LA JOLLA, Calif. - Zach Friedman and Tim White drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks in the ninth as UC San Diego quite literally walked off a 7-6 winner over Cal State East Bay in the nightcap of a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) baseball doubleheader at Triton Ballpark on Saturday.
The Tritons thus earned the split of the twin bill, having surrendered four runs, also in the ninth, to turn a 2-1 lead into a 5-2 loss in game one.
UCSD moved to 28-16 overall and 18-14 in the CCAA. The Tritons remained in second in the CCAA South, four and a half games back of leader Cal Poly Pomona, but the late win, combined with Cal State Dominguez Hills getting swept earlier in a home doubleheader by Cal State LA, clinched a third straight CCAA Championship berth for UCSD. CSUEB, a winner of eight of its previous 10 heading in, is 26-16 overall and 17-14 in league play. The Pioneers stay third in the CCAA North.
Friedman came on to pinch hit with one gone and no place to put him. The senior battled back from an 0-2 deficit to first work the count full, and then the free pass that forced in pinch-runner Brandon Shirley. White then also took the count to 3-2 against East Bay closer Derek Oetken, who had just come on, and accepted a fourth toss outside the zone to complete UCSD's comeback from a 6-4 deficit.
White had hit a two-run triple to account for both Triton runs in game one.
The series rubber game is set for an 11 a.m. first pitch on Sunday, May 1, at Triton Ballpark. The game can be viewed in high definition at UCSDtritons.tv for a fee of $5.99, with live stats here. True freshman right-hander Jonah Dipoto (2-1, 3.05 ERA) will take the ball for UCSD.
Game One - CSUEB 5, UCSD 2
White slapped his stand-up triple into the gap in right center, landing just beyond the reach of a sprinting rightfielder in Raymond Jones, after fellow redshirt sophomores Steven Coe (Valley Center/Valley Center HS) and Justin Flatt had led off the fourth with successive singles, ahead of a failed sacrifice attempt.
From there, East Bay began its rally with a single tally in the fifth as Myles Babitt doubled into the right field corner for openers, and came home through a pair of errors. With two men on, a 4-6-3 double play kept the Tritons on top, 2-1.
The Pioneers then produced their four-run ninth, however, sending 10 to the plate. Rudy Navarro's single up the middle started things off, with Dakota Conners' single, also up the middle, levelling the score at 2-2. Chris Porter's two-run single put the visitors in the lead, with a fielder's choice accounting for the final margin.
Kyle Mora went 5.2 innings and allowed a single unearned run on just one hit and three walks, striking out four. The true freshman right-hander retired the first 10 Pioneer batters before a one-out-walk in the fourth, and had a no-hitter intact until a double to lead off the fifth. It was the only hit against the CCAA's leader in hits per nine innings. Senior Alon Leichman (2-4) was pinned with the loss.
Mora needed just 10 pitches in a 1-2-3 first, with junior shortstop Tyler Howsley snaring a hot shot up the middle and Flatt making an equally tough scoop at first for the third out. Another seven tosses were sufficient in a perfect third. Shirley aided Mora in the fourth, laying out toward the gap in right center to rob leadoff man Marcus Wise of extra bases. Jones became East Bay's first base-runner moments later via walk.
With UCSD nursing the 2-1 edge in the eighth, Leichman expertly executed a pickoff to get pinch-runner Bryan Mason straying off second for the second out. He then fanned Jones to get out of the inning.
Alex Vesia (5-4) went 8.0 frames and gave up two runs on seven hits and one walk. He fanned two and stuck around just long enough to pick up the winning decision. The sophomore left-hander set down 11 Tritons in a row after White's triple. Andrew Fernandez tossed a scoreless ninth for his first save.
Game Two - UCSD 7, CSUEB 6
UCSD led 4-2 before, just like earlier in the afternoon, giving up four unanswered runs.
Trailing 6-4, the Tritons finally were able to get to Pioneer reliever Angel Lara, pulling a run back in the eighth thanks to a one-out walk to Howsley, White sacrifice, and two-out, two-strike RBI single by JD Hearn to the opposite field.
The last half began with Christian Leung pulling a single through the right side. Tyler Plantier (Poway/Del Norte HS) followed by dropping a high, looping single into right center in between the centerfielder, rightfielder and second baseman. Coe, as a pinch-hitter, laid down the bunt, leading to an intentional walk to freshman first baseman Tyler Durna to fill the bags for Friedman. Plantier scored the winner.
The sides combined for five runs in the opening frame, all after two were gone. UCSD strung together six straight hits after two were away, grabbing a 3-2 advantage with RBI knocks by Leung, Flatt and Durna. The main hit for East Bay was Porter's two-run single to left.
Preston Mott went 3.0 innings and allowed three runs, one of them earned, on five hits and two walks, striking out none. Redshirt freshman right-hander Erik Amundson (2-1), who also came on to register an out in game one, set down all four Pioneers he faced on two groundouts, a popout and a strikeout, and ended up the beneficiary of the walk-off as the pitcher of record.
Junior centerfielder Jack Larsen, who had gone 2-for-4 earlier, finished 3-for-5 with one run and one RBI. His two doubles increased his season total to a team-best 10. Hearn and Leung added three hits and one RBI apiece. Durna was 2-for-4 with a walk, RBI, and his second double of 2016.
Senior leftfielder Gradeigh Sanchez made an exceptional diving grab toward the line in left for the second out of the second.
Lara unofficially had 103 tosses over 7.0 frames, with two runs against him on seven hits and two walks. He struck out four. Joshua Kubiske (3-4) was the losing pitcher.
Triton Notes: UCSD is 27-4 in 2016 when it scores three runs or more, 1-12 with less than three runs, 12-6 in one-run games and 21-7 at home ... For the fifth straight doubleheader to begin a conference series, head coach Eric Newman sent a pair of true freshman starters to the mound in right-hander Kyle Mora in game one and left-hander Preston Mott in the nightcap ... Tyler Howsley started his 100th straight game in the opener, and has now been in the lineup for 101 successive contests, all at shortstop, dating back to the 2015 opener ... Howsley and Jack Larsen are the only Tritons to start all 44 games in 2016 ... The Tritons produced two more double plays on the day, one in each contest, to give them 43, tied for second in the CCAA ... JD Hearn had a steal in both games, giving him eight on eight tries and tying him for the team lead with Brandon Shirley ... Game One: Mora drew his sixth start ... Game Two: Mott earned his team-leading 12th start ... Tim White's fourth-inning triple was his second and UCSD's 20th, still ranking second in the CCAA ... The walk-off triumph marked UCSD's fifth of 2016, first via walk, and first of White's college career.
#TritonsRising
