Baseball 4/28/2018 6:00:00 PM UCSD

Tritons Clinch CCAA Tourney Berth With Game-One Win, Settle for Split of Twin Bill and Series

LOS ANGELES - The University of California San Diego baseball team used a 15-hit attack, six of them for extra bases, to down Cal State LA, 11-4, to begin a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) baseball doubleheader at Reeder Field on Saturday. The home side scored four in the sixth to win 7-5 in the seven-inning nightcap, and earn the split of the day, and the four-game weekend series.

With those results, UC San Diego earned win No. 30 and wound up at 30-15 overall and 26-14 in the CCAA. Cal State LA is 24-21 overall and 21-19 in league play. The teams had split their first two meetings in La Jolla, with the Tritons winning 6-3 on Thursday night, and the Golden Eagles responding with a 6-5 victory on Friday night.

Game one clinched a fifth straight CCAA Championship berth for UC San Diego head coach Eric Newman and his club, and the Tritons are thus assured of heading back to Stockton on May 8, for the six-team, double-elimination tournament, May 9-12.

Second-place UC San Diego remained 1.5 games back of 16th-ranked league leader Cal State Monterey Bay (33-12, 27-12 CCAA), which also split a twin bill, at home with San Francisco State.

UC San Diego rounds out the regular season in the week ahead with a third straight split-venue series. The Tritons will be at crosstown rival Cal State San Marcos for single meetings on Thursday, May 3, and Friday, May 4, both at 3 p.m. The four-game set will conclude with a noon doubleheader on Saturday, May 4, on Senior Day at Triton Ballpark in La Jolla. Seven seniors will be recognized in between contests.

Game One - UCSD 11, CSULA 4
UC San Diego started the third with back-to-back singles, as Steven Schuknecht pulled a 1-2 pitch through the right side, and fellow redshirt sophomore Keenan Brigman then produced an opposite-field single to right to put Tritons at the corners. On the ensuing strikeout, the ball got through the catcher's legs, allowing Schuknecht to sprint home with the day's first run. Brandon Stewart then scalded a ball that popped out of third baseman Anthony Moreno's glove and was ruled an error, with Brigman staying put at second. Following a double steal, Tyler Durna went down 0-2 in the count before taking a ball and inside-outing a two-run double down the left field line.

The Tritons added a second straight three-run frame in the third, sending nine to the plate and chasing starting pitcher James Mendez. Justin Beck reached on an error for starters and moved to second on a passed ball. Schuknecht then collected a bizarre RBI double that grounded up the middle and somehow made it all the way to the wall. Brigman came up with an opposite-field single for his second straight at-bat, down the line in right, to knock in Schuknecht. Nick Kitzmann likewise went to the opposite field, lifting a double off the wall in right to put men at second and third. Stewart was hit by a 1-2 toss to load them, and though Mendez rallied from a 3-0 deficit to get Durna swinging, Zander Clarke pulled an RBI single through the left side for 6-0.

Following a pitching change, UCSD squandered an opportunity to pad its lead as Alex Eliopulos (La Jolla/La Jolla HS) and Shay Whitcomb both flew out.

Cal State LA wasted no time in mounting a comeback, getting a two-out, two-run double by Nic Bereaud to the gap in right center. Back-to-back one-out singles had preceded Rupe's first strikeout of the afternoon. His second strikeout stranded Bereaud at third with the score standing at 6-2.

UC San Diego answered those two runs through a two-out rally in the fifth. Brigman contributed his third single in as many at-bats, and after a wild pitch, Kitzmann obliterated his sixth home run of the season well over the wall in right for his second opposite-field, extra-base knock in as many at-bats, and a six-run bulge again at 8-2.

After three straight innings with multiple runs, the Tritons were finally, but barely, blanked in the sixth as they failed to capitalize on a Clarke single and stung double off the wall by Eliopulos, both with just one away.

Cal State LA put two runners on after two were away for the second straight inning in the sixth. This time, however, Rupe wasn't able to wriggle out of it unscathed, as an RBI single up the middle took a massive hop over Whitcomb's head. Rupe's fifth strikeout did, however, strand Golden Eagles at the corners and kept an 8-3 cushion.

A leadoff single, one-out wild pitch and ensuing RBI single up the middle made it 8-4, but with men at first and second, freshman right-hander Cameron Leonard got Bereaud looking to get out of the jam.

UC San Diego reaffirmed its position in the ascendancy with an enormous three-run blast to right by Beck, his sixth on the year. The entire rally was with two outs. Eliopulos singled through the right side and Whitcomb through the left side on the very next pitch.

Senior right-hander Jack Rupe, Jr. (4-2) went 6.0 innings and allowed three runs on nine hits and one walk. The San Marcos product (Mission Hills HS) struck out five. Rupe's own error put a runner on base with one gone in the second, but he promptly wiped that out with a routine 6-3 double play.

Leonard fanned three for his second three-inning save of the season, registering UC San Diego's only 1-2-3 inning of the contest in the eighth on two groundouts and a swinging strikeout.

Brigman finished 3-for-5 with three runs, one RBI and a stolen base. Kitzmann was 2-for-4 with a double, home run, hit-by-pitch, run scored and two RBI.

Rupe got around a two-out double in the first as his centerfielder, Stewart, made the tough catch up against the wall in right center on an opposite-field drive. Brigman made a stellar catch sprinting toward the left field line for the first out of the ninth.

Mendez (4-5) gave up six runs, four earned, on eight hits, one walk and a hit-by-pitch over 3.1 frames, striking out five. He fanned the final two in a perfect first. The senior right-hander wiped out a one-out single in the second with a 3-6-3 double play.

Game Two - CSULA 7, UCSD 5 (7)
UC San Diego was unable to convert two one-out walks into any runs in the opening inning.

Cal State LA got a two-out, two-run single to right by Spencer Sundahl in its first turn at-bat. A triple and RBI single, both with one away, pushed the home side's advantage to 3-0 in the third.

In between, Golden Eagle starter Dylan Suppan walked the bases full after registering two strikeouts to begin the second. He in fact threw nine straight balls, going 3-0 to Durna, before finally throwing a strike, and then Durna lined out sharply to right. The middle walk saw Stewart foul off four 2-2 pitches in a row.

Suppan came out and threw seven straight balls en route to walking the first two hitters in the fourth, before exiting. Michael Palos laid down the sacrifice, but Stewart grounded out to third, with both runners having to hold. Whitcomb came through with a clutch RBI single to center on the first pitch of his at-bat. Durna went down 1-2 in his at-bat, before dropping an opposite-field double just inside the line in left, beyond the sliding Sundahl, with the ball bouncing into the corner to allow Whitcomb to also come all the way around, for a two-run double and 3-3 tie.

Junior right-hander Jonah Dipoto ducked around a two-out double in the home fourth, to put his Tritons right back to work.

UC San Diego got a one-out Beck single and two-out Brigman single, but Palos flied out to keep it a 3-3 game.

Dipoto notched his first perfect inning on 10 tosses in the fifth, with two flyouts and a strikeout.

Stewart opened the sixth with a hustle double, as his little looper dropped just beyond the dive of the Golden Eagle shortstop, and as the ball squirted away, the redshirt freshman kept running and dove safely into second ahead of the throw. Whitcomb swung through a 3-2 pitch, and Durna's right-sided groundout advanced Stewart to third. Clarke walked on four pitches, but Eliopulos bounced out to second base.

Sean Watkins belted a double up against the wall in left center to lead off the home sixth, and unlike the Tritons, Cal State LA was able to get him around to regain a 4-3 edge. A flyout advanced the senior centerfielder, and UCSD intentionally walked Bereaud. Jacob Peabody slapped the ball to Durna, who attempted to start the inning-ending double play, but Whitcomb's throw back was not in time to get the junior second baseman at first, as Watkins came across with the go-ahead run.

Another walk ended Dipoto's day, before a two-run double into the right field corner on a 2-2 pitch by freshman catcher Noe Garcia, and an RBI single up the middle, put CSULA in command, up 7-3.

A one-out hit-by-pitch to Blake Baumgartner and walk to Brigman set things up for Palos to produce a great at-bat, which culminated in a two-run opposite-field double into the right field corner. Cal State LA changed pitchers with a 2-0 count to Stewart. Stewart ended up flying out as Palos advanced to third. Whitcomb walked on four pitches, but Durna also flew out deep to center, to end the game.

Dipoto (4-4) tossed 5.2 innings and allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks. He struck out two.

Dylan Suppan surrendered two runs on no hits and seven walks over 3.0 innings. The junior right-hander struck out five. George Alamillo (3-0) earned his second winning decision of the series.

Triton Notes: Alex Eliopulos is the only Triton to start or even appear in all 45 games ... Tyler Durna had a double in each game to increase his team-leading total to 14 ... Game One: Brandon Stewart batted leadoff for the first time in his college career ... As a result, Shay Whitcomb moved out of the leadoff position for the first time, in his 43rd collegiate start, and hit sixth ... Jack Rupe, Jr., drew his 11th start ... Stewart's third-inning stolen base was his team-best ninth on nine attempts ... Keenan Brigman's third-inning steal was his seventh on eight tries ... Nick Kitzmann's seventh-inning hit-by-pitch was his team-leading 18th ... Cameron Leonard matched the longest outing of his season ... Two more home runs and four doubles gave UC San Diego a CCAA-leading 54 and 88, respectively ... The Tritons reached double figures in runs for the 16th time in 2018 ... Game Two: Michael Palos' fourth-inning sacrifice was his third … Palos' seventh-inning double was his fifth.