LA JOLLA, Calif. - Justin Donatella continued his incredible season, combining with two teammates on a five-hit shutout as UC San Diego blanked visiting Cal State Monterey Bay, 8-0, in the opener of a four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) baseball series Friday night at Triton Ballpark.
Donatella (7-1), a junior right-hander, tossed six complete innings, allowing just four singles, one walk and a hit batter, while striking out a season-high 12. The Triton ace improved his league-best totals to seven wins, a 0.63 ERA and 82 strikeouts. He fell one short of his career high of 13 strikeouts from a year ago, which constitutes a Division II-era single-game program record. Of Donatella's 12 punch-outs on Friday, six were swinging and six were looking. He fanned at least two, and struck out the last batter he faced, in each of the first five frames.
With losses elsewhere Friday by Cal Poly Pomona at home in the afternoon to Cal State East Bay (7-4), and by Cal State L.A. at night at Cal State Stanislaus (5-3 in 11 innings), UCSD leapfrogged both and moved back into sole possession of first place in the 11-team CCAA standings. The Tritons' 20th league win moved them to 25-12 overall and 20-8 in the CCAA. They now have a full six-game cushion on the fifth-place spot, with the top four teams earning berths into the CCAA Championship. Fourth-place CSUMB fell to 22-15 overall and 18-11 in the conference.
After Donatella's first of two 1-2-3 innings for openers, UCSD jumped right on the Otters by putting each of its first five batters on base, via two singles and two hit-by-pitches on the heels of a leadoff walk to Gradeigh Sanchez. Jack Larsen's infield single deep in the shortstop hole plated the evening's first run, and was followed by a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch to Erik Lewis and a Christian Leung sacrifice fly.
In the second, with Otters at first and second and no outs, Donatella froze Chris Blanton with an inside fastball, and proceeded to strike out the side from there.
The Tritons added a single run in the second on Michael Mann's sacrifice fly. The senior first baseman put together a nine-pitch at-bat, fouling off four two-strike offerings before lifting a fly ball to right center.
Larsen hit his team-leading fourth home run, a two-run shot just inside the right field line, to cap a three-run fourth and give the Tritons a 7-0 cushion. He finished 2-for-4 with a walk, run and three RBI to increase his team-best total to 35. A Troy Cruz sacrifice fly capped the scoring in the home fifth.
True freshman Jack Rupe, Jr. (San Marcos/Mission Hills HS) and redshirt freshman Travis Roberts backed up Donatella on the shutout, UCSD's eighth on the year in 37 contests. Rupe threw the seventh and eighth, inducing the only two double plays of the game. He cleaned up a leadoff infield error in the seventh with a ground ball that shortstop Tyler Howsley took, stepped on second and threw to first.
The eighth began with a walk and a single, but after a first-pitch flyout, Rupe dialed up the 6-4-3 twin killing with Otters at the corners, off the bat of reigning CCAA Player of the Week Kevin Davidson, to keep the shutout intact. Howsley's toss was corralled by Tim White, who had taken over at second base to begin that frame, with the redshirt freshman having no trouble with the quick relay to Mann. Davidson is the CCAA leader in RBI, but went 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch, two strikeouts and the double-play groundout on a frustrating Friday night for the junior. Roberts handled the ninth, working around a two-out walk. Two ground balls went to White.
Cruz had an interesting 3-for-3 effort with three singles, two runs, one RBI and a steal. His first single went right up the middle in the first. The Chula Vista product out of Bonita Vista High School then dropped one just inside the left field line in the second, and finally chopped a ball straight down the right field line in the fourth. All three hits came on two-strike counts, including 0-2 on the second one. Cruz's fifth-inning sacrifice fly ended a streak of eight straight plate appearances in which he reached base, with six singles and a hit-by-pitch over a span of seven trips.
Lewis was 3-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch and an RBI. Sanchez had one hit, two walks, and scored two runs. Mann knocked in a pair.
Christian Stubbs (1-3), making his first start of 2015 with freshman Otter ace Greg Steinbeck out for the remainder of the year, took the loss without registering an out. CSUMB used six pitchers on the night.
Triton leftfielder Justin Flatt ran in and made a tough, diving catch for the second out in the fourth, robbing Brian Hamm with a man at first. After a second Otter single for the frame, Donatella got Myles Hager swinging to end that threat.
Friday's pregame featured the official re-opening of the renovated Triton Ballpark and dedication of the brand-new Marye Anne Fox Clubhouse, named after the former (2004-12) UCSD chancellor who was present for the event, among numerous other campus dignitaries and key project and program contributors. The game was played in front of a season-high 507 spectators on the La Jolla campus.
UCSD and Cal State Monterey Bay continue their series on Saturday, April 11, with a doubleheader at Triton Ballpark beginning at 12 p.m.
Triton Notes: Justin Flatt saw his reached-base streak end at 20 games, the longest by a Triton in 2015 ... Justin Donatella's first strikeout of the night, to begin the game, marked No. 300 for the Tritons as a team this year, as they continue to lead the CCAA in that category ... Donatella now has three outings with double-figure strikeouts this season and four for his career ... UCSD has won all eight of Donatella's CCAA starts ... UCSD's eight shutouts as a pitching staff in 2015 is a new program record for the Division II era since 2001 ... The Tritons matched their season high of three sacrifice flies ... UCSD has reached the 20-win mark in CCAA play in all four years under head coach Eric Newman, and for the 12th straight season, since finishing 19-19 in 2003.
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