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Jensen Leads Blue to 6-1 Win Over Red With RBI Single

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Cal Poly sophomore second baseman Matt Jensen drove in a run with a first-inning single as the Blue team beat the Red squad 6-1 in the third game of the College National Team Trials on Thursday at the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Jensen also stole a base, handled two fielding chances without an error and, in his other two at-bats, grounded out to the pitcher and to shortstop in ...

Published Jul 8th, by Eric Burdick

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Cal Poly sophomore second baseman Matt Jensen drove in a run with a first-inning single as the Blue team beat the Red squad 6-1 in the third game of the College National Team Trials on Thursday at the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.

Jensen also stole a base, handled two fielding chances without an error and, in his other two at-bats, grounded out to the pitcher and to shortstop in the seven-inning contest. He started the game as a designated hitter in the No. 3 spot in the Blue team's batting order and played second base in the final three innings.

Thanks in part to Jensen’s second hit of the trials, the Blue team scored twice in the first inning and also tallied two more in the second frame en route to the win, evening the series against the Red squad at 1-1-1.

Jensen singled in the first game of the series Tuesday, won by the Red squad 4-1, and reached base twice on a walk and hit batsman Wednesday in a nine-inning 5-5 tie.

A total of six games will be played this week to determine the final 22-man roster which will represent Team USA in exhibition games against Korean, Japanese and Chinese Taipei college all-star teams as well as competition in the FISU World University Championships in Tokyo, Japan, from July 30-Aug. 7.

The final roster will be announced following the last game of the series Sunday.

Jensen (5-10, 190, Clovis, CA), the first Mustang to be invited to the National Team Trials, has been invited each of the last two years, but had to sit out the 2009 trials due to a fractured clavicle.

Jensen hit .375 with 15 doubles, nine home runs and 53 RBI as a freshman at Cal Poly en route to numerous postseason awards, including Big West Conference Freshman Player of the Year.

This year, Jensen missed the Mustangs’ final 19 games after dislocating a knee during practice in late April. He was hitting .270 prior to the injury, finishing with seven doubles, six triples and a pair of home runs with 32 RBI.

This summer, Jensen was playing for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League before traveling to Cary for the College National Team Trials. Jensen was 9-for-26 in his last seven games with Yarmouth-Dennis to improve his batting average 75 points to .275. He has three doubles and nine RBI for the season.