POMONA, Calif. - The 23rd-ranked UC San Diego baseball team rallied from a 3-1 deficit late to defeat No. 24 Cal Poly Pomona, 6-3, in the opener of a four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series Saturday night at Scolinos Field.
Coming off of winter quarter final exams and having gone 3-5 over its previous eight following a phenomenal 14-2 start, UCSD improved to 18-7 overall and 8-5 in the CCAA. CPP had its four-game win streak snapped in dropping to 15-7 overall and 7-4 in league play. The rivals had started the day as the top two teams in the CCAA South Division standings. The result keeps CPP percentage points ahead. The Tritons defeated the Broncos, 6-2, in a non-conference affair in La Jolla on Feb. 14.
Triton leadoff man Gradeigh Sanchez took a 2-2 pitch from Bronco starter Max Bethell and dropped it just inside the left field line for a looped, opposite-field double to begin the game. Brandon Shirley fell behind 0-2 before working a full count and lining a flyout deep enough to right center to move Sanchez over to third. Jack Larsen also went to a two-strike count before producing a second straight productive out, pulling a ground ball to the first baseman to score Sanchez.
Chris Stratton, the counterpart of Sanchez at the top of CPP's order, grounded an infield single to shortstop in the home half after facing another 0-2 deficit, only for redshirt sophomore catcher Steven Coe to throw out his ninth would-be base-stealer of the season already. Stratton led the CCAA with 17 steals on 20 attempts heading into the contest. After Jack Rupe, Jr. (San Marcos/Mission Hills HS), walked Jared James, he went full count to Jason Padlo, who lined into an inning-ending double play to Larsen in right field.
A single by Justin Flatt and hit-by-pitch to Coe put two Tritons on with just one out in the second, but a flyout and fielder's choice groundout got Bethell out of trouble.
A two-out rally netted the Broncos a pair and a 2-1 edge in the home second. Nick Webberley singled, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on a stung double that ate third baseman Vince Mori (Oceanside/Palomar College/Westview HS) up. That second run came across on an infield single and subsequent throwing error.
CPP added to its lead in the fourth. Freshman Nic Hernandez roped an opposite-field double over the head of Sanchez off of Rupe's initial offering. After Rupe's only strikeout of the night, another opposite-field double, this one to the gap in right center by Webberley, made it a 3-1 game.
JD Hearn singled back up the box to open the fifth, but a strikeout and tough 5-4-3 double play kept the home side in the ascendancy.
Stratton singled up the middle himself with one gone in the Bronco fifth. Once again he went, and once again was turned away by Coe.
UCSD knotted the score in the sixth. Shirley led off with a walk and came careening around third to score on Tyler Plantier's (Poway/Del Norte HS) double into the gap in left center. Plantier then got a great read on a pitch by Bethell that got away from catcher Cody Martin and took third. It was ruled a passed ball, and was a huge play, as Plantier trotted home moments later on Mori's right-sided ground ball to tie it.
Tim Nelson, a true freshman right-hander out of nearby Chino Hills (Ayala HS), came on for Rupe and quickly put together a 1-2-3 sixth on a groundout and a pair of called third strikes.
The Tritons scored twice more in the seventh to take back the lead, for good, at 5-3. Coe took a 2-2 pitch to right for a leadoff single and was bunted to second by Hearn. Howsley then worked the count to 3-0 and lined a 3-1 offering into left for a go-ahead RBI single. After a pitching change, Howsley moved to third on a wild pitch by the new Bronco arm, Zach Williams. With runners at the corners through a hit-by-pitch, Williams got a called third strike for the second out, only for Larsen to come up big with an RBI single up the middle to plate Howsley.
The home seventh began with a five-pitch walk and first-pitch single through the left side, but a base-running miscue cut the lead man down, before Nelson got Martin and Jacob Bernardy looking back to back to leave Daniel Pitts stranded at second.
UCSD then scored for the third straight frame in the eighth thanks to Hearn's heroics, as the junior sent a 1-2 pitch into the gap in right center for a two-out RBI triple. That scored Flatt, who had singled up the middle with one gone.
After Nelson walked Stratton to begin the home eighth, Brent Bell popped up James and walked Padlo. With the tying run at the plate, the freshman left-hander got Hernandez to line into another inning-ending double play, this time on the infield to Howsley at short, who flipped to Hearn to complete it.
In the ninth, redshirt freshman right-hander Cameron Kurz (Encinitas/La Costa Canyon HS) replaced Bell and threw his first three outside the zone before coming back to fan designated hitter Nicholas Bruno swinging. He ultimately struck out the side around a pair of two-out singles, to earn his league-leading fifth save.
Rupe, Jr. went 5.0 innings and allowed three runs, two of them earned, on seven hits and one walk. The sophomore right-hander struck out one. His 1-2-3 third was the first perfect frame for either side on the night. Nelson (3-1) picked up the win. UCSD's three bullpen arms, all freshmen, backed Rupe up with four shutout innings. They combined to surrender three singles and three walks, and struck out seven.
Larsen finished 2-for-5 with two RBI to increase his league-leading total to 25. Hearn was 2-for-3 with his sacrifice, triple and RBI. Flatt went 2-for-4 with a run scored and steal.
Bethell (2-3) gave up five runs, four of them earned, on six hits and one walk over 6.1 innings, striking out three with two hit-by-pitches. The senior left-hander had his and his team's only 1-2-3 frame in the fourth.
The series shifts south to La Jolla, where UCSD and CPP will contest a doubleheader on Sunday, March 20. First pitch at Triton Ballpark is set for 2 p.m. Both games will be available for viewing at UCSDtritons.tv, for a cost of $5.99. General admission into Triton Ballpark is $5, with parking free.
Triton Notes: UCSD moved to 18-1 this season when scoring at least three runs ... Tyler Howsley has started 82 straight games, all at shortstop, dating back to the 2015 opener ... Howsley and Jack Larsen are the only Tritons to start all 25 games in 2016 ... Jack Rupe, Jr., earned his third start of the year, fourth of his career, and first of the series-opening variety ... UCSD has reached the exact halfway mark of its 50-game regular-season schedule ... The leadoff double by Gradeigh Sanchez was his team-best fifth ... Howsley's second-inning error was his fourth of 2016 and first after 11 clean games and 64 chances ... With three more tonight, Steven Coe has thrown out 11 would-be base-stealers this season ... Tyler Plantier's sixth-inning double was his fifth, tying him with Sanchez for the team lead ... Justin Flatt's eighth-inning stolen base was his first of the season ... JD Hearn's eighth-inning triple was his first as a Triton and increased UCSD's CCAA-best total to 14 ... Tim Nelson and Cameron Kurz each matched their single-game highs with four and three strikeouts, respectively ... UCSD equaled its season best with four hit-by-pitches.
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