Padres honor UCSD baseball team

After finishing the 2010 campaign with an overall record of 54-8 and advancing to the NCAA Division II National Championship game, the UC San Diego baseball team was honored by the San Diego Padres in a pregame ceremony prior to Tuesday’s contest against the New York Mets.

The Padres showed highlights from the Tritons’ season, including their four games at the NCAA National Championship Finals in Cary, N.C., and welcomed the Tritons to the mound to be recognized by the crowd of 17,393.

Senior shortstop Vance Albitz, the two-time National Defensive Player of the Year and a Rawlings/ABCA First Team All-American, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

“It was a very special night for the team,” head coach Dan O’Brien said. “The San Diego Padres organization went above and beyond to help us celebrate an incredible season. It was a classy move by a great organization.”

After sweeping three games en route to a second consecutive NCAA West Regional title, No. 1 UCSD defeated No. 4 Georgia College & State, No. 3 Central Missouri, and No. 13 Franklin Pierce to advance to Saturday’s national title game unscathed. The Tritons met No. 9 Southern Indiana in the final, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning before ultimately dropping a 6-4 decision.