Staying close to home was a common theme for the SoCal midweek matchups for all but one team, which had one heck of a road trip just to get to their Tuesday matchup.
San Diego and San Diego State renewed their rivalry while USC faced off with former Trojan head coach Mike Gillespie. And LMU didn’t even have to travel east of Interstate 405 as the Lions faced off with yet another Pac-12 club.
We’ve got your quick roundup of all the games with photo galleries from UC Irvine, Pepperdine and UCLA:
San Diego State 8, San Diego 5
San Diego State (9-3) opened up a 7-0 lead over rival San Diego (8-3), using a six-run third inning, and rode it to an 8-5 win over the team that ended their season last year.
Aztec freshman Andrew Brown notched the first three hits and three RBI of his collegiate career, including launching a solo homer to lead off the seventh inning. Ty France also knocked three hits and drove in two. Greg Allen had two hits, scored two runs and swiped a base.
The Toreros trimmed the lead to 8-5 in the eighth inning, but SDSU closer Michael Cederoth came on for a four-out save without allowing a baserunner. Brandon DeFazio was 2-for-2 with a run for USD.
UC Irvine 6, USC 4
USC (8-3)took an early 2-0 lead on freshman Jeremy Martinez’s first collegiate homer, but the Trojans couldn’t hold a 3-0 lead. The Anteaters (9-3) used a five-run fourth inning, highlighted by a bases loaded double by Kris Paulino, to grab a 6-4 comeback win.
Paulino continued his strong hitting from the weekend, reaching four times and driving in three runs. Catcher Jerry McClanahan was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs for Irvine. For USC, seniors Kevin Swick and Jake Hernandez continued hitting well. Swick had three hits and an RBI while Hernandez was 2-for-3.
Both teams have a reliever named Kyle Davis, but it was Irvine’s Davis (2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R) that picked up the win. ‘Eaters closer Sam Moore, who entered the week tied for the nation lead with five saves, retired all six batters he faced to earn his sixth save.
Here’s the top shots from CBD photographer David Cohen:
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Long Beach State 3, Arizona 2
Long Beach State couldn’t fly out of Kansas after playing Wichita State over the weekend, so to make it to Arizona for a pair of midweek games, the Dirtbags took to the road:
After a 26 hour bus ride. We finally made it from Wichita, Kansas to Tucson, Arizona. Just want to play some baseball
— Richard Prigatano (@RPrigatano) March 3, 2014
Prigatano made the travel troubles worthwhile when he singled home Garrett Hampson in the eighth inning to tie the game 2-2. In the ninth inning, nine-hole hitter Colby Brenner laced an RBI triple down the right field line to score the go-ahead run. Brenner had two hits and two RBI while Colton Vaughn also added two hits.
Kyle Friedrichs came on and pitched a 1-2-3 bottom half of the inning to collect his third save. Long Beach State starter Jason Alexander allowed only one run in six innings.
Loyola Marymount 6, #9 UCLA 1
On Sunday, LMU right-handed pitcher Patrick McGrath wanted to continue the game he had started Saturday night before rain suspended the game in the second inning. The coaching staff didn’t want to run him back out there and risk an injury, but they offered the competitive McGrath a compromise — the opportunity to start the midweek game at defending national champion UCLA (7-5).
McGrath made the most of the opportunity, pitching out of a couple of early jams for a stellar seven-inning outing: 5 H, ER, BB, 3 K. The Lions (5-7) got on the board with runs in the fourth and fifth innings before adding two runs in each the seventh and eighth frames.
LMU leadoff hitter Austin Miller had two hits, a run and an RBI while fellow freshman David Fletcher followed him with three hits, two RBI and a run. Brian Carroll had three hits for UCLA, but the Bruins’ four pitchers not named David Berg all allowed runs.
Here’s the top photos from CBD photographer Shotgun Spratling:
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Pepperdine 2, UNC Wilmington 1
Brandon Caruso came off the bench to deliver a single up the middle that plated the tying run in the sixth inning. Third base coach Rick Hirtensteiner threw up a late stop sign for Aaron Barnett. Wilmington catcher Drew Farber saw an opening and fired a throw to third, but the ball bounced off the fielder’s glove and rolled into no man’s land, allowing Barnett to score what turned out to be the winning run.
UNC Wilmington had chances late, but missed out on opportunities. In the seventh inning, Seahawks pinch runner Stephen Linkous was picked off third base. In the ninth inning, Farber came up with a chance to atone for the earlier error. With runners on first and third, he was frozen at the plate by an inside fastball from Pepperdine closer Eric Karch to end the game.
Bryan Langlois, Brad Anderson and Barnett all knocked two hits for Pepperdine. Reliever A.J. Puckett struck out six in three innings as part of a seven-pitcher attack that head coach Steve Rodriguez said he used to get everyone some work.
Here are the highlights from Pepperdine Athletics:
Here’s the top photos from CBD photographer Shotgun Spratling:
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CSU Bakersfield 3, Cal State Northridge 1
Brett Balkan drove in a run in the top of the first inning to put Northridge (6-6) in front, but a pair of errors on sacrifice bunts led to a three-run sixth inning for Bakersfield (6-6). Logan Trowbridge had a big two-run single to break the tie.
Bakersfield SS Oscar Sanay had three hits while starting RHP James Barrgan tied a career-high with seven strikeouts as he tossed a four-hit complete game — the first of his career — for the Roadrunners. Ryan Raslowsky had two of the Matadors’ four hits and stole a base.
CORRECTION: UNC Wilmington’s Gavin Stupienksi was previously incorrectly identified as the batter who struck out to end the game at Pepperdine.
