Riverside—The UC Riverside Baseball Team concluded a string of eight games in the last nine against ranked opponents, Tuesday evening, falling to #24 San Diego, 14-1.
The Highlanders lost seven of those eight games, have dropped seven in a row, and 11 of their last 13 since starting the year 10-4.
UCR (12-16) has struggled of late on the offensive side of the ball, and that trend continued Tuesday as the Toreros (22-9) limited the Highlanders to three hits, and one run. In seven of the team's last nine games, they have failed to score more than three runs.
San Diego jumped on top early, as UC Riverside starter Jacob Worrell was unable to get out of the first inning. The Toreros touched him for four hits and a walk, in building a 4-0, first-inning lead. Worrell was pulled after two thirds of an inning, and Trenton Toplikar took over. He didn't allow a hit in his 1.1 innings of work, but he did issue two free passes, one of which came around to score to make it 5-0, San Diego.
UC Riverside used eight pitchers on the evening, with Nick Shur recording the best stat line, tossing an inning of shutout baseball in the sixth. Johnny Briedenthal gave up two runs in the fourth. Angel Landazuri allowed a run in his lone inning of work. Kevin West was touched for one run in two innings. Jared Morton gave up four runs in the ninth. And AJ Sawyer allowed a run in his inning on the hill.
Offensively, the Highlanders were kept off balance by CJ Burdick throughout the night, as the right hander didn't allow his first hit until the top of the fifth. Louis Crow tossed the final four innings, earning the save.
Crowe tired a bit in the bottom of the ninth, as UC Riverside ended the shutout with two base hits, and a wild pitch. Mark Contreras drove in the run with a single to right, plating Colby Schultz who led off the frame with a single of his own.
The Highlanders remain at home this week as they host Hawai'i for a three-game, Big West series. Due to Easter Weekend, games against the Rainbow Warriors are slated for Thursday (6 pm), Friday (6 pm) and Saturday (1 pm).
