UC RIVERSIDE vs. COLUMBIA
UCR 14 – Columbia 5
UCR 6 – Columbia 4
UCR 15 – Columbia 5
The UC Riverside Baseball Team completed the three-game sweep of the Columbia Lions with a 15-5 win at the Riverside Sports Complex Sunday afternoon. Carl Uhl drove in five runs on the day and Tony Nix extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a fourth-inning double. The win is the fifth straight for the Highlanders (14-3) and 11th in the past 12 games.
Columbia (1-9) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second as the Highlanders committed three errors in the inning to bring home the unearned run.
UCR didn’t trail for long, however, as Trevor Hairgrove opened the bottom of the third with a walk and Carl Uhl followed with a blast over the right field wall for a 2-1 Highlanders lead. Michael Hur drew a one-out walk, and Ryan Goetz double to right field advanced Hut to third. Nix’s sac fly to center brought home the Highlanders’ third run of the game.
The Lions tied things up in the top of the fourth as Ron Williams opened the inning with a double to right center, advancing to third on a Ferrera groundout two batters later. An Applebee wild pitch brought him home with Columbia‘s second run of the day. Billy Rumpke beat out an infield single and came home with the tying run on an Andy Lamping triple to left.
UC Riverside regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Uhl doubled home Daniel Pellegrino for his third RBI of the game chasing Lions starter Dan Bracey. Clay Bartlett replaced Bracey with runners on second and third and one out. Joey Gonzales greeted Bartlett with a line drive that ate up firstbaseman Williams and dribbled into right field scoring a pair.
Gonzales stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch, and Hur joined him on the basepaths after he was hit by a pitch. Nix ran his hitting streak to 15 straight with a double to left, plating both Gonzales and Hur to make the score 8-3 UCR.
The Highlanders tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth as Hairgrove chased Bartlett with an RBI double, and Bartlett‘s replacement, Joey Mizzone, gave up a sacrifice fly to Uhl for the center fielder’s fourth RBI of the day.
Matt Larkins replaced Applebee to start the sixth inning pitching two scoreless frames. Meanwhile, the UCR offense kept up the pressure in the bottom of the sixth as Eddie Young drove in a run with a pinch-hit single to right. In the bottom of the seventh, Michael Nesbitt came through with a pinch-hit run-scoring single of his own.
The Lions worked UCR reliever Kevin Dickey for a single run in the eighth, but the Highlanders got three back in the bottom half of the inning to make it 15-4. Kolby Moore came in to close out the game in the ninth, giving up a single run for the 15-5 final margin of victory.
CAL POLY SLO vs. CALIFORNIA
Cal 12 – SLO 8
SLO 10 – Cal 5
SLO 11 – Cal 4
BERKELEY, Calif. – Junior right-hander DJ Mauldin scattered seven hits and junior left fielder Luke Yoder belted a grand slam to lead No. 15 Cal Poly to an 11-4 victory over California in the final game of a three-game non-conference baseball series Sunday afternoon at Evans Diamond.
Mauldin (2-1) struck out six and walked two – both in the first inning when Cal scored twice for an early 2-0 lead – and gave up four runs, all earned, in seven innings of work for the win.
The win gave Cal Poly the series, two games to one, and improved the Mustangs’ record to 11-4. Cal fell to 9-7.
Junior first baseman Wes Dorrell went 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBIs while sophomore designated hitter D.J. Gentile drove in three runs with a pair of hits. Freshman second baseman Matt Jensen also had two hits as Cal Poly outhit the Golden Bears 12-9.
Second baseman Jeff Kobernus, catcher Dylan Tonneson and designated hitter Brian Guinn each had two hits for Cal – one of Guinn’s hits a triple.
After Cal scored twice in the bottom of the first inning, Cal Poly answered with a run in the second on a line drive home run to right by Gentile.
The Mustangs erupted for seven runs in the third to take an 8-2 lead. Yoder provided the big blow – a first-pitch grand slam to left field – and Dorrell added a run-scoring single.
Cal scored single runs in the third and fourth innings to cut Cal Poly’s lead to 8-4, but the Mustangs restored the advantage to six runs with a pair in the sixth. Gentile and Jensen knocked in the runs with singles.
Cal Poly added another run in the eighth on Dorrell’s single into the right-field corner.
The loss went to Cal starter Erik Johnson (1-1), who allowed eight hits, only three of which were earned, and six hits in three innings with one walk and four strikeouts.
Juniors right-hander Mark DeVincenzi and Kevin Castner each pitched an inning in relief of Mauldin for the Mustangs.
Cal Poly scored 29 runs on 40 hits in winning its fourth series of the season. Dorrell went 9-for-15 with five RBIs while senior center fielder Ryan Lee was 6-for-13, junior first baseman Adam Buschini 6-for-14 and Gentile 5-for-13 with four RBIs.
OKLAHOMA STATE TOURNAMENT
CAL STATE FULLERTON vs. RHODE ISLAND
CSF 17 – RI 3
CSF 4 – RI 3
CAL STATE FULLERTON vs. OKLAHOMA STATE
CSF 8 – OK St. 4
OK St. 10 – CSF 6
STILLWATER, Okla. – Tyler Pill’s pinch-hit double in the seventh inning tied the game, and Khris Davis’ sac-fly won it for the Titans in the eighth as No. 6 Cal State Fullerton came back to beat Rhode Island, 4-3, in the final game of the Oklahoma State Tournament Sunday afternoon at Reynolds Field.
The Titans improve to 13-3 on the year and complete their 11-day, 8-game road trip with a 7-1 record with wins over nationally-ranked Texas A&M and Oklahoma State to their credit. They swept the 2-game series with the Rams and now return to Fullerton for a three-game set with Oral Roberts.
Freshman right-hander Noe Ramirez (3-0) picked up his third win of the year fanning a season high eight Rams along the way. Ryan Ackland and Michael Morrison each worked a scoreless inning with Morrison earning his third save of the year by preserving the one-run lead.
Righty Luke Demko fell to 1-2 on the year allowing the Titans’ eight inning game-winning run.
The Titans got on the board quickly off starter Eric Smith as Gary Brown led off the game with a triple to the gap in left-center. He promptly crossed home on ball that got away from catcher Milan Adams to give the Titans an early 1-0 advantage.
Rhode Island bounced back with first-inning runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning, scoring three times off Noe Ramirez. Leadoff man Zoey Angulo started things for the Rams by reaching on a throwing error by third baseman Gary Brown, then advancing to third on a double by Oliver Palmer. After Ramirez’s first strikeout for the first out of the inning, Rob DeVeney singled up the middle to give Rhody a 2-1 lead. After a hit batter and another strikeout, Mike LeBel, drove home another with a single of his own. Jeff Cammons, aboard on the HBP, rounded third too far and was caught in a rundown to end the Rams’ rally.
Noe Ramirez held the Rams to four hits and just one earned run though seven innings of work.
The score remained 3-1 in favor of Rhode Island until the seventh as Fullerton rallied for a pair of runs of Smith to tie the game at 3-3. Back-to-back doubles by Khris Davis and Jeff Newman (bunt) set up Pill’s pinch hit double down the right field line that evened the scored and knocked smith from the game.
In the eighth, Christian Colon led off with a single up the middle and was sacrificed to second by Josh Fellhauer. Jared Clark walked and then Nick Ramirez singled to load the bases for Davis. Davis‘ fly out to right was deep enough for Colon to score from third with the go-ahead and eventual game-winner off Demko.
Ackland pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and gave the ball to Morrison for the ninth. Morrison allowed a single to DeVeney who advanced to second on a Colon throwing error, but the Titan closer struck out two and got a ground ball to close it out.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE vs. SAN JOSE STATE
CSN 4 – SJSU 3 (11)
SJSU 6 – CSN 5
SJSU 6 – CSN 1
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.- – Unlike the first two games of the series, the Cal State Northridge Matadors (6-10) were unable to muster a late-inning charge Sunday afternoon at Matador Field as they fell to the San Jose State Spartans (11-3) for the second straight game by a score of 6-1.
Northridge third basemen Ryan Pineda extended his Big West Conference-leading hit streak to 16 games and has now hit safely in every Matador game this season. Pineda extended the streak with an RBI single to center field, scoring left-fielder Richard Cates in the bottom of the seventh that put CSUN on the board.
Pineda is currently leading the Matadors in several offensive categories. He has now 26 hits on the season, 18 RBI’s, and is batting .406. He also leads the team in home runs with five and in runs scored with 13.
Spartan starting pitcher Scott Sobczak (3-0) kept the Matadors off the board most of the afternoon. The right-hander limited Northridge to only one run on six hits in his seven innings of work and got plenty of run support early.
San Jose State wasted no time jumping on Northridge on Sunday. In the top-half of the first inning, second basemen Michael Reiling and third basemen Tyler Heil would lead off the game by reaching base on a walk and on a single respectively. Reiling would later score on a wild pitch giving San Jose State an early 1-0 lead.
Similar to Saturday’s game, the third inning would be the most damaging for CSUN. The Spartans racked up three runs on four hits highlighted by a two run single off the bat of right-fielder John Shaffer.
In the home half of the third, Northridge looked like they would provide yet another comeback effort. Shortstop Jason Dabbs hit a one out single off Spartan shortstop Kyle Bellow’s glove. CSUN then executed a hit and run, with second basemen TS Reed providing the hitting and Dabbs supplying the running. With runners at the corners, center fielder Jeff Pruitt was next but could not continue the rally as he hit into an inning ending double play.
Despite the loss, the Matador bullpen provided great relief and kept the game from getting out of hand. In the top of the fourth, Matador reliever P.J. Rousey retired the Spartans in order including striking out two batters.
In the top-half of the fifth, Northridge reliever Jimmy Jolicoeur entered the game after the Spartans loaded the bases. With only one out in the inning, Jolicoeur would get the Matadors out of the jam by striking out the next two batters swinging.
Right-handed reliever Brian Slover pitched two shutout innings for the Matadors, striking out three batters. Slover lowered his sparkling ERA to 0.82 with his performance Sunday.
In total, the Matador relievers combined to strike out eight batters in their six innings of relief.
LBSU vs. WASHINGTON STATE
WSU 9 – LBSU 0
WSU 8 – LBSU 5
LBSU 6 – WSU 5
LONG BEACH, Calif. – TJ Mittelstaedt was two-for-three with a double and triple and scored the game-winning run for Long Beach State as the Dirtbags completed a 6-5 comeback win over Washington State on Sunday.
Washington State put three on the board in the top of the first. Patrick Claussen and Shea Vucinich started off the game with consecutive singles. Following a sacrifice fly, a two-run single by Alex Burg put the Cougars ahead 3-0. The Cougars added a fourth run in the third inning after a second sacrifice fly.
Long Beach State got on the board in the bottom half of the third inning. Steve Tinoco started the rally with a single, and that was followed by another hit from Kellen Hoime, dropping a ball into left-field just in front of a sliding Claussen. Jonathan Jones singled in a run, and TJ Mittelstaedt added two more with a double into right field.
A third sacrifice fly would provide Washington State with a two-run lead in the sixth, but Long Beach State would answer again in the bottom half of the inning. Rylan Sandoval walked to start a two-out rally, Brennan Metzger singled to put two runners on, and then Mittelstaedt doubled to score both runs tying the game at five.
From there, Charlie Ruiz continued the theme of comeback nights. Turning again to the junior closer one inning early in the eighth, Ruiz entered the game with two runners on a no outs. One wild pitch later, the Cougars had two runners in scoring position, but Ruiz and catcher Kellen Hoime combined to corral Ruiz’ splitter, getting an infield groundout and two strikeouts to end the inning and keep the game tied.
In the bottom half of the inning, Long Beach State would take the lead for the first time. Mittelstaedt started off the inning with his third triple of the year, and two batters later Rylan Sandoval drove home Mittelstaedt with a single to right field in what would be the winning run.
Dustin Rasco entered the game and pitched a scoreless ninth to collect his first save of the season.
PACIFIC vs. HOUSTON
Pacific 13 – Houston 1
Pacific 7 – Houston 6
Pacific 10 – Houston 2
STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific baseball team swept its first series of 2009, taking the final game over Houston, 10-2 on Sunday, March 15. The series sweep is the Tigers’ first since doing so over Cal State Northridge to close out the 2006 season.
Pacific improved to 6-8 overall after the sweep, while Houston dropped to 3-14 on a four-game losing streak.
Junior RHP Hunter Carnevale (Roseville, Calif.) claimed the win with no earned runs on a two-hit gem through seven innings pitched. He moves to 1-2 on the year. RHP Michael Goodnight suffered his first loss of the year, dropping to 2-1.
After Carenvale faced the minimum number of batters in the top of the first, Pacific came into the bottom of the inning for its most productive at-bat of the three-game series against Houston.
Senior DH Joe Oliveira (San Diego, Calif.) and junior center fielder Matt Fuson (Lodi, Calif.) were retired in order to open the inning for two quick outs. Sophomore left fielder Nick Longmire’s (San Diego, Calif.) patience at the plate paid off, when he drew a walk on a full-count. With no other options, senior right fielder Mike McKeever (San Diego, Calif.) drove a two-out double into right field to score Longmire (.314 average, 1-for-3, 1 RBI) and put Pacific ahead 1-0. McKeever (.319 average, 2-for-4, 3 RBI) then moved over to third base in the next at-bat on a wild pitch. One pitch later, sophomore second baseman J.B. Brown (Alvin, Texas) connected for a single to score McKeever from third, running the scoreboard up 2-0.
Senior catcher Kurt Wideman (Fallbrook, Calif.) then saw a passed ball, which helped Brown get to second base and in scoring position. With a full count, Wideman (.391 average, 1-for-2, 1 double) walked to put runners on first and second. That brought up junior third baseman Mike Walker (Marysville, Calif.). Goodnight missed his release point and threw a pitch that brushed Walker, loading the bases. Sophomore first baseman Brian Martin (Livermore, Calif.) (.357 average, 3-for-4, 3 RBI) drove in two runs when he singled out to right field, then advanced to second on the right fielder’s throwing error trying to tag Brown (.370 average, 2-for-5, 1 RBI) out at the plate. William Kankel overthrew to his catcher and the ball rolled into Houston‘s dugout, as the umpires automatically granted Wideman homeplate. Pacific then took a 5-0 lead with two outs in the first inning. Junior shortstop Ben Gorang (Turlock, Calif.) ended the inning grounding out to shortstop.
Carnevale (5.23 ERA) came back to the mound and again retired the Cougars’ line-up in order. Pacific’s starter’s diligence on the mound paid off, as he had a no-hitter heading into the sixth inning. Through that period of time, Carnevale recorded six strikeouts.
Relievers senior Larry Holscher (McArthur, Calif.) and junior Andrew Mintun (Stockton, Calif.) continued Pacific’s defensive spectacle, combining for two hits in two scoreless innings of relief.
UC DAVIS vs. SACRAMENTO STATE
Sac. State 5 – UCD 3
UCD 9 – Sac. State 3
Sac. State 10 – UCD 1
DAVIS, Calif. – Tommy Elrod pitched a complete game and allowed one run off six hits, and Sacramento State put up six runs in the fifth inning to win the rubber game of the Causeway Cup Series, 10-1, over UC Davis at Dobbins Stadium Sunday afternoon. The victory helps the Hornets claim their first series victory over the Aggies since the 2002 season.
It also marked the first series of the season for Sac State and improves them to 6-8 overall. The Aggies drop to 3-12 with the loss. The win for the Hornets also gives them the overall lead in points standings for the 2008-09 Causeway Cup.
Elrod, who recorded the first complete game of his Hornet career, allowed only one run off six hits and struck out five batters to earn his first win of the season. The Hornets scored all 10 of their runs in the first five innings of the game.
Jeff Roth led the Hornets with a game-high two hits and three RBIs while also scoring a run. Tim Wheeler chipped in with two hits, two RBIs and a double along with scoring a game-high two runs. Derrick Chung and Blake Crosby also scored two runs in the game.
The Aggies’ lone run came in the fourth inning off the bat of junior Jared Thompson. Sophomore Daniel Cepin tied a game-high with two hits while junior Ty Kelly singled and scored a run. The run in the fourth inning came off a ground out that allowed Kelly to come home from third base.
The Hornets platted two runs in the second and third innings to take a 4-0 lead. Roth singled home both runs in the second. The two runs in the third came off an error and a hit batsmen with the bases loaded.
Following the Aggies’ run in the fourth, Sac State broke the game open with six runs in the fifth inning. Wheeler highlighted the huge inning with a two-run double down the right field line.
UC IRVINE vs. TULANE
UCI 7 – Tulane 5
Tulane 6 – UCI 3
UCI 5 – Tulane 4
IRVINE, Calif. — Casey Stevenson’s two-out bloop single eluded diving right-fielder Drew Allain and drove in Maverick Olivares from second to give No. 10 UC Irvine a 5-4 series win against Tulane Sunday at Anteater Ballpark. It was the second time Stevenson came up with the winning hit this season as the junior hit a bases-loaded walk-off single against South Alabama last week for a 6-5 decision.
UC Irvine (10-5) watched a 3-0 lead disappear following a four-run eighth by the Green Wave (11-7). The Anteaters broke through the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth on a solo home run by Cory Olson to lead off the inning, his second round-tripper of the season. UCI added a run in the frame as pinch hitter Jordan Leyland drove a 2-0 pitch up the middle to score Ben Orloff, who had reached second on a two-base error by Tulane. A wild pitch by Tulane reliever Mason Griffin yielded an Anteater run in the sixth for the three-run lead.
However, Tulane responded in the eighth with three consecutive one-out singles off reliever Eric Pettis to get on the board, 3-1. After securing the second out, third baseman Ryan Mistich gave the Green Wave the 4-3 lead with a three-run shot over the left-field wall, his first of the season.
The Anteaters punched back in the ninth. Jeff Cusick drew a walk to lead off the inning and then gave way to pinch-runner Sammy Donabedian. Oliveras singled to left and Francis Larson drove a pitch up the middle to score Donabedian for the tying run. Reliever Preston Claiborne entered in relief for Nick Pepitone and secured the second out before facing Stevenson.
UCI starter Crosby Slaught gave the team a career-high performance of 5.1 scoreless innings and five strikeouts. The right-hander walked just one while scattering five hits in the no-decision. Junior Cory Hamilton pitched 1.2 shutout innings, striking out one, walking two and yielding one hit. Pettis picked up the win to improve to 2-0.
Tulane starter Josh Zeid held UCI to two runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out four in 4.2 innings. Pepitone fell to 0-3 after giving up two runs in 1/3 innings.
UCSB vs. ST. MARY’S
St. Mary’s 7 – UCSB 4
UCSB 9 – St. Mary’s 2
UCSB 7 – St. Mary’s 5
UCSB 25 – St. Mary’s 11
MORAGA, Calif. – Eric Oliver had two home runs and eight RBI and Robby Cummings also homered twice as part of his five RBI day as No. 23 UC Santa Barbara throttled St. Mary’s 25-11 at Louis Guisto Field on Sunday. UCSB (12-4) has won three in a row after dropping the series opener to the Gaels (10-7).
The 25 runs are the most the Gauchos have scored in a game since beating Westmont 25-3 on April 15, 2008. Sunday’s offensive outburst gives UCSB a total of 45 runs scored in the four-game series, a weekend after sweeping Loyola Marymount in four games and compiling 44 hits in that series.
Junior right-hander Mike Ford had a rough start, giving up seven runs in 2.2 innings. Clayton Edwards (1-2) earned his first win of the year by throwing 3.1 innings of relief. He gave up four runs, all unearned. St. Mary’s starter Taylor Reid (1-3) took the loss for the Gaels.
Eight different Gauchos had two or more hits on the day. Cummings led the way with four hits, including his two home runs. In UCSB’s five games this week he homered five times and tallied 12 RBI.
Cummings now leads the team in several offensive categories. His six home runs, 29 RBI, and 44 total bases are all team-highs. He is also tied for the lead with five doubles, and is second in batting average at .356. He is off to a blistering start, averaging almost two RBI per game.
Senior first baseman Eric Oliver also homered twice, his second and third of the season. He scored three times and drove in a game-high eight runs. He fell two short of the UCSB single game RBI record of 10, set by Danny Lane on March 24, 1991. Oliver becomes the first player in UCSB history to record eight RBI in a game.
