There were only five games on the Southern California slate Tuesday night, but there was still plenty of action. San Diego State tried to announce its presence with authority at Fowler Park and take the city rivalry season series for the second year in a row.
USC and UCLA tried to even season series while Taylor Sparks went ya-ya for UC Irvine and Cal Poly’s had a late inning offensive explosion.
All of that in a roundup of Tuesday’s Southern California college baseball action with photo galleries from three of the five matchups:
San Diego 7, San Diego State 1
San Diego State (21-8) held a 1-0 lead and TJ Kendzora hadn’t allowed a runner to reach second base, but Andrew Daniel turned things around in the third inning with a two-run homer for the Toreros (19-9).
San Diego rode the momentum to a 7-1 win, adding a run in the fifth inning and then busting the game open with three runs in the seventh. San Diego State managed only three hits on the night while Connor Joe and Jesse Jenner both had three hits for the Toreros.
Check out CBD photographer David Cohen’s top photos from the game :
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UCLA 5, Loyola Marymount 3
Grant Dyer improved to 4-2, allowing two earned runs in 5.2 innings, as UCLA (17-10) evened the season series with LMU (17-12). Christoph Bono led the Bruins offensively, reaching three times with two doubles, a run and an RBI. Chris Keck also reached three times, scored and drove in a run. Tanner Donnels supplied the Lions offense, driving in all three runs with three separate RBI singles.
Pepperdine 4, UC Irvine 3
Despite being outhit 10-5, Pepperdine took a 4-3 win over UC Irvine. The Waves (21-7) took advantage of a pair of Irvine errors to score two unearned runs, which proved to be the difference Tuesday afternoon. Matt Maurer improved to 3-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.96 on the season: 5 IP, 6 H, ER, 4 K.
Aaron Brown was 2-for-3 with a double and a run while Hutton Moyer scored a pair of runs and drove in another even though he was only 0-for-1. John Brontsema led the ‘Eaters, reaching three times and scoring twice. Taylor Sparks scored the other Irvine run when he crushed a full-count pitch out to centerfield — a feat not often accomplished at Eddy D. Field Stadium.
Check out some of CBD photographer Mark Alexander’s shots from the game:
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Cal Poly 6, Bakersfield 1
Trailing 1-0 and having only three hits in the game, Cal Poly’s offense exploded in the seventh inning for six runs on seven hits to improve to 24-4. Zack Zehner was a perfect 4-for-4 with a run and an RBI to lead the Mustangs. Mylz Jones was 2-for-4 and drove in the only run for Bakersfield (11-16).
Slater Lee had an encouraging start for Cal Poly, allowing five hits and one run while striking out six in 6.1 innings, but Taylor Chris came up huge in the seventh inning when Lee departed with one out and two men in scoring position. Chris got a strikeout and a flyout to keep the deficit 1-0 until the offense came alive in the next half inning.
USC 4, Long Beach State 3
USC took a sloppy 4-3 victory thanks to an eighth inning RBI double into the left-centerfield gap by Jake Hernandez that brought Timmy Robinson around from first base.
Trailing 2-1, Long Beach State (13-12) scored two runs in the sixth inning on a two-out bases loaded error and a subsequent infield single, but USC evened the game in the seventh inning when Garrett Stubbs laced a full-count, two-out RBI single through the right side.
Neither starter, Brent Wheatley (5.1 IP, 3 H, 3 UER) or Ryan Millison (4 IP, 2 H, UER, career-high 5 K), allowed an earned run, but both took no decisions. James Guillen (3-0) snaked a win after striking out the only batter he faced in the eighth inning.
With closer Kyle Davis unavailable after having thrown six innings on Sunday, USC went to Friday starter Wyatt Strahan in the ninth inning to close it out. He needed only eight pitches for a 1-2-3 final frame to get his first save since his freshman year.
Check out CBD photographer Shotgun Spratling’s top photos from the game :
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