff Popick and first baseman Dustin Fackrell.
Reliever Taylor Hamilton (0-1) suffered the loss for Mesa State. He threw two innings and was responsible for letting Saul on base in the 11th. Mike Sutton gave up the hit to Northrop after coming in for Hamilton with no outs in the 11th.
In game two, UCSD scored all three of its runs in the fifth inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, third baseman Evan Kehoe dropped a double into left center that scored three runs, all of them unearned due to a Maverick error earlier in the inning.
Simmons (2-0) went all seven innings and gave up just two hits while striking out seven and walking two. He retired the side in order four times, including in the first three innings when he had five strikeouts in that span.
First baseman Nick Hom went 2-for-3, while Liske got his first collegiate hit, a double to left field in the sixth as a pinch hitter.
It was the first shutout of the season for UCSD and its first since May 13, 2010 when the Tritons blanked Hawai'i Pacific, 12-0. Simmons had two combined shutouts back in 2007.
The two teams conclude the series on Sunday, Feb. 13 with a single game at 11 a.m. at Triton Ballpark. Tickets are available at Triton Ballpark beginning one hour prior to first pitch and UCSD students are admitted free with a valid ID.
If you can't make it to the ballpark, Sunday's game will feature a live video stream as well as Live Stats. Access both under Fan Zone at ucsdtritons.com.
- ucsdtritons.com -
