LA JOLLA, Calif. - The No. 2 UC San Diego baseball team couldn't come all the way back from a 7-1 deficit and lost for the first time this season Sunday as Western Oregon held on for a 7-5 victory at Triton Ballpark.
UCSD (3-1) found itself down by six runs as Western Oregon (1-3) put up a four-spot in the top of the seventh inning to take a 7-1 lead. However, the Tritons answered with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame to get within two at 7-5. UC San Diego had two runners on base in both the eighth and ninth innings, but could not plate any of them.
A total of 12 Tritons were stranded on base in the game.
UCSD won the first three games of the season-opening series by scores of 4-1, 10-2 and 6-1.
"Our guys competed all weekend, and that says a lot - they competed," said UCSD head coach Dan O'Brien. "I'm a little disappointed that they showed up and didn't execute the way they did in the first three games of the series. I know they fought hard and they battled. That's just kind of the makeup of our club, that's how we do things."
In his debut for UCSD, righthander Greg Selarz took the loss, surrendering three runs on seven hits over six full innings. The junior walked two and struck out one. The Triton bullpen gave up the four runs in the seventh.
Wolves' starter Jason Wilson went six and a third innings and gave up five runs on nine Triton hits. He fanned four and walked just one to earn the win. Kirk Lind pitched 2.2 scoreless innings to pick up the save.
Offensively, freshman shortstop Garrett Tuck went 4-for-4 with a double and a run scored for UCSD. Left fielder Aaron Bauman and third baseman Evan Kehoe each had two hits and a run. Center fielder Danny Susdorf and catcher Michael Benton also crossed the plate .
The Tritons were short on RBIs as four of their runs were scored on a balk, a wild pitch and two errors. The lone RBI went to Kehoe, who knocked in the Tritons' fifth and final run with a single in the seventh inning.
Andy Fox and Aaron Headrick both went 3-for-4 for the Wolves. Fox also had two runs and Headrick knocked in a run. Five different players had a RBI.
Western Oregon continued to struggle defensively, committing four errors. In Friday's game, the Wolves racked up five miscues.
WOU wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Grant Glover doubled to left center to lead off the game. Michael Chiarelli's single moved Glover to third and he was plated on a sacrifice fly from Daniel Dillard.
In the second inning, UCSD tied it up with some help from Western Oregon on an interesting play. With one out, Kehoe was hit by a pitch. Following a strikeout, designated hitter K.C. Rentfro doubled to left, advancing Kehoe to third. At this point, Wilson was called for a balk as he stepped on the dirt of the mound while the third baseman had the ball in order to attempt a hidden ball trick on Kehoe. Instead, the balk allowed Kehoe to trot home for UCSD's first run.
The Wolves scored single runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings to go up 3-1. In the fourth, WOU ran a successful squeeze to score its second run of the game. The third run scored as a result of a UCSD fielding error.
All four of Western Oregon's runs in the seventh inning were scored with two outs. With Burns in for Selarz, Glover led off with his second double of the game. He was then sacrificed over to third before a line-out to short gave the Wolves two outs. DH Miles Kizer stroked a double down the right field line, scoring Glover. Eric Abraham took the mound for UCSD and was met by an RBI single from Griffin Boyd. The next batter, Andy Fox, singled to center, which moved Boyd over to third. A passed ball allowed Boyd to come home and Fox to move up to second. Headrick doubled down the left field line and Fox scored to put WOU up 7-1.
Tuck and Bauman started the Triton half of the seventh with back-to-back singles. A ground ball by Susdorf was booted and then thrown into left field as WOU's second baseman tried to go to second to get Bauman. Tuck scored on the play and Bauman ended up at third. A wild pitch allowed Bauman to score and Susdorf to move up to second. Following a strikeout, Benton singled to center and Susdorf scored after the centerfielder threw the ball well over the catcher's head. Benton ended up at third after the play, setting up Kehoe's RBI. Kehoe advanced to second after a pickoff attempt got away. However, the rallied ended as the next two batters went down.
In the eighth, Tuck doubled to right center with one out and Susdorf walked with two outs, but neither was knocked home. With two outs in the ninth, second baseman Blake Tagmyer doubled to left center and Rentfro was hit by a pitch. However, a fly ball to right ended the rally and the game.
In 2010, the Tritons won all four games in the series.
UCSD hosts another four game series next weekend as Mesa State visits Triton Ballpark. The Friday, Feb. 11 opener is at 6 p.m. Saturday's doubleheader is slated for noon and Sunday's final game will begin at 11 a.m.
Tickets are available at Triton Ballpark one hour prior to first pitch. General admission is $5 and UCSD students are admitted free with a valid ID.
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