LA JOLLA —
Jack Large and
John Holleran both went yard, but UC San Diego's offense stayed hot as the Tritons completed the series sweep with a 9-4 win on Sunday.
Another crooked number inning lifted the host Tritons once again as UC San Diego improved to 24-13 overall and 20-12 in the CCAA. The Warriors, however, have lost five straight and fell to 20-20 overall and 16-18 in league play. Stanislaus has fallen to ninth place in the standings, but is still just two games out of sixth place for a CCAA tournament spot.
Large tied the game in the seventh inning with a two-run bomb to right-center to give the Warriors some hope.
Braeden Oki had singled with one out earlier in the frame. But UC San Diego answered with five runs with a two run double by Tyler Durna and a two run single by Zander Clarke. The Tritons were helped by more free bases with two walks and a hit-batsman.
Holleran had given Stan State a two-run lead in the first with a homer to right, which followed a Large double. UCSD answered that Warrior lead, too, with two runs in the bottom of the first to even the score.
Large finished the day 4-for-5, hitting safely in his first four at bats.
The four-game set belonged to UC San Diego, which batted .400 with 60 hits — 20 of them for extra bases (16 doubles, two triples, two homers). The Tritons outscored the Warriors 38-10.
Four Warriors had five hits over the weekend with
Vinny Margiotta going 5-for-11 (.455). Oki (.385) and Large (.357) also had five hits in four games.
The stellar Stanislaus pitching staff had a tough weekend, too, allowing 36 earned runs for a 10.68 ERA over four games. Chico State has now surpassed the Warriors as having the best pitching staff with a 3.72 ERA. Stan State's team ERA is now 3.79.
Stanislaus State will host its final home series this week with Cal Poly Pomona visiting Turlock. The four-game set starts Friday night at 6 p.m.