2007 CCAA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
Hosted by Cal State L.A.
May 8, 2007
LOS ANGELES – It’s hard to imagine a deeper or most talented field than the one that will be competing for the California Collegiate Athletic Association baseball championship at Cal State L.A.’s Reeder Field beginning on Thursday.
The four-team, double-elimination tournament will feature three teams ranked in the national Top-10 and all four teams rank in the national Top-25. All four teams are also included in the top six in the most recent NCAA Division II West Region poll and all four teams boast individual players who are among the nation’s best in several categories.
In the latest national poll released on Monday, Sonoma State was ranked No. 2, Cal State L.A. was No. 3, Chico State was No. 9 and UC San Diego was No. 24. In the most recent regional poll, Sonoma State was No. 1, Cal State L.A. was No. 2, Chico State was No. 4 and UC San Diego was No. 6.
The CCAA tournament starts on Thursday at 3 p.m. as top-seeded Sonoma State battles fourth-seeded UC San Diego. The host Golden Eagles, seeded second, face third-seed Chico State at 7 p.m. The winner of the CCAA Championship will receive an automatic bid to this year’s NCAA Tournament, which will open on Thursday, May 17, at a site to be announced.
In the latest national statistical reports, through games of April 29, all four teams were well represented. For the host Golden Eagles, outfielder Adam Klein is the national leader in walks with a school-record 60, or 1.24 per game. Hector Molina and Isaac Morales were tied for 12th in victories with nine, while Jeff Carroll was 10th in runs batted in per game (1.36) and 14th in home runs (15). Arturo Reyes was 24th in the nation in saves with seven (he now has eight). The Golden Eagles were 12th in the nation in scoring (8.8 runs per game), 12th in fielding percentage (.967) and 30th in batting average (.336).
Sonoma State was second in the nation in team earned run average (2.52), 17th in fielding percentage (.966) and 60th in scoring (7.2 runs per game). Brett Lysander was seventh in earned run average (1.32), while Bryan Oland is 16th (1.84). Relief ace Paige Dumont is second in the nation in saves (15) and has a remarkable 0.25 earned run average. Eli Rimes is 16th in home runs per game and has 13 on the season.
Chico State is No. 2 in the nation in fielding percentage (.974) and 29th in earned run average (3.71). The Wildcats, who are the defending CCAA and NCAA West Region champions, are also 34th in scoring (8.0 runs per game) and 40th in batting average (.328). Marcus Martinez was sixth in the nation in saves and starters Nick Bryant and Billy Spottiswood were tied for 12th in the nation in wins with nine (Spottiswood has since picked up win No. 10 to lead his team).
UC San Diego is ranked third in the nation in fielding percentage (.973). and ranked 37th in scoring (7.9 runs per game). The Tritons also boast the nation’s leading home run hitter in Matt Cantele, who has 22 on the season. He also leads the nation in slugging percentage at .826. Derek Barham is also 18th in the nation in saves with eight.
PARTICIPANTS
#1 Sonoma State
#2 CSULA
#3 Chico State
#4 UCSD
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Thursday, May 10
Game 1: SONOMA STATE vs. UC SAN DIEGO, 3 p.m.
GAME-BY-GAME RECAPS:
Game 6: Seawolves Beat Tritons To Claim CCAA Crown
Boxscore
LOS ANGELES -- Sonoma State capped an impressive California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament run with a performance worthy of a champion.
The Seawolves scored 11 runs over the final three innings to pull away from UC San Diego, 15-5, in the tournament championship Saturday at Cal State L.A.'s Reeder Field. Sonoma State (49-10), ranked No. 2 in the country and No. 1 in the West Region, won all three of its games in the tournament and claimed its fourth CCAA Championship since the tourney was established in 1999.
Tourney host Cal State L.A., ranked No. 3 in the nation and No. 2 in the West Region, will await the NCAA playoff pairings which will be announced Sunday night. CCAA schools Cal State L.A., Sonoma State, Chico State and UC San Diego all figure to be among the six teams selected from the region for the 48-team field.
Chase McGuire, who had two more runs batted in and scored twice on Sunday, was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player. He had possibly the biggest hit of the tourney, a two-run game-winning double in the bottom of the ninth of a 7-6 Sonoma State victory Thursday night over UC San Diego.
Nick Nosti, who came into the game as a pinch hitter for Sonoma State, wound up with three RBI and a pair of hits for the Seawolves.Tyler Wightman, McGuire and Eli Rimes had two RBI each for Sonoma State. Both teams had 10 hits in the game, but eight UC San Diego pitchers also allowed eight walks and hit seven batters.
Garrett Imeson had three hits and scored twice for UC San Diego (37-23), the No.5-ranked team in the West Region and No. 24 nationally. The Tritons, after losing to Sonoma State in the tourney opener on Thursday, beat Cal State L.A. and Chico State on Friday to advance to the title game on Saturday.
Nick O'Brien worked three innings of relief for the Seawolves to get the win. He allowed four hits and one run. Paige Dumont pitched two scoreless innings of relief to finish the game.
UC San Diego took a 3-0 lead in the first by bunching together a single by Imeson, a walk to Cantele, a run-scoring double by Morehead, a run-scoring groundout by Chris Franco and a run-scoring single by John Roth.
The Seawolves tied it at 3-3 in the second inning on just one hit, a run-scoring single by Brandon Zenimura. Sonoma State took advantage of two walks and two hit batsmen. Ian Bridges walked to force in a run and a sacrifice fly by Leonard Avila scored the other runs.
The game was still tied at 4-4 entering the seventh inning when Sonoma State exploded for six runs to take a 10-4 advantage. Nosti had the go-ahead single, Wightman had a two-run single and Rimes had a two-run single to highlight the inning. The Seawolves added two more runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth.
CCAA Baseball Championship All-Tournament Team
Ian Bridges (Sonoma State)
Matt Cantele (UC San Diego)
Tyler Wightman (Sonoma State)
Chris Franco (UC San Diego)
Garrett Imeson (UC San Diego)
Vance Albitz (UC San Diego)
Carl Fairburn (Chico State)
Bryan Silverman (UC San Diego)
Brett Lysander (Sonoma State)
Trevor Decker (UC San Diego)
MVP -- Chase McGuire (Sonoma State)
Game 5: Tritons Reach Title Game With Win Over Wildcats
Boxscore
LOS ANGELES -- UC San Diego will get a chance to win its second California Collegiate Athletic Association championship in the past three years.
The Tritons outlasted Chico State, 8-6, Friday night in the CCAA Championship Baseball Tournament to advance to Saturday's championship game. UC San Diego (37-22), which won twice on the final day to win the 2005 championship, will have to duplicate that feat on Saturday. The Tritons will face No. 1 seed Sonoma State, which beat Chico State earlier Friday and is undefeated in the tourney, at noon. Sonoma State can win the title with one win, while UC San Diego has to win twice.
UC San Diego broke a 6-6 tie in the eighth inning when slugger Matt Cantele was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The Tritons added an insurance run in the ninth inning when a liner by Bryan Silverman was lost in the lights for a triple and he scored on a squeeze bunt by Jonathan Erickson.
Cantele, the nation's leader in home runs, belted his 23rd of the year earlier in the game. Erickson had three hits and scored three runs for the Tritons and drove in a pair of runs. Vance Albitz drove in three runs for the Tritons.
Aaron Demuth and Edgar Sedano hit home runs for the Wildcats (45-13), who lost earlier in the day to Sonoma State, 7-1.
UC San Diego outhit the Wildcats, 12-6. Nick Rodieck allowed only one hit and one run over the final 3 2/3 innings to pick up the win.
UC San Diego took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Erickson singled, advanced to second on a balk, took third on a ground out and scored on a run-scoring groundout by Albitz. Chico State countered with two runs in the bottom of the inning on a two-run home run by Sedano.
The Tritons regained the lead with two runs in the fourth inning. Cantele led off with a solo home run to tie the game at 2-2 and a run-scoring single by John Roth made it 3-2.
Chico State grabbed a 5-3 lead in the fifth. Demuth walked with the bases loaded to tie it at 3-3 and Carl Fairburn doubled in a pair of runs to give the Wildcats.
UC San Diego then scored three runs in the top of the sixth to take a 6-5 lead. Chris Franco doubled and scored on a two-out single by Erickson. Tim Mort singled and Albitz doubled down the left field line to score both runners.
Chico State tied it at 6-6 when Demuth led off the seventh inning with a home run, but the Wildcats were blanked the rest of the way and UC San Diego pulled out the win.
Game 4: Sonoma State Advances To Title Game
Boxscore
LOS ANGELES -- Sonoma State lived up to its top billing Friday and has advanced to the California Collegiate Athletic Baseball Championship Tournament title game.
The Seawolves (48-10), ranked second in the nation and first in the NCAA Division II West Region, got an outstanding starting pitching performance from Brett Lysander and three runs batted in from Tyler Wightman to beat defending CCAA and West Region champion Chico State, 7-1, at Cal State L.A.'s Reeder Field.
Sonoma State, the No. 1 seed in the CCAA Tournament will face the winner of Friday night's elimination game between Chico State and UC San DIego on Saturday at noon.
Lysander allowed only five hits and an unearned run in 8 1/3 innings of work. He walked two and struck out five. Paige Dumont retired the only two batters he faced in the ninth to finish the game.
Chico State (45-12), ranked ninth in the nation and fourth in the region, got a strong starting performance from Billy Spottiswood, who allowed five hits and only two earned runs in eight innings.
The Seawolves took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Chase McGuire's single got past the Chico State left-fielder, allowing Tyrese McDaniel to score all the way from first.
Sonoma State extended its lead to 3-0 thanks to a pair of Chico State errors. Wightman had a run-scoring single to score David Adler and B.J. Collom came around to score on a wild pitch.
The Wildcats got their only run in the bottom of the sixth when Jesus Luna's groundout scored Carl Fairburn.
Sonoma State, though, put the game away with a pair of runs in both the eighth and ninth innings. Wightman had a two-run single in the eighth, while Konrad Thieme had a run-scoring single in the ninth and B.J. Rimes scored on a double-play groundout by Leonardo Avila.
Game 3: Golden Eagles eliminated from CCAA Tournament
Boxscore
LOS ANGELES -- Cal State L.A.'s baseball team suffered an early exit from the California Collegiate Athletic Association Baseball Championship Tournament.
The host Golden Eagles fell to UC San Diego, 7-2, Friday morning for their second loss in the double-elimination tournament. Cal State L.A. (39-14-1) was making its second straight appearance in the conference tournament and lost its first two games for the second straight year.
The Golden Eagles got solo home runs from Brian Hernandez and Mike Diaz, but that was all the Cal State L.A. offense. UC San Diego got an outstanding start from Trevor Decker, who held the Golden Eagles to seven hits and one run over seven innings. He walked one and struck out two. Todd Gimenez pitched the final two innings for the Tritons (36-22), who advanced to a game later Friday against the winner of the Sonoma State-Chico State game.
Kyle Owsley pitched well for the Golden Eagles, giving up only three earned runs in five innings of work. Sean O'Leary and Ivan Tapia finished up on the mound for the Golden Eagles.
Matt Lawson had a pair of hits and scored two runs for the Tritons, while Bryan Silverman added two hit and one run batted in.
Hernandez, the conference Freshman of the Year, had three hits for the Golden Eagles, while Diaz and Fernando Franco had two hits each.
The Tritons jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Chris Franco drew a one-out walk, stole second and scored on a two-out double by Silverman.
The Golden Eagles tied it in the fifth on a solo home run by Diaz, but the Tritons responded with three runs in their half of the inning. Lawson had a run-scoring double and the Tritons took advantage of two Cal State L.A. errors in the inning.
The Tritons made it 5-1 with a run in the seventh. Lawson doubled and scored on a double by Garrett Imeson.
The Golden Eagles got a home run from Hernandez to make it 5-2 in the eighth, but the Tritons added two more runs on a pair of passed balls.
Game 2: Chico State wins in extra innings
Boxscore
LOS ANGELES -- At the end of a long opening day at the California Collegiate Athletic Association Baseball Championship Tournament, host Cal State L.A.'s baseball team had to endure a heartbreaking extra-inning defeat.
Chico State pushed across the winning run in the 10th inning and edged host Cal State L.A., 3-2, Thursday in the finale after Sonoma State scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to edge UC San Diego, 6-5, in the opener.
No. 2 seed Cal State L.A. will face No. 4 UC San Diego on Friday at 11 a.m. in an elimination game, while Chico State and Sonoma State will meet in a winner's bracket game at 3 p.m. The winner of the first game will face the loser of the second game Friday in an elimination game at 7 p.m.
If the first day was any indication, Friday's action will be outstanding. All four teams -- No. 2 Sonoma State, No. 3 Cal State L.A., No. 9 Chico State and No. 24 UC San Diego -- are nationally ranked and all four are in the top five in the latest regional poll.
Chico State got its winning run in the 10th inning. Carl Fairburn started the winning rally when he was hit by a pitch from Cal State L.A. closer Arturo Reyes. Greg Finazzo then blooped a single to left field to set up a pair of perfectly executed bunts that won the game for the Wildcats (45-11). Jesus Luna sacrificed the runners to second and third and Lorin Nakagawa's sacrifice bunt scored Fairburn with the winning run.
The game featured a tremendous pitching battle between Cal State L.A.'s Isaac Morales and Chico State's Nick Bryant. Morales went 6 2/3 innings and gave up five hits and two runs while walking six and striking out 11. Bryant went eight innings and gave up two runs on fie hits. He walked three and struck out seven.
Both teams scored a pair of runs in the third inning and then were blanked until Chico State's rally in the 10th. Robby Scott tripled to lead off the inning and Daniel Code and Aaron Demuth walked to load the bases. Fairburn lined a two-out, two-run single to get the Wildcats on the board.
Cal State L.A. countered with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Henry Contreras was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Felipe Gallo followed with a two-run home run to tie the game.
That's how it stayed until the Wildcats got the winning run in the 10th.
In the opener, a two-run double by Chase McGuire scored the winning runs for Sonoma State (47-10) in the Seawolves' 7-6 win over UC San Diego (35-22). The Tritons led 6-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth, but the Seawolves were able to rally. A full recap of the game is included on the championship tournament page.
Game 1: Sonoma State wins opening game of CCAA Tournament
Boxscore
LOS ANGELES -- Sonoma State used some late-inning heroics to edge UC San Diego in the opening game of the California Collegiate Athletic Association Baseball Championship Tournament Thursday at Cal State L.A.'s Reeder Field.
The Seawolves used a two-run double by Chase McGuire in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally past the Tritons, 7-6. Sonoma State (47-10), seeded No. 1 in the tournament, advances to face the winner of Thursday's late game between Cal State L.A. and Chico State in the winner's bracket game Friday at 3 p.m. UC San Diego, seeded fourth, will face the loser on Friday at 11 a.m. Sonoma State entered the tournament ranked first in the West Region and second in the country; while UC San Diego was fifth in the region and 24th in the country.
Sonoma State ace reliever Paige Dumont worked the final 1 2/3 innings to get the win for the Seawolves. He raised his record to 5-1 and lowered his season earned run average to 0.23. The Seawolves loaded the bases with one out in the ninth and McGuire rifled a shot down the left-field line to score two runs and end the contest.
The Tritons (35-22) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a three-run home run by Chris Franco. After Sonoma State got one run back in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Wightman, UC San Diego expanded its lead to 6-1 in the sixth. David Morehead was hit by a pitch, took second on a single by Franco and the runners advanced on a wild pitch. Bryan Silverman doubled in one run, Franco scored on a wild pitch and Vance Albitz drove in Silverman with a base hit up the middle.
Sonoma State, though, got back in the game by scoring four runs in the bottom of the frame. Tyrese McDaniel belted a two-run home run to start the rally, Ian Bridges added a run-scoring double and David Adler doubled in another run to make it 6-5.
That's how the score stayed until the bottom of the ninth when Sonoma State mounted its game-winning rally.
Matt Cantele had four hits for the Tritons, who had 12 hits in the game. McGuire had three hits for the Seawolves.