TURLOCK, Calif. - The 27th-ranked UC San Diego baseball team was dominant at the plate, on the mound and in the field in producing a thorough 11-0 thrashing over Cal State Stanislaus to open a four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series at Warrior Baseball Field on Friday night.
The Warriors entered their second straight home weekend as arguably the hottest team in the CCAA, winners of 11 of 13. Not hot enough, however, for quite possibly the best pitcher in all of the NCAA Division II for this 2015 season in Triton ace Justin Donatella, who effectively wrapped up the CCAA Most Valuable Pitcher award.
Donatella (8-1) made perhaps his best bid for a collegiate no-hitter, scattering two hits, both of which were inches away from being caught, while hitting one batter and walking none over eight complete innings before taking a seat with 102 pitches thrown and the game well in hand. His six strikeouts matched his low for the season, but increased his league-leading total to 88. He lowered his ERA to a CCAA-best 0.55, moving up from No. 6 to No. 3 nationally in Division II.
UCSD improved to 27-14 overall and 22-10 in the CCAA. Cal State Stanislaus dropped to 18-21 overall and 13-16 in league play. With Cal Poly Pomona's come-from-behind 6-4 home win over Cal State L.A. earlier Friday, the Tritons (.688) remain just percentage points behind the first-place Broncos (21-9, .700) in second in the conference standings.
Donatella, the reigning CCAA and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association West Region Pitcher of the Week, went to a three-ball count just twice on Friday, and not after the leadoff man in the fourth. No opponent made it past second base for a second straight outing. He needed just seven pitches to get through the first, turned in another perfect frame in the second, ending that one with a called third strike for his initial punch-out, and set down all three Warriors on the infield in the third. Donatella had three more 1-2-3 frames in the fourth, sixth and seventh. He only ran into some mild trouble in the eighth via leadoff double and one-out hit-by-pitch, but he punctuated his effort with back-to-back swinging strikeouts.
True freshman Jack Rupe, Jr. (San Marcos/Mission Hills HS), struck out the side in the ninth to put the finishing touches on UCSD's 10th shutout, a new program record over all divisions. The 1987 team that made it to the NCAA Division III College World Series had posted nine shutouts.
"(Donatella) did a great job," said UCSD head coach Eric Newman. "He wasn't really that sharp the first two innings, and Stanislaus had some opportunities. They hit a couple of balls hard, but he just kept grinding it out, guys made some great plays behind him, and he fell into that rhythm that we've all seen. From that point on, it was really, really good.
"Part of the reason why his strikeout number wasn't that big, was that Stanislaus had a plan, to swing early, get something early in the count that they could hit and be aggressive. But that also kept his pitch count low, and the strikeouts started to come later on."
Donatella fanned two in each of his final two frames. Meanwhile, as if he needed any, his teammates got him plenty of run support, compiling 15 hits, eight walks and four hit batters, and still incredibly leaving 15 on the bases for the contest. UCSD loaded the bags in four separate innings, in the fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth.
Justin Flatt was the first base-runner by either side, through a two-out infield single in the second, but that was all the Tritons could muster, though they did force 28 pitches from Warrior starter Chris Senn as all four batters worked full counts.
The Tritons struck in the third, getting a clutch two-out, opposite-field RBI double down the right field line from Troy Cruz (Chula Vista/Bonita Vista HS) to plate Brett Levy from third. The senior catcher had pushed a leadoff single up the middle and just under Senn's glove, before advancing on a sacrifice and right-sided groundout.
UCSD put together a two-out rally in the fourth through a gap double from Flatt, the first walk of the night, and a hit-by-pitch, but Senn got Tyler Howsley swinging.
Senior Triton first baseman Michael Mann dove toward the line to corral a sharp grounder off the bat of Scott Stetson to lead off the home fourth, sprung to his feet and sped to the bag to register the out. A mere two pitches later, Stevie Robinson grounded one toward the hole, only for Howsley to likewise make a diving stop. The sophomore shortstop got up and fired, with Mann still having to focus on the one-hopper for the second out. After an inning-ending flyout, UCSD went back to work.
Three straight singles began the fifth and loaded the bases for Jack Larsen. The Tritons' top RBI man picked up his 41st on a fielder's choice grounder to first, with Sanchez beating the throw to the plate. Erik Lewis then drew a six-pitch walk to force in the third run, and Flatt dropped an RBI single in front of deep-playing Warrior rightfielder Christian Kahler to make it 4-0. Brandon Shirley's RBI single through the right side ended Senn's evening without recording an out in the inning.
After Travis Johnston came on for a flyout and called third strike, he plunked Gradeigh Sanchez with a 1-0 pitch and on four more tosses, issued Cruz a free pass, for two more runs. The Tritons ultimately sent 12 to the plate, with the first seven all reaching, to build a 7-0 bulge behind their ace.
The home fifth opened with some intrigue, as Larsen sprinted in toward the gap and came up with Michael Chavarria's fly ball, or so it was thought. The call was out, before the umpire crew convened and changed it, meaning a single for the Warrior second baseman and a first base-runner against Donatella. The 6-foot-6 Saugus product wasn't rattled, needing eight pitches in all to navigate through the frame.
The Tritons loaded the bases in the seventh on just five pitches, going single, groundout, single and hit-by-pitch in quick succession. Mann's single up the middle returned UCSD to station-to-station baseball, making it an 8-0 game. Three consecutive walks with another pitching change in between, to Larsen, Lewis and pinch-hitter Tyler Plantier (Poway/Del Norte HS), forced in three more for 11-0.
Flatt reached base in all four plate appearances before exiting, finishing 3-for-3 with his eighth double, a walk, one run, and an RBI. Cruz went 2-for-3 with a walk, hit-by-pitch, his sixth double, two runs and two RBI. Levy was also 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch, walk and two runs scored. Sanchez added three hits, two runs and an RBI, while Mann collected two hits, two runs and an RBI. Shirley had two hits, with Larsen and Lewis each driving in a pair. Each of the first seven batters in the Triton batting order to start the contest, wound up with at least one RBI.
"Probably not the most, but it was pretty close," remarked Newman about whether tonight marked his club's most comprehensive win of the season. "We did a lot of things well. The guys played well and made some great defensive plays. The one inning we scored (third) and then they started the fourth and (Michael) Mann and (Tyler) Howsley made the diving plays, (Donatella) really settled in after that. We kind of knew he was going to cruise for a little while. In the top half of the (fifth) inning, we put some quality at-bats together and put guys on base."
Senn (1-3) went four-plus frames and gave up seven runs on nine hits. The redshirt freshman right-hander walked two, hit one, and struck out a pair. Senn retired the Tritons in order in the first.
UCSD and Cal State Stanislaus continue their series with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 18. First pitch at Warrior Baseball Field is set for 2 p.m.
"For us, it's a great way to start, but winning one game isn't what we're here for," concluded Newman about winning a ninth straight CCAA series opener behind Donatella. "We are here to try and win three or four. We take each game as they come. Every game has its own identity. But, it is always nice to know that on Fridays, you got a guy that is going to be really, really tough to beat."
Triton Notes: Gradeigh Sanchez has started 17 straight games in the leadoff position ... Tyler Howsley's third-inning bunt gave him his team-best seventh sacrifice hit ... Howsley saw his career-best reached-base streak ended at 11 games ... Troy Cruz, Justin Flatt and Jack Larsen each drew a walk on Friday night, and continue to share the CCAA lead, now with 30 apiece ... Larsen increased his team-best RBI total to 42, now just three behind CCAA leader Kevin Davidson of Cal State Monterey Bay ... Justin Donatella reached double digits (12) in consecutive retired batters to begin a game for the second time in 2015, having set down the first 14 during his one-hit shutout at Cal State East Bay on Feb. 27 ... Donatella also struck out only six vs. SF State on Feb. 13 ... Donatella now has sole possession of first in the CCAA in wins with eight, having previously been tied for the top spot ... Donatella has 21 more strikeouts than his closest CCAA competitor, Cal State L.A.'s Icezack Flemming (67) ... It appears that Donatella has moved from sixth to third nationally in ERA in Division II, with almost as many innings pitched (65.1) as the duo in front of him combined (71.0) ... Donatella unofficially reached 1000 pitches on the season tonight, with 685 strikes ... Donatella earlier Friday was named as one of 30 semifinalists for the second annual Brett Tomko Award, presented by D2 Baseball News to the top pitcher nationally in the NCAA Division II ... The Tritons are a perfect 9-0 in CCAA series openers, all Donatella starts, with six shutouts ... UCSD reached double figures in runs for the 11th time in 2015 ... The Tritons' 10 shutouts rank second nationally behind Franklin Pierce's 11 ... UCSD's 15 runners left on base was their second most of the year, after the 16 the Tritons left in a 19-2 home defeat of Azusa Pacific on April 7 ... UCSD has won seven straight over the Warriors, and is 22-7 in Turlock since joining the CCAA for the 2001 season.
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