STOCKTON – Overconfidence did not prove to be a problem for UC San Diego. The top-ranked team in the nation and runaway regular season champion of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tritons did not rest on their laurels, much to the chagrin of the Chico State baseball team. The Tritons scored five times in the first inning and held on to beat the Wildcats 8-5 in the opening round of the CCAA Championship Tournament Friday night at Klein Family Field at University of the Pacific.
The Wildcats scratched their way back into striking distance on a few occasions, but never fully broke through despite three hits off the bat of the suddenly-hot Adam Arakawa, who joined Jordan Larson, Michael Murphy, Johnny Hay, and Ben Manlove with an RBI.
Chico State has little time to wonder what might have been with a losers’ bracket game against Cal State San Bernardino scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, just over 12 hours following the final out of Thursday’s game. That game will not only mark the end of this tournament for the loser, but could also spell the end of that team’s season. Cal State San Bernardino, an 8-5 loser against Cal State Dominguez Hills in Thursday’s first game, entered the weekend ranked No. 5 in the West Region and in desperate need of the tournament title, or at the very least a deep run, to work their way into an NCAA Tournament berth. Chico State, on the other hand, will leave things in a committee’s hands in terms of a tournament bid with a loss against the Coyotes.
The winner of Friday morning’s game will advance to play another game Friday at 7 p.m. against the loser of Friday afternoon’s UC San Diego-Cal State Dominguez Hills game.
Things looked promising when the Wildcats got on the board in the top of the first. Jordan Larson was hit by a pitch leading off the game and moved to second on Michael Murphy’s eighth sacrifice bunt of the season. Johnny Hay delivered the two-out RBI with a ground ball up the middle.
But the Tritons struck for five runs in the bottom half of the frame against Wildcats starter Michael Gleason to take control and six of their first seven hitters registered hits.
Chico State had an opportunity to put a major dent in that 5-1 lead when Jackson Evans doubled to lead off the third, Hay reached on an error, and Arakawa singled home a run. But with two on and still no one out, Tritons starter Tim Shibuya struck out Kevin Seaver and Adrian Bringas swinging, and then Braden looking to end the threat.
That’s when Shibuya settled in, retiring eight in a row before Arakawa’s two-out single in the fifth. He had been wiggling out of trouble in each inning prior to that, stranding six through the first three frames, including four in scoring position.
Gleason settled in as well, giving up just one hit following a leadoff triple in the second before Evan Kehoe’s leadoff single in the fifth. But the rough early innings caught up to Gleason in that fifth frame. Robert Sedin ripped a two-out, two-run single to right-center on the 100th pitch of the Chico State aces’s night to stretch the Tritons’ lead to 7-2.
The seven runs and 11 hits Gleason surrendered in his five innings of work were both career highs. He fell to 7-2 in Chico State’s second loss in his 13 starts this season.
The Wildcats had one more chance to break out against Shibuya when they loaded the bases with two down in the seventh. UC San Diego coach Dan O’Brien stuck with O’Brien even though Arakawa, already 3-for-3, was due up. The move paid off as Arakawa grounded out to third to end the threat.
The ground ball out was the 13th Shibuya induced on the evening with an impressive array of heavy pitches down in the zone. He improved to 11-2 with the win, allowing two runs on seven hits in seven frames. He limited the Wildcats to just two hits in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
UC San Diego added to it’s lead with Danny Susdorf’s solo home run in the seventh before the Wildcats clawed their way back into striking distance once again in the eighth.
Bingas singled with one out against reliever Elias Tuma to spark the rally and Braden doubled down the line in right. Manlove’s ground ball to short plated Bringas and allowed Braden to move to third and then score on Larson’s infield single. Larson moved to second on the play when shortstop Vance Albitz tried to throw out Braden at home and then scored on Murphy’s bloop single to right that cut the lead to 8-5.
UC San Diego closer Daniel Simmons came on to get the final out of the frame and then retired the Wildcats in order in the ninth for his third save.
Game 1 – Cal State Dominguez Hills 8, Cal State San Bernardino 5
Junior third baseman Abel Medina homered, doubled and drove in four runs to lead No. 2 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills to an 8-5 victory over No. 3 Cal State San Bernardino in the opening game of the Tournament
Cal State Dominguez Hills broke a 4-4 tie in the sixth inning on run-scoring singles by Ben Benavidez and Andrew Baslow to give the Toros a 6-4 lead against Coyotes starter Brandon Cunniff (8-3).
Baslow, who went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBI, capped the scoring with a two-run home run to center off Cal State San Bernardino reliever Lucas Sanford in the eighth inning.
Senior Bret Montgomery (6-3) started for the Toros and earned the victory after pitching six innings, allowing eight hits, four runs, a walk and striking out seven.
Freshman Andrew Klausmeier collected his second save of the season following three innings of work and surrendering three hits, a run, one walk and striking out two.
Medina provided the early offense for the Toros as he clubbed a two-run home run to right-center field in the first inning and drove in a pair with a double to left-center field in the second that gave Cal State Dominguez Hills a 4-0 lead.
Cal State San Bernardino rallied back with a single run in the third and tied the game in the sixth on a RBI single by Andrew Harrison and a two-run single to left field by James Kono.
Kevin Pillar’s single to center field in the third extended his NCAA Division II-record hitting streak to 52 games. Pillar finished the game with two hits in five at-bats.
In suffering the loss, Cunniff worked 5 2/3 innings, allowed 11 hits, six runs, walked one and struck out three.
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