CARSON, Calif. - Despite plating two runs in the top of the ninth, No. 3 UC San Diego's rally fell short and the Tritons lost, 4-3, against Cal State Dominguez Hills Thursday in CCAA baseball action at Toro Field.
UCSD, which fell to 15-6 overall and 8-5 in the CCAA, banged out four hits in the ninth, but the game essentially came down to a missed hit and run play by the Tritons.
Down 4-1 heading into the ninth, UCSD got an immediate spark as second baseman Blake Tagmyer led off with a double to right center. Pinch hitter Nick Hom followed with a single to right that moved Tagmyer up 90 feet to third. After Scott Liske came on to run for Hom, the Toros got a big first out as left fielder Evan Kehoe was called out on strikes. Pinch hitter Nick La Face then singled to left, scoring Tagmyer and getting the Tritons within two runs at 4-2. Third baseman Matt Hubbard knocked another single to left field that allowed Liske to score from second base, cutting CSUDH's lead to one run. With one out, runners at first and second and shortstop Garrett Tuck at the plate, the Tritons called a hit and run. Tuck swung and missed the pitch and La Face was thrown out at third by Toro catcher Jonathan Keener for the second out. Hubbard advanced to second on the play, but the out at third was a momentum killer and Tuck ended up striking out.
Starter Tim Shibuya (5-1) suffered the first loss of his season, giving up four runs on 10 hits through seven full innings. The All-American struck out five and walked a pair. Shibuya struck out a career-high 11 batters in his last start, a 7-1 win over San Francisco State on Mar. 4 in La Jolla.
The Tritons out-hit the Toros, 11-10, as Tagmyer, the West Region and CCAA Player of the Week, finished 3-for-4 with a RBI in the sixth inning. Center fielder Danny Susdorf had two hits as eight different Tritons accounted for their 11 hits. Tuck went 0-for-4, ending his team-best 10-game hit streak.
Cal State Dominguez Hills improved to 7-13 overall and 3-10 in CCAA games. It was just the second time the Toros had defeated the Tritons in the teams' last 11 meetings.
Starter Shane Youngdale (2-1) almost went the distance, surrendering the three runs and 11 hits over 8.1 innings. Andrew Klausmeier, who came on just before La Face was thrown out at third, got his first save of the year.
At the plate, second baseman Carlos Leyva went 3-for-3 with two runs and a double. Center fielder Kevin Pillar had two hits and two RBI, while designated hitter Kyle Pond also drove in a pair.
Dominguez Hills took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning as Leyva doubled and was plated by a double from Pillar two batters later.
The fourth inning saw the Toros put up a three-spot to take a 4-0 lead. Third baseman Ricky Vasquez led off with a single, but was promptly picked off by Shibuya. Left fielder Jose Jauregui walked and moved to second on a ground ball out. With two down, the Tritons decided to walk Leyva, who already had two hits. Pond scored both runners with a double to left-center and was knocked in himself by a Millar single to left.
The Tritons got on the board in the sixth. Outfielder Kyle Saul led off the inning with a double. Two outs were made and Saul was able to advance to third on a ground out. Tagmyer's single to left scored Saul, making the score 4-1 in favor of the Toros.
In 2010, the Tritons and Toros played each other eight times, with UCSD winning seven of those. They went up against one another in the CCAA Tournament as well as the NCAA West Regional.
The two squads meet again Friday in Carson at 2 p.m. before playing a Saturday doubleheader at Triton Ballpark (noon). For updates during Friday's game, check out CSUDH's Twitter feed at twitter.com/torosathletics. Both of Saturday's games will be covered by a live video stream and Live Stats.
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