Feb. 27, 2009
Box Score
San Diego, Calif. - Playing in front of your hometown crowd is always a thrill, but seniors Joey Centanni (San Diego, Calif.) and Mike McKeever (San Diego, Calif.) owned the ballpark the duo played high school ball at, lifting the Pacific Tigers to a 14-6 win over No. 11 San Diego on Friday, Feb. 27 in Pacific's second game at the University of San Diego Tournament.
The win moved Pacific to 2-3 on the season, while San Diego dropped to 3-3 on the year. Both of the Tigers' wins this season have come over ranked opponents, as they took a game 5-4 at No. 8 Baylor on Feb. 21.
Centanni (1-0, 0.69 ERA) commanded the mound for Pacific, earning his first win of the season after going seven innings and allowing only one run on four hits. Facing 24 batters, Centanni struck out one and walked one. The win was a total effort for the Tigers, who hit for six extra-base hits, including McKeever's (.375 average, 2-for-3, 5 RBI) grand slam liner over the left field wall in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Pacific started the contest down a run, when third baseman Victor Sanchez connected for a one-out double in the second and scored when left fielder Austin Green singled through the gap in the middle of the field. That was the only scoring Centanni would allow, as he never faced more than four batters an inning, forcing two double plays throughout the game.
Offensively, the Tigers jumped on the board in the bottom of the second, only trailing in the game for half an inning. McKeever was the first runner for Pacific in the second, as he walked to lead things off. Sophomore second baseman J.B. Brown (Alvin, Texas) singled to right field and advanced McKeever. Brown's (.474 average, 2-for-4, 1 RBI) hit in his first at-bat extended his hitting streak in 2009 to five, collecting one in every contest played this year. With runners on first and second, junior left fielder Jamie Niley (Elk Grove, Calif.) laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both of his runners into scoring position. On one out, junior Mike Walker (Marsyville, Calif.) (1-for-2, 2 runs) hit straight back to the pitchers mound and RHP Chris Jensen made the force out at home, while Walker reached first on a fielder's choice. Senior catcher Kurt Wideman (Fallbrook, Calif.) (3-for-5, 3 RBI, 2 doubles, 1 triple) next took his turn at the plate and with two outs launched his 22nd career double into center field to put Pacific on the scoreboard, 2-1, as Walker accounted for the tying run and Brown put Pacific ahead for the rest of the game. Junior shortstop Ben Gorang (Turlock, Calif.) ended the inning after grounding out to third base.
Pacific got things going again in the bottom of the third, providing insurance runs for its pitcher after Centanni faced only four batters at the top of the inning. Centanni helped his own cause by doubling to start off the inning. With Centanni at second, sophomore first baseman Brian Martin (Livermore, Calif.) singled to place Centanni within 90 feet of home plate. Sophomore center fielder Nick Longmire (San Diego, Calif.) then came to the plate and with no one out and the Tigers began to capitalize on San Diego's pitchers. Longmire (.368 average, 3-for-5, 2 RBI) laced a single through the left side of the field, scoring Centanni. Up 3-1, Brown repeated the feat and RBIed when Longmire scored. Niley then struck out, while the Tigers were up 4-1 with only one out.
Walker then walked and Jensen (0-2) came out of the game, earning the loss after 2.1 innings of work. Against the Toreros' bullpen, Wideman got to first on a fielder's choice, while McKeever was forced out at home. Gorang ended the inning when he grounded out to second.
Pacific again recorded one run in the fourth inning and two in the fifth before exploding with four in the bottom of the seventh, as Centanni left the game as the starting pitcher and remained as the designated hitter from then on out. Gorang finally was able to connect to lead off the seventh, lacing a single through center field. Centanni then came up and was hit by Toreros' pitcher Nick Youpel. With runners at first and second, Martin flied out to center while the runners stayed at their bases. Youpel followed up by walking Longmire when he was hit on a fourth-ball pitch to load the bases. This set the table for McKeever to launch a rocket straight over the left field fence, tallying a grand slam and the Tigers' first homer of the season, as Pacific jumped out to a 12-1 lead. Brown and Niley followed up by striking out, as Niley tried to reach on a drop-third strike, but was thrown out at first by catcher Steven Chatwood.
Pacific scored its next two runs in the eighth inning, started off by Walker who singled to left field to open the inning. Wideman then doubled to center field as Walker was looking home the entire time and beat out the throw to score and bring the Tigers up 13-1. Gorang grounded out to shortstop but advanced Wideman to third. Centanni then recorded a long fly-out to center as a sacrifice while Wideman recorded Pacific's final run of the game. Martin singled but was stranded at first when Longmire ended the inning with a strikeout.
As the home team, the Tigers only needed to get San Diego out in the top of the ninth before clinching the upset. However, the Toreros connected for seven hits in that inning off of reliever Andrew Mintun (Stockton, Calif.), who replaced Centanni in the eighth. With one out, head coach Ed Sprague took the ball from Mintun and allowed senior Mark McCain (Dallas, Texas) to close out the game. McCain (1-0, 3.86 ERA) came in and only needed to face two batters, striking out Marco Lugo and Zach Walters to win the game 14-6.
Pacific returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 28 as the Tigers take on No. 26 San Diego State in a doubleheader at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs are the co-host of the University of San Diego Tournament. The first pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled to be thrown at 2 p.m.
