College Review : UC San Diego Beats Odds to Carry On Winning Tradition in Baseball

UC San Diego’s baseball coach, Lyle Yates, who lost six of eight starting field players this season and who has 30 underclassmen on his roster, didn’t figure that the Tritons would be battling to return to the Division III World Series this season.

However, UCSD is ranked fourth in the nation in Division III by Baseball America. The Tritons (8-4) are the top-ranked team in the West.

Two teams will be selected to compete in a three-game series for the West Regional title at the end of the regular season. Last year, UCSD defeated La Verne in the regional to earn its first trip to the World Series.

“There’s a special character with the team this year,” Yates said. “We started some tradition here by going to the World Series last year, and this team is trying to carry on that tradition.”

The Tritons were expected to have an excellent pitching staff with four regulars returning. But what has been a surprise is how quickly some of the young players have contributed.

Sophomore right fielder Chris Murphy is hitting .326 with 3 home runs, and Henry Jimenez, a sophomore left fielder, is hitting .314.

The Tritons have only two seniors and six juniors on their roster. Junior Gary Fessia, who played at Hilltop High School, is hitting .429 with an .810 slugging percentage. Senior second baseman Thad Ferre is hitting .313 and leads the team with 14 RBIs.

Strong defense has become a tradition at UCSD, which led Division III in fielding in 1986. The Tritons have a team fielding percentage of .961 this season.

But those factors aside, “pitching is without question the strength of the team,” Yates said.

Leading the experienced but young staff is junior Rick Nowak, who was 10-1 last season. Nowak is 4-2 this season with a 2.93 earned-run average. He also has 39 strikeouts in 43 innings. Sophomore Kyle Abbott is 2-1 with two saves and a 1.98 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 27 innings. Abbott was 8-1 last season.

Yates regards sixth-ranked Cal State San Bernardino, 13th-ranked Cal State Stanislaus and 17th-ranked La Verne as the Tritons’ competition for playoff spots.

The Tritons have split a doubleheader at San Bernardino and lost to La Verne. UCSD will play host to San Bernardino for a single game April 28.

Professional wrestling is taking over Palomar College, at least for one night.

The Great Goliath, the Masked Superstar, Dr. Dream and Ravishing Rocco will be at the college Friday at 7 p.m. as part of a fund-raiser sponsored by the school’s athletic department.

Tickets are $12.50 ringside and $9 bleachers. For information, call 744-1150, ext. 2482.

The Point Loma Nazarene College women’s basketball team ended its finest season with some postseason awards.

Bill Olin was named the NAIA District III coach of the year, and three players were all-district selections.

Shannon Anderson and Laura Mars were named to the first team and Ann Duffy was honorable mention.

The women’s basketball team finished 22-11 and lost in the second round of the NAIA district playoffs.

The UC San Diego softball team, led by first-year coaches Lin Adams and Lisa Bassi, has won nine straight and 15 of its last 16 games.

UCSD is ranked No. 4 in the West behind Central College of Iowa, Cal State Stanislaus and Buena Vista College of Iowa.

The Tritons will play host to Augsburg College of Minnesota for a doubleheader March 30. Augsburg is ranked seventh in the West.

The San Diego State men’s volleyball team had one of its finest recruiting years after full funding was restored to the program after last season.

The recruiting is paying off, although the Aztecs are eighth in the 10-team Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. SDSU, ranked 11th in the nation, is being led by a pair of freshmen.

Hugh Foster is second in the WIVA in kill average (5.57), and Eric Etebari is second in blocking (1.5). Freshman Mike Mattarocci from Bonita Vista High School is 10th in the WIVA in blocking at 1.24, and Joe Anselmo is tied for third in serving with .39 aces per game.

The UC San Diego men’s swimming team will be trying to improve on its No. 5 ranking in the Division III championships beginning today at Emory University in Atlanta.

The Tritons finished third last season and are led by freshman Jason Vance, who has the top time in the 50-meter freestyle (21.11) and is third in the 200 butterfly (1:54.47). Dave Sacco, a sophomore, has the second-best time in the 1,650 free (15:57.27).

Kenyon College is the favorite to win its ninth consecutive national men’s title.