TURLOCK, Calif. - The UC San Diego pitching staff remarkably strung together 16 more shutout innings as the 27th-ranked Tritons swept a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) doubleheader over Cal State Stanislaus, 10-0 and 2-0, Saturday at Warrior Baseball Field.
Coming on the heels of an 11-0 victory on Friday night to open the four-game series, UCSD has now posted three consecutive shutouts to begin a CCAA set for the second time this season, having previously done so against Cal State Dominguez Hills back in February. The three straight shutouts are a program record, while the Tritons also extended their program-best season total to 12 shutouts. That number puts UCSD alone atop the entire NCAA Division II in the statistical category, with No. 1-ranked Franklin Pierce at 11. The Ravens won 13-1 at Merrimack on Saturday.
The pair of wins improved UCSD to 29-14 overall and 24-10 in the CCAA. Cal State Stanislaus fell to 18-23 overall and 13-18 in league play. With Cal Poly Pomona (31-11, 23-9 CCAA) completing a four-game series sweep over Cal State L.A. earlier Saturday, the Broncos assured themselves of getting out of the weekend with a hold of the top spot in the conference standings. The Tritons remain right behind in second on percentage points, .719-.706.
The Tritons were up 2-0 in Saturday's first game when they staged a big six-run rally in the fifth inning. They were up just 1-0 prior to a six-run fifth during Friday's romp to kick off their weekend stay in Turlock. Saturday's nightcap was of the shorter seven-inning variety, as UCSD clinched its sixth CCAA series win of 2015.
"Today was obviously a great day for our pitchers to establish that mentality we had early in the year," said UCSD head coach Eric Newman. "I thought our defense today was outstanding, and guys competed for each other to make some tough plays."
UCSD and Cal State Stanislaus conclude their series with a getaway-day finale on Sunday, April 19. First pitch at Warrior Baseball Field is set for 12 p.m.
Game One
Both starting pitchers walked the leadoff batter and allowed multiple base-runners in a lengthy, 30-minute first inning in game one, with Trevor Scott getting a first-pitch groundout off the bat of Skippy Ferreria after the Warriors had loaded the bases. The sides combined for just one hit with four walks, but no runs came across.
With one gone in the second, Brandon Shirley worked a big 14-pitch walk, fouling off eight 3-2 offerings from Nick Voumard. Shirley then easily swiped his team-leading 10th bag, and after a strikeout, sprinted around with the day's first run on No. 9 batter Tyler Howsley's RBI single to left, marking the first hit off of Voumard.
Voumard walked the bags full with one away in the third, and Justin Flatt's RBI groundout doubled the UCSD lead.
UCSD took advantage of a pair of infield miscues to bump its advantage to 6-0 in the fifth. Troy Cruz (Chula Vista/Bonita Vista HS) walked on four pitches to ignite the rally, stole his fifth base, moved to third on a single up the middle by Michael Mann, and came home as Erik Lewis reached via error on a right-sided grounder. After another walk to load the bases and a called third strike, it looked like Voumard had the ground ball he needed to get out of the frame, but the Warrior shortstop booted it. Howsley paid the home side pay further by sending a 1-0 pitch into the gap in left center for a two-run double and a 6-0 cushion, ending Voumard's outing. Gradeigh Sanchez greeted the new pitcher by dumping a two-run single, also into left center.
Scott came back out and evaded a two-out single for the shutdown frame.
Junior Andrew Hobson, a Northern California product out of Dublin, pulled a solo blast out to right on the second pitch of the eighth in a pinch-hitting appearance for his first career home run. The Tritons tacked on one more on a pinch-hit, RBI groundout by redshirt freshman Tim White, to round out the scoring.
Scott (6-5) went six shutout innings for a second straight start, allowing six hits and three walks while striking out two. The senior left-hander worked a perfect second on a flyout, strikeout and groundout. Scott got through a difficult third, inducing a foulout and flyout with Warriors at first and second through a leadoff single and a 10-pitch, one-out walk to senior catcher Marcus Mastrobuoni. Scott let up two more singles in the fourth, but picked off Ferreria, and then got a fielder's choice groundout and a diving grab by Jack Larsen on a liner to right.
"Trevor had his change-up going early, which really helped, and the guys played great defense behind him," remarked Newman.
John Erhardt replaced Scott in the seventh and threw nine straight strikes before his first ball, turning in a clean frame with a groundout, swinging strikeout and called third strike. The big redshirt freshman right-hander then dodged a pair of bullets to keep the shutout intact. Mastrobuoni's leadoff knock in the eighth could only make it to the base of the wall in left for a double. Following a one-out walk, he would remain there as Erhardt got a flyout and a fielder's choice groundout. Klayton Miller put a charge into one to start off the ninth, only for it to go narrowly foul before a groundout and two swinging strikeouts earned Erhardt his second save.
Howsley wound up 2-for-5 with his fourth double of 2015, one run and a career-high three RBI. Cruz walked twice and scored twice. Sanchez was 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBI. The first eight batters in the Triton order all earned at least one base on balls, for a total of a season-high 11.
"Tyler Howsley has been superb defensively for us, and today, the work he has been putting in offensively really showed up as well," offered Newman about his shortstop, who has committed just one error in his last 18 games (.987).
Voumard (5-2) gave up eight runs, three of them earned, on three hits and eight walks in 4.2 frames. The sophomore right-hander struck out five, and worked a 1-2-3 fourth on 10 pitches. He had walked seven Tritons in six-plus a year ago in a 5-4 defeat in 10 innings. Mastrobuoni was 3-for-3 with a walk and a double.
Game Two
UCSD jumped on Stanislaus early in the shorter second contest, again taking advantage of a pair of Warrior infield errors. Sanchez reached on one, and eventually scored from third on a two-out RBI single up the middle by Hobson, who drew the start at designated hitter. After a Lewis single put Tritons at the corners, another error plated Hobson for 2-0.
UCSD began the fourth with consecutive walks and a successful sacrifice by Shirley, but a pair of ground balls on the infield kept the deficit manageable for Stanislaus.
Sanchez accepted a four-pitch free pass to open the fifth, with a one-out double into the left field corner by Mann putting the Tritons in business. Hobson flew into a double play, however, as a very close out call was made at the plate on Sanchez, ending the fifth-inning curse for the home side.
Sanchez then made a nice, running grab on a deep shot to right by Patrick Mulry in the middle of a quick seven-pitch, three-flyout fifth for UCSD starter Alon Leichman.
Leichman (6-2) scattered just a pair of hits and one walk over five shutout frames, striking out two. The junior right-hander cruised through the second on a flyout, groundout and called third strike, and worked through a leadoff single in the third with two more fly balls before getting Mastrobuoni to chase one. Nine of Leichman's 15 outs were procured around the outfield.
Dan Kolodin took over for a perfect sixth and seventh and his team-best fifth save.
"Alon really bounced back well from his last two outings and pitched with great poise," said Newman. "(Andrew) Hobson had a great day at the plate and really came through for us in that first inning with a two-out RBI that proved to be the difference."
Cruz and Mann combined on a tough play for the second out of the fourth as Cruz had to go deep behind the third-base bag, and Mann dug out the cross-diamond toss.
Freshman right-hander Tyler Murphy (4-5) surrendered just the two unearned runs on six hits and four walks, as a complete-game, tough-luck loser. He struck out four, and turned in a couple of 1-2-3 efforts, in the second and again in the seventh.
Triton Notes: Gradeigh Sanchez has started 19 straight games in the leadoff position ... Sanchez made his first start of the season in right field in the nightcap, and first since a pair there in his 2011 freshman year ... Andrew Hobson drew his first start in the nightcap since Feb. 21, and fifth on the year ... Tyler Howsley's game one effort marked his first multi-RBI game of 2015 and second of his college career ... With nine combined walks on the day between the four of them, Justin Flatt (33), Troy Cruz (32), Jack Larsen (31) and Erik Lewis (31) lined themselves up one through four atop the CCAA walks chart ... The Tritons have accrued 23 walks and four hit-by-pitches through the first three games of this series, with their staff allowing just 11 hits ... Trevor Scott has thrown 14 consecutive shutout innings over his past two-plus starts ... UCSD has reached double figures in runs 12 times in 2015 ... The Tritons have posted back-to-back shutouts on five occasions this season, with the two stretches of three against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Stanislaus each counted twice ... UCSD has won nine straight over the Warriors, and is 24-7 in Turlock since joining the CCAA for the 2001 season.
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