LA JOLLA, Calif. - A pair of local products in Tyler Plantier and Troy Cruz directed 28th-ranked UC San Diego to a 4-2 triumph over 20th-ranked preseason conference favorite Chico State Sunday at Triton Ballpark, as the host Tritons completed an impressive sweep of the four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) baseball series between fierce rivals.
The Tritons had already clinched their fourth straight series victory to begin CCAA play with a 6-0 shutout in Friday night's opener, and a doubleheader sweep Saturday by scores of 10-7 and 4-3 in seven innings. It was third time's the charm for UCSD, after failing to convert on two prior opportunities to procure a series sweep in mound starts for Cruz in weekend finales.
Combined with No. 7 Cal Poly Pomona's 1-0 victory at No. 24 Cal State Monterey Bay, UCSD moved atop the 11-team CCAA standings, now at 17-7 overall and 13-3 in the league. Sunday's result gave the Tritons a season-best five-game win streak. They are idle from competition until March 21, as they turn their focus toward winter quarter final exams. Chico State, the reigning West Region champion who twice knocked off UCSD to win the West Regional in La Jolla last May, fell to 6-8 overall and 5-6 in the CCAA.
The Tritons have not lost their regular-season set with the Wildcats since 2007 in Chico. This sweep is their first in the series since 2011, also in Chico, and their first in La Jolla. The teams had split in each of the past three years.
Cruz (3-2) won his second straight after the back-to-back defeats. He went 7.2 innings and allowed both runs, only one of them earned, on six hits and no walks. The junior right-hander out of Chula Vista (Bonita Vista HS) matched his career high with eight strikeouts. He posted 1-2-3 frames in the first, third and fifth, needing just seven pitches in the opening inning for three groundouts.
Plantier, from nearby Poway (Del Norte HS), earned his second collegiate start with UCSD's regular third baseman, Cruz, taking the ball. The true freshman rewarded Triton head coach Eric Newman by turning in arguably the at-bat of the year thus far for his side. After UCSD had just finally notched the first run of the afternoon in the sixth inning, Chico State intentionally walked senior second baseman Erik Lewis to load the bases, with two away. In response, Plantier waged a nine-pitch battle with Wildcat starter Clayton Gelfand, rallying from a 1-2 deficit and fouling off three two-strike offerings before hammering a bases-clearing double to straightaway center and right over the head of Sean Smith.
Plantier's double ended the day for Gelfand (0-1), who had combined over the first five innings to stage a rare getaway-day pitcher's duel, especially considering the four-game format the CCAA employs. The sophomore right-hander retired the first 10 Tritons in order before a one-out Justin Flatt single in the fourth, with five strikeouts and four groundouts over the first three frames. He struck out the side in the third. Gelfand went 5.2 innings and allowed all four runs on six hits and two walks. He had the first eight of 14 strikeouts by four Wildcat arms on the afternoon.
The home fifth had actually seen Plantier already show his ability with the bat, as he banged an opposite-field double, that one over the rightfielder Connor Huesers' head, to place Tritons at second and third with just one out. Gelfand fanned the next two, however, to keep it scoreless. Chico State in turn threatened in the sixth, putting two on through a one-out single and a hit-by-pitch, but Cruz dialed up a routine 4-6-3 double-play ground ball from Danny Miller to get out of trouble.
Not surprisingly, the in-form Jack Larsen was the player to move UCSD ahead in that sixth frame ahead of Plantier's heroics. Flatt took a called strike before drawing a five-pitch leadoff walk. He was then running all the way on Michael Mann's sharp single to center, expertly taking the extra base and winding up at third. That enabled him to trot home on Larsen's sacrifice fly. Christian Leung doubled on the next pitch.
Much like both ends of Saturday's twin bill, the end of the game was not without drama. Huesers tripled to lead off the seventh and scored on a groundout to put the 'Cats on the board. They pulled another one back in the eighth after leadoff man Andrew Carrillo opened with a double and scored on Danny Miller's sacrifice fly. With the tying run at the plate, Dan Kolodin relieved Cruz and needed just three pitches to induce an inning-ending fielder's choice groundout out of Huesers. The senior right-hander then worked around a one-out walk in the ninth, picking up his third save when pinch-hitter Matt Jacobson was stared at a called strike to finish it.
Plantier finished 2-for-3 with the first two doubles of his career, and the three RBI. Mann went 3-for-4 with a double to move his season average to .329 after the senior first baseman was batting exactly .200 after a Feb. 24 loss at Azusa Pacific.
Defensively, centerfielder Brandon Shirley sprawled out full-sprint toward the gap in left center to rob Huesers of extra bases in the fourth, likely preventing Chico State from taking its first lead of the series, as Danny Miller was at first base. Dylan Garcia followed with a scalded liner right into shortstop Tyler Howsley's glove. In the fifth, Howsley gathered a tough hop and threw strong to Mann to get Cody Bistline by a step. Plantier followed by charging to deftly gobble up a Cody Slader bunt and fire in time to cap an eight-pitch frame for Cruz after a swinging strikeout.
Triton Notes: Justin Flatt's fourth-inning single to become UCSD's first base-runner on Sunday, extended the redshirt freshman leftfielder's hit streak to nine games, the longest by a Triton in 2015 ... Flatt also has the team's second-best hit streak of the year, having just today eclipsed his season-opening eight-gamer ... Jack Larsen's sixth-inning go-ahead sacrifice fly was his fourth, and gave him 28 RBI, both totals leading the CCAA ... Tyler Plantier has 15 RBI, tied for second on the squad, over his 19 at-bats, including 11 in March and 10 over the last two Sundays ... Triton batters struck out 14 times Sunday, matching their season high from the Feb. 6 loss to Colorado Mesa ... UCSD never trailed this entire weekend against Chico State ... The Tritons are now 4-3 against nationally-ranked teams on the season.
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