Box Score Stockton, Calif. – On senior day in Stockton, the Pacific Tigers couldn't quite overcome the eight-run deficit they found themselves in after six innings and lost 9-5 to the San Diego Toreros at home. Pacific has just one WCC series left, against Pepperdine this upcoming weekend. The Tigers would need to sweep Pepperdine to have a chance at making the WCC tournament. It was the last home game of their careers for Jake Jenkins, Gio Brusa, Bryce Lombardi, J.P. Yakel, Louis Mejia, and J.J. Wagner, who are all graduating.
Jenkins started for the final time at Klein Family Field, where he put together a career 4.26 ERA. This year, Jenkins had a 3.57 ERA at home. Jenkins took the loss today, however, as he pitched five innings and gave up five earned runs and 11 hits.
Freshman Nick Sprengel was the starter for San Diego. He blanked Pacific for six innings but had to leave as he lost his groove in the seventh and loaded the bases with no outs. Sprengel gave way to Nathan Kuchta in the tough situation, who walked the only man he faced. The Toreros used four pitchers in the seventh inning as Pacific's offense came alive. Sprengel still got the win, making him 5-6 this season.
San Diego took a first-inning lead once again with a double in the first. The leadoff man singled and came around to score on the double, which was out of Blake Barry's reach as the centerfielder dove for the ball in left-center. The Toreros scored in the first inning in every game in the series.
In his first at-bat of the day, Danny Mayer extended his team-best hitting streak to 18 games, far and away the longest of the season for a Tiger. Mayer has reached base in every game since the start of WCC play, when he went 0-for-4 against BYU. Mayer is hitting .338 in his hitting streak, with 18 runs, seven doubles, six homers, and 14 RBI. Brusa also reached base in the first with his second HBP in as many days, but both runners were stranded.
For the second inning in a row, a diving effort from a Pacific outfielder came up short, this time giving San Diego a bloop single to start the inning. An error put a second runner on with just one out. The bases were loaded with a single through the left side that was hit weakly but in just the right spot to elude the infielders.
Jenkins fought well but couldn't get out of the inning without runs. San Diego doubled with the bases loaded to score two. Jenkins got a flyout for what would have been the third out but it was instead a sacrifice fly that made it 4-0.
Though not quite the mammoth streak of Mayer, Lucas Halstead pushed his hitting streak to double digits with a leadoff single in the bottom of the second. Halstead beat out an infield hit that was slapped to the edge of the outfield grass. The throw from San Diego's Bryson Brigman was high and slow as the shortstop's momentum was carrying him the opposite direction, allowing Halstead to beat it out. Halstead is hitting .368 with six runs, five doubles, three homers, and nine RBI in his hitting streak.
Pacific couldn't score in the second despite having two baserunners with one out after Blake Barry's HBP. The Tigers tried a hit-and-run but the batter swung and missed, leaving Mejia out to dry as he was caught stealing at third easily. Mejia had previously replaced Halstead on the basepaths with his fielder's choice.
Wagner's 150th career hit came in the third inning, giving him a ten-game hitting streak as well. Wagner lofted a soft shot into rightfield, dropping it in easily away from the outfielder for a single that made his average .341 over the last ten games. He would steal second during Brusa's at-bat to give him a new career-high in stolen bases this year with five.
Two singles just out of the reach of Pacific's infielders netted another San Diego run in the fourth. Mejia couldn't get to the soft grounder that scored the run as he ranged almost across to the first base bag to try and nab it, allowing the runner on second to score.
Jenkins struck out two men in the fifth looking but still gave up more runs. The Toreros doubled, then brought that runner in with a single that bounced away from Verlin's diving glove. Verlin had to dive at the very next ball as well as it rocketed down the rightfield line for an RBI triple. San Diego left the inning up 7-0.
Kevin Sandri broke up San Diego's stretch of seven straight retired by doubling to left-center with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Seven of Sandri's nine extra-base hits have come at home this year.
With Fineas Del Bonta-Smith now pitching, the Toreros put men on the corners, starting with a walk. San Diego put on the hit-and-run and it worked as the single to short center sent the runner all the way to third. Mejia dove to try and get the next grounder that made it into right to score another run and make it 8-0.
Mejia and Barry singled back-to-back to start the seventh. They both moved up on a passed ball during Yakel's at-bat. Yakel reached base when he was hit by a pitch to load them up with no outs and chase Sprengel out of the game.
Miles Haddad, who entered as a defensive replacement in the top of the seventh, also walked to keep the bases loaded after every runner advanced on a passed ball.
After Kuchta started Wagner off 2-0, he was replaced by C.J. Burdick. The change made no difference to Wagner, who still drew a walk to pick up the RBI.
Brusa came through with a two-run single that gave him 40 RBI and cut the deficit to four runs. It was the second time in Brusa's career he has had 40 RBI in a season, a total he matched in 2014. He also moved to seventh all-time in RBI for Pacific with his 115th and 116th RBI on the play.
The four runs were all Pacific could score despite loading the bases again with Verlin's groundball single to left. A double play killed the rally, leaving the Tigers still down by four with two innings to go.
Del Bonta-Smith put two men on in the eighth with a HBP and a walk. The freshman got a strikeout before Lombardi came on to pitch in his 75th appearance as a Tiger, the seventh most all-time for a pitcher. Lombardi stranded both of the men he inherited as just two of the ten men Lombardi has inherited this year have come around to score.
As the third baseman looked on helplessly, Mejia doubled down the line as the leadoff man in the eighth. The hit gave Mejia his tenth multi-hit game this season. McKay Koissian pinch-hit, coming through with a single to left to put men on the corners with no outs. Mejia scored all on his own once again, this time with a wild pitch allowing the senior to hustle home.
For the second time in as many plate appearances, Haddad drew a walk after his near-double fell just foul in rightfield. Terrible luck befell the Tigers when Wagner ripped a rocket that went straight into the third baseman's glove on a reaction play. Koissian had zero chance to make it back to the bag and the double play ended the inning again.
Lombardi left the game when he walked two of the first three men in the ninth, giving way to Jordon Gonzalez. The next batter for the Toreros singled to add another run for the visitors that made it 9-5. Gonzalez didn't allow San Diego to get anything else in the ninth, however.
Mayer had his second hit of the day to start the ninth, singling up the middle through the shifted infield. He was erased on Pacific's third double play of the game as the Tigers couldn't score despite Verlin and Halstead also reaching in the ninth.
With their home season over, Pacific will play one last series at Pepperdine next weekend after traveling to Sacramento State for a game on Tuesday. The Sacramento State game, the first night game in Sac State history, will be at 7:11 pm. The Pepperdine series begins with a 3:00 pm game on Friday. The Saturday and Sunday games against Pepperdine will each be at 1:00 pm.
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