UC San Diego Blanks Catawba in NCAA Baseball Championship Opener
Originally posted on ucsdtritons.com |
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CARY, N.C. - Sixth-ranked UC San Diego produced a five-run explosion over just a 10-pitch span in a decisive fifth inning and got a combined four-hit shutout on the mound from Preston Mott and Cameron Leonard, to dispatch No. 11 Catawba College, 5-0, in the first game for both sides at the 2019 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship on Sunday afternoon.
Coleman Field at the USA Baseball National Training Complex is serving as the host for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons, and second straight year for the Tritons. The University of Mount Olive and the Town of Cary are again serving as hosts.
With the victory, three-peat West Region champion UC San Diego improves to 41-14 on the year. The Tritons were the designated visitors as the lower No. 6 seed. Third-seeded Catawba falls to 47-13. The Southeast Region champion Indians hail from nearby Salisbury, N.C., about two hours and 120 miles to the west of Cary. In fact, at over 2,500 miles away, UC San Diego had to travel the longest to get to Cary, with Catawba having the shortest distance to go of the eight regional victors to advance.
The Tritons are winners of three straight, with a combined shutout in their Cary opener for a second year in a row. Catawba had entered a winner of its last 13 games, the longest success streak heading into Saturday's start to the tournament. The Indians were shut out for the very first time in 2019. It was a fourth shutout for UC San Diego, and first since another 5-0 decision on March 30.
Both teams return to action on Tuesday, June 4. UC San Diego advances into the winner's bracket at 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. PT) against third-ranked, second-seeded Tampa. The Spartans scored four times in the bottom of the eighth to rally past No. 7 seed Mercyhurst, 4-2, in Sunday's late game. The Tritons will be the home side. Catawba drops into an elimination contest at 12 p.m. PT (3 p.m. ET) against No. 19 Mercyhurst.
The only runs UC San Diego needed came in bulk during a crazy one-out sequence of six successive hits in the fifth. Redshirt junior leftfielder Keenan Brigman had grounded out on a first-pitch comebacker to starting pitcher Bryan Ketchie, who was coming off his first perfect frame and had just retired the last six since a debatable infield single for the Tritons' initial hit with one away in the third.
From there, Ketchie went up 0-2 to Ryan McNally, before the true freshman second baseman from Moraga in Northern California, smacked his second home run of the season narrowly fair inside the left field line. It was tracked at a distance of 389 feet.
Two pitches later, just as unlikely and well-hit a long ball came from No. 9 batter Christopher Schasteen, as the senior centerfielder belted his first of 2019 well over the wall in left and sprinted around the bases. That one was measured at 402 feet.
That was merely the beginning of Ketchie's end in such a sudden reversal of fortunes for the junior left-hander. Back to the top of the order, senior rightfielder R.J. Princetook another 0-2 pitch and grounded it up the middle, beating out an infield single despite a tremendous effort from second baseman Joe Butts. Sophomore shortstop Shay Whitcomb roped a 1-0 toss down the left field line for his California Collegiate Athletic Association-leading 24th double to put both Tritons in scoring position.
Ketchie's very next pitch went the other way, this time pulled inside the right field line for a two-run double by redshirt senior third baseman and left-handed hitter Alex Eliopulos (La Jolla/La Jolla HS). That ended the starter's day, but redshirt sophomore first baseman Blake Baumgartner greeted DJ Laxton with a first-pitch RBI single up the middle that hit the bag and bounded away from Butts' reach to score Eliopulos.
Just like that, it was a 5-0 ballgame, with senior left-hander Preston Mott largely on cruise control on the hill for the Tritons, also benefitting from two big double plays.
Mott (9-1) went 6.2 innings and scattered four singles and a walk, striking out six and facing just three over the minimum. Since giving up a solo home run on his second pitch at Azusa Pacific last Saturday, May 25, in Game 2 of the West Super Regional, Mott has fired 11.0 scoreless frames with seven hits against him, all of them singles.
Mott's first batter Sunday reached base via infield error, but he came back for a first-pitch flyout and swinging strikeout before picking Heath Mitchem off of first base. Mott cleaned up the game's first hit, a one-out single through the right side in the second by Jackson Raper, with a routine 6-4-3 twin killing. He collected his first 1-2-3 frame in the fourth through a 3-1 putout as he covered the bag himself for Baumgartner's flip, his fourth swinging strikeout, and a lineout snared by Whitcomb.
The second double play was started nicely by McNally, going 4-6-3 to end the fifth following a pair of one-out singles. Mott retired the Indians in order in the sixth on 11 pitches. He fanned the first two in the seventh before a one-out single ended his day.
True sophomore right-hander Cameron Leonard took over and was purely dominant, sending back seven of his eight batters faced with a solitary two-out walk in the eighth. The Hemet product registered two strikeouts, four groundouts and a flyout, and turned in a clean ninth on 14 pitches. Three of those groundouts went to McNally.
Earlier in the contest, Brigman made it to third on a two-out dropped fly ball in right by the Indians in the second, but was stranded there through a flyout.
UC San Diego was credited with its first hit of the afternoon with one gone in the third as Prince was given an infield single after the shortstop misplayed his hard-hit grounder. He was left there after a foulout and a strikeout.
Mott began the home third with six straight balls before a strike and a sacrifice bunt put a Catawba runner in scoring position for the first time. He promptly notched a strikeout and first-pitch flyout to get out of that situation.
Eliopulos was 2-for-4 with the double, run and two RBI. Prince went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. McNally and Schasteen were each 1-for-4 with the solo shot.
Ketchie (9-2) gave up all five runs on six hits and one walk over 4.1 frames. He struck out four. Ketchie worked around a walk to Prince to lead off the game, with three flyouts. The first one, off Whitcomb, was a decent catch toward right center by junior centerfielder Bryce Butler. The second, off the bat of Eliopulos, was a spectacular one, as Butler, on a full sprint, dove onto the warning track against the wall in right center to snatch the hot shot and likely rob the Triton star of an RBI double.
Ketchie had the day's first perfect frame, a 12-pitch effort in the fourth on a strikeout, flyout and bunt. The flyout was another tough grab by Butler, up against the wall in center 400 feet away on a deep drive by redshirt sophomore catcher Aaron Kim.
Eliopulos turned in arguably UC San Diego's best defensive play, sliding to his knees toward the line to make a backhand stab and strong throw across the diamond to Baumgartner for the first out of the eighth.