LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 26th-ranked UC San Diego baseball team trotted out four freshmen pitchers and broke a 1-1 deadlock with a three-run sixth in downing 10th-ranked California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) South Division rival Cal Poly Pomona in a non-conference showdown at Triton Ballpark on Sunday.
With the win, UCSD improved to 7-1, while CPP, which had entered the day with an identical 6-1 mark, fell to 6-2. The game was a rematch of the 2015 NCAA Division II West Region final, which went to CPP, 7-4, at Mt. SAC in Walnut. Like recent installments of the rivalry, it was another postseason-type atmosphere.
Preston Mott, a left-hander from Clovis (Clovis HS), was first up on the mound, earning the start from head coach Eric Newman in his collegiate debut. He went the first five frames and allowed just four hits, all singles, and a hit-by-pitch, while fanning a pair. Fellow true freshmen Jonah Dipoto (1-0) and Kyle Mora took over in relief, each allowing a single hit and a single run, with Dipoto handling the sixth and seventh, and Mora the eighth. Dipoto struck out three.
A fourth freshman, 2015 redshirt Cameron Kurz (Encinitas/La Costa Canyon HS), threw the ninth, despite it no longer being a save situation. He ducked around a two-out infield single after a called third strike and flyout, by getting Frankie Nogales swinging to end it. The Triton foursome combined to not allow a walk.
After Jared James' one-out solo home run, his second of the year, deep to right in the top of the sixth to knot the score at 1-1, UCSD came right back out and put up three in the bottom half.
Brandon Shirley dropped a single into left center to lead off. Gradeigh Sanchez was safe at first as Matthew Grier (0-1) picked up his sacrifice and had his throw glance off the side of the Triton senior's leg, leaving two runners in scoring position. That brought up the meat of the UCSD order, and star rightfielder Jack Larsen hit the right side with an RBI groundout, except another costly throwing error by the Bronco defense enabled Sanchez to come around and left Larsen at first still with none out.
Sophomore designated hitter Tyler Plantier (Poway/Del Norte HS) then punched the first pitch he saw into left for another single, and after Vince Mori's (Oceanside/Palomar College/Westview HS) sacrifice, true freshman first baseman Tyler Durna poked an RBI single through the left side that made it 4-1.
A leadoff double by Michael Erb ultimately let CPP pull a run back in the eighth after successive groundouts, but redshirt sophomore catcher Steven Coe (Valley Center/Valley Center HS) made sure that was all the visitors would get, as after James reached on an infield error, he fired to Mori to catch the Broncos' senior centerfielder. James was five-for-five in steal attempts coming in.
Once again, UCSD had an answer in its turn at-bat. Mori walked to start things off ahead of a sacrifice, walk and pitching change. Two wild pitches by Zach Williams plated Mori, and Coe took a 3-2 offering up the middle to cap the scoring.
The Tritons had struck first in the second. Plantier doubled into the left field corner, and is batting a team-best .440 through the first eight games of 2016. The local product took third on Mori's flyout to right center, and came across on Durna's first of two RBI singles on the day, sharply to center on a 2-2 pitch by Bronco starter Ryan Alsworth. It marked the Chino Hills product's first career RBI.
Mott retired the first two batters of the game on groundouts, before loading the bases on a hit-by-pitch and two singles. The latter was of the infield variety, however, with Mori making a key play behind the bag to corral the ball and keep it from going into center, which would have put the Broncos up early. Mott responded by producing his first career strikeout, getting Alex Gaskin swinging to end it.
CPP put a man on via error leading off the fourth, but Mott cleaned that up with a flyout before snaring a hot-shot liner right back at him and doubling up the runner. He then began a 1-3-6 caught stealing to end the fifth, calling it a day at 75 pitches.
UCSD continues a season-opening 13-game homestand next weekend with a four-game non-conference series against Concordia Irvine. First pitch for the primetime opener on Friday night, Feb. 19, is set for 6 p.m. at Triton Ballpark.
Triton Notes: UCSD snapped a five-game losing streak to CPP ... Tyler Howsley has started 65 straight games, all at shortstop, dating back to the 2015 opener ... During this six-game weekend, UCSD had four true freshmen starting pitchers, with the quartet combining to allow just three earned runs over 19.0 innings for a 1.42 ERA ... Jonah Dipoto had retired the first 10 batters he faced to begin his college career, with three on strikes, before Jared James' home run.
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