Defense wins championships and it can win or lose rivalry games as well. See whether it was Fullerton or Long Beach’s defense that came away shining. Could San Diego even a crucial WCC series with Loyola Marymount?
And UC Santa Barbara had quite an offensive day, but one impressive Gaucho hit streak did come to an end.
That plus all of Saturday’s Southern California college baseball action with photo galleries from the rivalry matchups in San Diego and Fullerton:
Long Beach State 3, #12 Cal State Fullerton 2
Garrett Hampson hit two doubles and scored two runs in supoort of Andrew Rohrbach, but it was the defensive effort of Long Beach State (11-10) and the defensive ineptitude of Cal State Fullerton (12-8) that proved to the be the difference. The Dirtbags even the non-conference series at Fullerton with a 3-2 win.
Click the link above to read the full recap and see the photo gallery (video interviews to be added later).
San Diego State 5, UNLV 2
Tony Gwynn went to closer Michael Cederoth in the seventh inning and the top prospect junior closed the door with 2.1 scoreless innings to secure a 5-2 win for San Diego State (17-5, 5-3). Bubba Derby picked up the win: 6.2 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K.
Four Aztec hitters had two hits and each of them added something extra: Tim Zier (2 SB), Ty France (R, 2B, BB), Brad Haynal (2 R, HR, 2 RBI) and Steven Pallares (2B, RBI, SB). Joey Swanner and Justin Jones each had three hits for the Rebels (15-7, 8-3).
Loyola Marymount 5, San Diego 3
For the fourth year in a row, Loyola Marymount (15-8, 5-0) has taken the West Coast Conference series with San Diego (14-8, 3-2) — one that could be crucial at the end of the season. The Lions took a 5-3 victory behind six strong innings from Patrick McGrath (3 H, ER, BB, 2 K).
Cole Trezek put the Lions ahead in the fifth inning with an RBI single to score Kevin Garcia. Garcia drove in the game’s first run with an RBI single and added a solo home run in the seventh inning. Trezek had two hits, run and an RBI
The Toreros got the tying run to the plate after Andrew Daniel hit a two-run homer in the ninth, but they couldn’t make it happen. Connor Joe and Josh Goossen-Brown had two hits each.
Here’s CBD photographer David Cohen’s top photos from the game:
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Stanford 6, USC 2
Trojans senior southpaw Bob Wheatley had a short outing for his second straight start. He gave up four runs (two earned) three hits and walked five in 3.1 innings. Wheatley was bested by freshman Cal Quantrill, who allowed only one run in 6.1 innings. A.J. Vanegas pitched the final 2.2 innings to pick up his first save.
Blake Lacey was 3-for-4 with an RBI for USC USC (11-10, 2-3). Brett Michael Doran drove in three runs for Stanford (8-9, 1-1) while Drew Jackson scored three times.
#14 UCLA 4, Washington State 2
The Bruins (13-8, 4-1) evened the series with Washington State (9-10, 3-2) behind another strong performance from junior lefty Grant Watson: 8 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), BB, 5 K. David Berg, of course, finished off the game with a quick ninth inning to pick up his sixth save.
UCLA’s Brian Carroll and Shane Zeile were both 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI while Luke Persico drove in a pair of runs. Patrick McGrath drove in both of the Cougars’ runs.
UC Santa Barbara 13, Wagner 3 (Gm 1)
UC Santa Barbara (15-3) scored 13 runs on 14 hits and five Wagner errors, including three by shortstop Nick Mascelli in a five-run third inning. Robby Nesovic picked up the win: 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 6 K.
Jackson Morrow had three RBI while Andrew Calica was 3-for-4, wtih two runs and two RBI. Ryan Clark added a strong performance as well: 2-for-4, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, SB. Mascelli was 2-for-3 with a run to lead 2-13 Wagner.
UC Santa Barbara 7, Wagner 1 (Gm 2)
Austin Pettibone, Santa Barbara’s presumed ace entering the season, made his 2014 debut Saturday. He allowed one earned run in a controlled three-inning start and was given the win. Andrew Vazquez struck out nine and allowed only one hit in 4.2 innings while Dillon Tate collected the final four outs for his fifth save.
Andrew Calica and Ryan Clark continued their strong days. Calica went 3-for-5 with a run and two RBI while Clark was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Joey Epperson did have his 24-game hit streak snapped after an 0-for-3, BB performance:
Here are some of the details of Joey Epperson’s 24 game hit streak (.483 AVG) which came to a close today #chOmaha pic.twitter.com/9gbch9U0os
— UCSB Baseball (@UCSB_Baseball) March 23, 2014
Pepperdine 4, Santa Clara 2
Pepperdine (16-6, 3-2) hit for the cycle as a team in the seventh inning, erasing a 2-0 deficit and taking a 4-0 win at Santa Clara (9-13, 0-2) to win the WCC series.
Bryan Langlois doubled, Aaron Brown tripled, Aaron Barnett singled after a sacrifice fly and then Kolten Yamaguchi put the Waves ahead with a two-run homer. Jackson McClelland picked up the win, allowing two earned runs in seven innings. Eric Karch picked up his seventh save.
UC Irvine 4, Grand Canyon 0
Who needs offense? UC Irvine (15-7) hasn’t needed much this weekend. The ‘Eaters got back-to-back shutouts with Elliot Surrey following Andrew Morales’ lead. Surrey allowed only four hits and no walks while striking out six.
Jerry McClanahan had two hits and drove in two runs. Taylor Sparks also had two hits and added a run, triple and RBI. David Walker had two of the 10-11 Antelopes’ four hits.
