THE SCHEDULE
Games 46-49
at Cal State L.A. (26-18, 21-15 CCAA)
Thursday, April 30 • 6 p.m.
Reeder Field • Los Angeles
Live Video • Live Stats

Friday, May 1 • 6 p.m.
Reeder Field • Los Angeles
Live Video • Live Stats

Senior Day
vs. Cal State L.A.
Saturday, May 2 • 2 p.m. (DH)
Triton Ballpark • La Jolla
Live Video • Live Stats

The 22nd-ranked UC San Diego baseball team rounds out the 2015 regular season this week with a four-game, split-venue California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series against Cal State L.A. The Tritons (30-15, 25-11 CCAA) are in a first-place tie with Cal Poly Pomona heading into this final week. They will square off with the fourth-place Golden Eagles (26-18, 21-15 CCAA) in a pair of primetime affairs at Reeder Field in Los Angeles on Thursday and Friday, with first pitch slated for 6 p.m. each night. UCSD ace Justin Donatella (8-1, 0.55 ERA) will take the ball for the 11th time this season on Thursday, as he puts the second-best ERA in all of Division II and the third-best among all three NCAA divisions on the line. Friday will mark Senior Night for CSULA, with the potential for a slightly-delayed start. The series then shifts to La Jolla, concluding with a Senior Day doubleheader this Saturday, May 2. The nine-inning first game begins at 2 p.m. There will be approximately a 40-minute break in between contests, during which UCSD will recognize its eight-member senior class. The twin bill ends with a seven-inning nightcap. UCSD is 18-8 at home and 12-7 on the road, while Cal State L.A. is 16-9 at home and 10-9 in road dates. The Tritons have already clinched a second straight CCAA Championship berth, and are in search of their first regular-season crown since 2012. The Golden Eagles need two victories, or one win and a Cal State Dominguez Hills loss, to secure their trip to Stockton.

TICKET PRICES AND ADMISSION POLICIES
General admission tickets to all regular-season home games at Triton Ballpark are $5. UCSD students are admitted FREE with valid identification. New admission policies are in place at the facility following off-season renovation. Dogs and other pets are no longer allowed at Triton Ballpark, nor are coolers. University food truck, Flavors of the World, will be on site for all remaining home contests, serving a selection of sliders, sides and beverages, and accepting Triton Cash and Dining Dollars, in addition to Visa and MasterCard.

PARKING INFO
Parking on the UCSD campus is free on weekends, but a permit is required and strongly recommended for weeknight contests. They can be purchased at the machine near the entrance to the Triton Ballpark parking lot. Please be aware of the danger of foul balls when parking. Overflow parking is available in the lots beyond the right field wall, still along Voigt Drive.

SENIOR DAY SATURDAY
The career contributions of eight Triton baseball seniors will be celebrated in between games of this Saturday's doubleheader against Cal State L.A. on Senior Day at Triton Ballpark. The group is made up of fourth-year players Brian Choi, Dan Kolodin, Brett Levy, Chad Rieser and Trevor Scott, alongside second-year Tritons Javier Carrillo, Jr., Erik Lewis and Michael Mann. The nine-inning first game is set for a 2 p.m. start. The break in between will be approximately 40 minutes long, with the senior recognition ceremony slated to begin about 20 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.

FREE POSTERS
Free Triton Baseball team posters will be available at Triton Ballpark this Saturday. The posters are once again sponsored by UCSD Dining Services and Pepsi.

LIVE COVERAGE
All UCSD home games at Triton Ballpark feature a live online video stream and live stats. Select games additionally have audio commentary, provided again this year by former Triton pitcher (2007-08) Tim Strombel (@Timmy2Sides). The audio/video is free, but does require registration and a login. Some road contests also have video and/or audio, including both this week at Cal State L.A. All have live stats. Fans can access live coverage for home and away dates from the UCSD Schedule/Results page. Starting lineups, live between-inning updates and other gameday news and notes can be found by following Triton Baseball on the UCSD Athletics Twitter handle (@UCSDtritons).

THE MATCH-UP BY THE NUMBERS
This week's series pits the top two hitting teams in the CCAA, with Cal State L.A. first in batting (.298) and UCSD second (.294). The Tritons remain first in ERA (2.70), and are third in fielding percentage (.971). CSULA is fourth in ERA (3.91) and 11th (last) in fielding (.956).

THE NEW TRITON BALLPARK
Triton Ballpark on East Campus at UCSD has a brand-new look outside the foul lines in 2015. The extensive renovation was completed enough for competition to take place as scheduled with an Opening Day doubleheader on Sunday, Feb. 1. Some of the main features include a permanent grandstand to seat just over 500, a press box, new sunken dugouts, an area for food trucks, and restrooms, among several other amenities. Read details here. The first pitch at the new Triton Ballpark came from Trevor Scott, the first hit and RBI by Brandon Shirley, the first run by Tyler Howsley, and the first home run in the form of a grand slam by Brian Choi. The Marye Anne Fox Clubhouse down the right field line was introduced to the players on March 17. Watch a clip here. The official Triton Ballpark re-opening and clubhouse dedication took place on April 10, with the U-T San Diego present. View photo galleries from the ballpark construction here, Opening Day here, and clubhouse dedication here.

TRITON BASEBALL BACK ON TWITTER
After a hiatus, Triton Baseball has returned to Twitter @UCSDbsb! Be sure to give them a follow. Gameday info and updates will still predominantly come from the official UCSD Athletics Twitter handle @UCSDtritons. The majority of the Triton coaching staff, including head coach Eric Newman (@CoachEricNewman), are also on Twitter. Those links can be found at the bottom.

UP TO FOURTH IN SECOND NCAA REGIONAL LISTING
The second release of the all-important NCAA regional rankings occurred on Wednesday, April 29, with UCSD up from fifth to fourth in the West behind Cal Poly Pomona, California Baptist and Azusa Pacific. The third edition will come on Wednesday, May 6. The top six teams in the final version on May 10, make up the NCAA Division II Championship West Regional. The winner of the 2015 CCAA Championship, May 7-10, earns an automatic berth into the West Regional, as does the regular-season champion of the Pacific West Conference. That race is down to Dixie State or CBU. The 48-team field for the 2015 NCAA Division II Championship will be unveiled at 7 p.m. PT on Sunday, May 10, and will be streamed live on NCAA.com.

RANKINGS REPORT
UCSD is No. 22 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper national poll. The Tritons are rated No. 23 by D2 Baseball News, No. 18 by Perfect Game, and No. 24 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) in this week's listings. They appeared at No. 15 in CBN's preseason edition, moving up to a high of No. 10 in the publication's first in-season listing on Feb. 16. Other preseason prognostications were No. 12 by the NCBWA (Jan. 28), No. 16 by D2 Baseball News, and No. 19 by PG (Jan. 29). UCSD's highest ranking in 2015 has been No. 8 by the NCBWA on Feb. 17. Regionally speaking, the Tritons are rated No. 2 in the West by D2 Baseball News, and No. 3 by the NCBWA.

LAST TIME OUT
UCSD used a season-best 23-hit barrage to post an 18-1 pummeling over cellar-dwelling Cal State San Bernardino in its lone contest a week ago at home on Tuesday night, April 21. The Tritons scored in every inning but the second, and became the first team to lock up a CCAA Championship berth with the result. Already leading the four-game set, 2-1, following the three meetings in late March, UCSD thus earned the CCAA series victory. Every Triton in the starting lineup had at least one hit, with nine players winding up with multiple knocks. Five arms combined on the near-shutout, with the Coyotes scratching a lone run across in the ninth. Senior right-hander Dan Kolodin (4.0 IP, 4 SO) earned the decision in his first start since Feb. 24.

AROUND THE CCAA
As Cal Poly Pomona had to settle for a home split with Cal State Stanislaus this past weekend, UCSD ascended back into a first-place tie in the 11-team CCAA standings with the Broncos, both now at 25-11 in league play. The Tritons, CPP and Cal State Monterey Bay (23-13) have all punched their tickets to Stockton for the 2015 CCAA Championship. This week's opponent, Cal State L.A. (21-15), currently holds the fourth and final spot, and needs either two wins over UCSD, or one win and one loss by Cal State Dominguez Hills (18-18) against last-place Cal State San Bernardino, to round out the field. CSUDH is the only other team in contention for the conference tournament. A final, full league slate is on tap this week, with CPP at SF State for four beginning Friday at 3 p.m. If UCSD and CPP finish in a tie, they will be crowned regular-season co-champions, with the Broncos earning the No. 1 seed in Stockton based on head-to-head tiebreaker, as they won the series with the Tritons, 3-1. Follow all of the action through the CCAA baseball scoreboard. Bookmark it here.

BACK IN THE POSTSEASON
UCSD's 18-1 drubbing of Cal State San Bernardino in its most recent game on April 21, secured a second straight postseason berth for the Tritons, as they have earned the right to defend their CCAA Championship crown from a year ago back in Stockton, May 7-10. The Tritons will be making their 11th appearance at the CCAA tournament in their 15 years as a league member, and third in four years under head coach Eric Newman. UCSD also won the tourney in Newman's first year in charge in 2012, marking a fourth consecutive crown for the program, which is a record six-time champion of the event. The Tritons need just one win this week against Cal State L.A. to assure themselves of a top-three seed next week. A four-game sweep would only be good enough for the No. 1 seed, if Cal Poly Pomona loses once at SF State, as the Broncos hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

SEASON FOR THE AGES BY DONATELLA
Justin Donatella (8-1) continues to lead the CCAA in wins (tied), ERA (0.55) and strikeouts (88). He is up to second in the NCAA Division II in ERA, with 24.1 more innings (65.1) than Miles Sheehan (0.44) of Franklin Pierce in front of him. The junior right-hander has the third-lowest ERA among all three NCAA divisions, with Texas Tech reliever Corey Taylor No. 1 at 0.36 (50.0 IP). Through games played on April 27, he is tied for 13th in Division II in strikeouts, tied for 18th in wins, tied for third in hits allowed per nine innings (4.55), and 14th in strikeouts per nine innings (12.12). Through April 28, he leads the nation with a WHIP of 0.69. Batters are hitting just .144 against him. His strikeout-to-walk ratio sits at 7.33 (88-12). Donatella's ERA of 0.55 would constitute a single-season CCAA (0.98; Sonoma State's Harmen Sidhu in 2013; 82.2 IP) and school (1.58; Robert Rolf in 1984; 74.0 IP) record. He won each of his first six CCAA starts, becoming the first Triton to do so since Matt Rossman in 2010, before taking a no-decision at home against Cal Poly Pomona on April 2. The Tritons are an undefeated 9-0 in his league outings, with six shutouts. Donatella is 8-0 with that no-decision in CCAA play, with his only loss on the year coming in his 2015 debut at home against then-fifth-ranked Colorado Mesa, the 2014 national runner-up. The Saugus product threw 34.1 straight shutout innings prior to seeing a blooped RBI single drop in to center field with one away in the fourth inning of UCSD's 11-5 home win over Cal State San Bernardino on March 20. The incredible stretch dated back to his second frame of the season during the 2-0 loss to CMU on Feb. 6. He had yet to allow a run in 31.2 frames over his first four-plus CCAA starts prior to that fourth-inning single.

DONATELLA BULLETS
Allowed a run in only three of 10 outings in 2015 ... Unofficially at 1000 pitches thrown for the year, with 685 strikes (69 percent) ... Produced CCAA's single-game high in strikeouts in both 2015 (12-tied) and 2014 (13) ... Out of 65 innings he has started and finished in 2015, has allowed a run in just five, meaning 60 zeroes on the scoreboard, with no more than a single run in any one of his frames, so no crooked numbers ... ERA has been under 1.00 after every outing this year, except the first vs. Colorado Mesa on Feb. 6 (2.25), with a low of 0.28 (3/6 vs. Chico State) ... Has reached double digits in strikeouts three times in 2015 and four for his career ... Has twice in 2015 retired the first 10-plus batters of a game, with 14 against Cal State East Bay (2/27) and 12 at Cal State Stanislaus (4/17) ... Of the five runs he has given up, four were earned, with the latest coming on his only surrendered home run of 2015, to CCAA leader Kyle Garlick (14) of CPP (4/2) ... Career ERA is at 2.49 ... Working on a current shutout streak of 15.2 innings since that home run ... Next start is at Cal State L.A. this Thursday night, April 30, at 6 p.m.

DONATELLA NAMED TOMKO SEMIFINALIST
Justin Donatella was named on April 17 as one of 32 semifinalists for the second annual Brett Tomko Award, presented by D2 Baseball News to the pitcher of the year at the NCAA Division II level. The second-year award is named after Brett Tomko (15-2, 1.35, 154 K), who led Florida Southern to the 1995 national title prior to a lengthy career in Major League Baseball. The first recipient in 2014 was Mercyhurst's Dan Altavilla (9-1, 1.23, 129 K). Three finalists will be selected in late May, with the winner announced on June 1 after the NCAA Division II Championship.

SHUTOUTS ON SHUTOUTS
Following three shutouts to begin its series at Cal State Stanislaus, UCSD has a program-record 12 in 2015 through 45 games, having produced seven, the previous high for its Division II era, a year ago in 54. The program record had been nine, by the 1987 squad that made it to the NCAA Division III College World Series. With whitewashes to mark both ends of their doubleheader with the Warriors on April 18, the Tritons temporarily moved into sole possession of first place nationally in Division II, leapfrogging Franklin Pierce. The teams are now tied for first. UCSD has twirled back-to-back-to-back shutouts twice in 2015, having also done so to begin its series with Cal State Dominguez Hills, Feb. 19-21. UCSD had never before achieved the feat of three straight shutouts in program history, dating back through the 1980 season. The Tritons on five prior occasions had posted two successive shutouts, most recently at home to start off the 2014 series with the Toros, on March 6 (1-0) and March 7 (7-0). They also then did that again this April 10-11 against Cal State Monterey Bay, 8-0 and 5-0.

SANCHEZ AT TOP OF ORDER
Junior outfielder Gradeigh Sanchez has started in the leadoff position in each of the past 21 games, primarily as the Tritons' designated hitter. He is batting .416 (32-for-77) during this stretch, with at least one hit in 17 of those 21 contests, and is up to second in the CCAA with his team-best .378 season average. Sanchez has produced career bests of a 10-game hit streak, the longest by a Triton in 2015, and 15-game reached-base streak. The Mission Viejo product drew a walk to lead off the first inning in all five of UCSD's home games from April 7-12, and more interesting still, went ball-ball-called strike-ball to begin each of those at-bats, before eventually accepting the free pass. He has led off with a walk in each of the Tritons' last seven home contests, and reached base to begin all nine games at home since he took over the leadoff spot on March 21, through eight walks and a single. Sanchez scored the run in UCSD's lone walk-off triumph of 2015, on Justin Flatt's single through the right side in the 11th inning against Cal Poly Pomona on April 2. He singled up the middle with two outs, stole his first base of the year, and scooted on over to third on the catcher's throwing error, with Flatt producing the decisive hit on the very next pitch. Watch it here.

LEAGUE-LEADING PITCHING
UCSD is atop the CCAA in team ERA at 2.70, ahead of Cal Poly Pomona (2.89). No other team is under 3.50. The program record is 2.92 from the 1994 season. The Tritons have allowed just three runs over the last five games, two of them earned (0.43). They are second in the league after CPP (370) with 367 strikeouts, and will most assuredly break the program record of 385 from 2010. The starting rotation of Justin Donatella (8-1, 0.55), Trevor Scott (6-5, 2.23), Alon Leichman (6-2, 3.47) and Troy Cruz (5-4, 2.86) all have an ERA of under 3.50 and at least five wins. Donatella paces the CCAA in wins (tied), ERA and strikeouts (88), and is first on the staff with 65.1 innings. His closest competitor in the CCAA in strikeouts, Cal State L.A.'s Icezack Flemming, whom UCSD will see this week, is 16 behind. The Tritons as a team have issued only 100 walks, the fewest in the league.

SOPHOMORE BUMP FOR LARSEN
Jack Larsen has produced the opposite of a sophomore slump, as the second-year Triton outfielder has made himself into an MVP candidate in the CCAA. After finishing the 54-game 2014 slate with a .269 average, six extra-base hits and 13 RBI, the Mission Viejo product is second on the team in batting (.354), and first in both extra-base hits (16) and RBI (42) in 2015. He is third in the CCAA in RBI, seventh in slugging (.542), tied for ninth in average, and tied for 16th in doubles (10). In conference games only, Larsen is batting .348 with 34 RBI.

DEFENSE STEADIED
UCSD is up to a .971 mark in fielding percentage, third in the CCAA after a slow start defensively. The Tritons had a run of six straight games without an error during a season-long six-game road stretch from March 22-29. The single-season record for consecutive games without an error for the program's Division II era still stands at seven, from March 27 to April 9 of the 2010 campaign, when the Tritons set a Division II record that still stands with a fielding percentage of .984, en route to a return trip to Cary, N.C. UCSD has been charged with just 16 errors in 26 games since a program-record 11 at Cal State East Bay on March 1. The Tritons' fielding percentage would be at .977 if not for that game, a mark that would currently be tied for the national lead. As it stands, they are still 22nd, after back-to-back years in the top 12 (fifth in 2014; 11th in 2013).

TWO-HEADED MONSTER AT END OF BULLPEN
Fourth-year seniors Dan Kolodin and Chad Rieser have five and three saves, respectively. Kolodin (3-1, 3.80), a right-hander, is second on the staff with 20 appearances, 17 in relief, and is second in strikeouts (53) while fourth in innings (47.1). Rieser (0-0, 3.10 ERA), a left-hander, has made a team-best 22 appearances with 39 strikeouts over 29.0 frames. He struck out the side in order in both the sixth and seventh on Feb. 21 against Cal State Dominguez Hills. On March 7, Rieser saved both ends of a doubleheader sweep at home over rival Chico State, becoming the first Triton to achieve the feat since Kolodin in another home sweep against SF State on April 6, 2013. A third senior, right-hander Javier Carrillo, Jr. (1-1), has a 2.81 ERA and one save over 15 relief stints.

MANN ALIVE
Senior first baseman Michael Mann has turned things around after a rough start to his final collegiate campaign. He held a .200 batting average following the 6-2 loss at Azusa Pacific on Feb. 24. Since then, Mann is hitting .424 (39-for-92), with 20 RBI and 11 multi-hit efforts in 27 appearances, to increase his average to .350, third on the team. During this stretch, the Orinda native produced a 5-for-5 showing in the series finale at East Bay on March 1. Over the course of the 2013, 2014 and 2015 seasons, there have only been two five-hit efforts by a Triton, both from Mann, as he was 5-for-5 against CPP in the 2014 West Regional last May 16. The Division II-era single-game program record is six hits. Mann also went 4-for-5 on Feb. 28 at East Bay.

TRITONS CRUZ OVER TO FIRST BASE
Redshirt freshman Justin Flatt leads the CCAA with 34 walks, ahead of Erik Lewis (33), Troy Cruz (32) and Jack Larsen (31). The Triton quartet in fact takes up the top four spots in the conference, though Larsen is tied for fourth. A year ago, it was Nick La Face (47), Lewis (42) and Justin Rahn (35) all ahead of the CCAA pack. UCSD comfortably tops the CCAA in walks as a team (245), with CSUMB second at 195. The Tritons are second nationally, nine behind 2014 walks leader Lander (254), and will easily pass the Bearcats, as they have concluded their 2015 campaign.

STREAKS SNAPPED
UCSD had gone 15 straight CCAA sets without suffering a series loss, going back to a road trip to Cal State Monterey Bay to end the 2013 campaign, before a 3-1 loss to Cal Poly Pomona, April 2-4 ... The Tritons had in fact won six straight completed CCAA sets, including all five this year (not including the then-in-progress CSUSB series), going back to a 3-1 win over CSUSB to conclude the 2014 regular season ... The Tritons played error-free baseball over a six-game road stretch from March 22-29 prior to the April 2 home date vs. CPP, with their Division II-era best still standing at seven straight (March 27-April 9, 2010) ... Gradeigh Sanchez had his career-best 10-game hit streak and 15-game reached-base streak end at CPP on April 4 ... Justin Donatella had won his first six CCAA starts this year prior to taking a no-decision against CPP on April 2 ... Donatella strung together a career-best streak of 34.1 innings of shutout baseball (first 31.2 frames of CCAA play) between Feb. 6-March 21 ... Erik Lewis had his lengthy reached-base streak going back to last season snapped at 40 games on Feb. 28.

DONNY DONS AWARDS FOR DOMINANT STARTS
Justin Donatella has earned CCAA Pitcher of the Week distinction three times and NCBWA West Region Pitcher of the Week twice in 2015. He took both together on two occasions, first for his one-hit shutout at Cal State East Bay on Feb. 27 with 11 strikeouts on just 98 pitches, and then for another six innings of shutout baseball with a season-high 12 strikeouts in a home win over Cal State Monterey Bay on April 10. A third CCAA award was added after eight more shutout innings at Cal State Stanislaus on April 17, when he set down the first 12 Warrior hitters. At East Bay, Donatella retired the first 14 Pioneers he faced, with the home side managing just a two-out single through the left side in the fifth inning, and a leadoff hit-by-pitch in the seventh. He registered eight more outs on grounders, and the other eight on fly balls, also handling all four of his defensive chances cleanly with three assists on comebackers and one putout. Donatella's very next outing of 7.1 shutout frames with nine strikeouts against Chico State, garnered him a spot among 10 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Players of the Week from all levels of college baseball.

PROGRAM FIRST FOR DONATELLA
Justin Donatella's remarkable performance at Cal State East Bay on Feb. 27 marked the first one-hit, nine-inning shutout by an individual Triton pitcher in the Division II era, since 2001. Former standouts Tim Shibuya (7.0 IP) and Elias Tuma (2.0) previously combined on a one-hit, nine-inning shutout in another defeat of Cal State East Bay, 1-0, on Feb. 19, 2011. Five Triton arms teamed up on a nine-inning one-hitter on Feb. 5, 2002, in a 3-1 victory at crosstown rival Point Loma. The only no-hitter for UCSD's Division II days came from Trevor Decker against then-top-ranked Cal State Stanislaus, a 6-0 home triumph in seven innings back on March 14, 2009.

YOUNG OUTFIELD
All but five of the 135 combined starts in the UCSD outfield in 2015 have come from redshirt freshman Justin Flatt, redshirt sophomore Brandon Shirley, and true sophomores Jack Larsen and Christian Leung. Flatt, Shirley and Larsen started left to right in each of the first 17 games. Leung's play has earned him 13 starts in right field since, with Larsen moving back over to center, where he made all 44 of his starts as a freshman in 2014. The outfielders have combined for 10 of the Tritons' 15 home runs, with Larsen accounting for a team-best five. Flatt served as the leadoff hitter for the first six contests, with Shirley taking over at the top of the order for the next 11. Flatt reached base safely in each of the first 12 games, then in a team season-best 20 straight from Feb. 24-April 7, and in 40 of the 43 games he has played in. Larsen, who has batted either third or fourth in the lineup, is second on the team in average (.354), and first in RBI (42), multi-hit (14) and multi-RBI (12) games. He is third in the CCAA in RBI, and tied for ninth in hitting.

VETERAN INFIELD
Over the first 45 games, the Tritons have generally started the same veteran infield. Just like in 2014, it's been Troy Cruz at third base, Erik Lewis at second and Michael Mann at first, with Tyler Howsley, a part-time starter at shortstop as a freshman a year ago, taking over that spot for good. The only exceptions have been at third for the 10 games when Cruz has been on the mound, and six starts at first between Zach Friedman and Justin Flatt. Brett Levy has been behind the plate for 27 of the 45 games, with fellow fourth-year senior Brian Choi drawing five starts. UCSD's middle infield has exclusively been Howsley and Lewis, with Cruz the only other Triton to start all 45 games, though 35 of his starts have come at third, with 10 on the mound.

STATISTICAL ODDS AND ENDS
Justin Flatt reached base in 20 straight games, the longest run by a Triton this year, through April 7 ... Gradeigh Sanchez, UCSD's leadoff batter the last 21 contests, has produced the longest hit streak by a Triton in 2015, with his career-best 10-gamer through April 3 ... UCSD is an even 6-6 against nationally-ranked opponents in 2015 ... The Tritons never trailed during their four-game home sweep over then-20th-ranked archrival Chico State, March 6-8, and have not lost a series to the Wildcats since 2007 in Chico (3-1) ... Redshirt freshman catcher Steven Coe has thrown out six of 14 (.429) would-be base-stealers this season ... The Tritons' nine-run eighth inning in the 19-2 home romp over Azusa Pacific on April 7, was their largest frame since collecting 11 runs in the ninth during a 17-3 win at SF State on April 18, 2014 ... UCSD has tallied exactly 19 runs twice this season, having last had at least two efforts with 19 or more, in 2010 ... UCSD is 27-6 when scoring first (with three such losses vs. CPP), and 10-1 when scoring in the first inning ... The Tritons are 24-1 when out-hitting their opponent, and 27-5 when scoring at least four runs ... They have reached double figures in runs scored 13 times (12-1) ... UCSD season highs have been 19 runs (twice) and 23 hits (4/21 vs. CSUSB) ... The Tritons are 7-1 with one split in their nine CCAA sets in 2015.

POWER UP
The Tritons hit five home runs during their season-opening four-game series with Western Oregon, having needed 38 contests to achieve that total in 2014. Prior to the 8-3 victory in the nightcap with Western Oregon on Feb. 1, the previous time that UCSD hit three home runs in a single game was a 10-5 loss at Cal Poly Pomona on Feb. 23, 2012. The Tritons have done it twice in 2015, launching three more long balls to open the doubleheader at Cal State East Bay on March 1. Brian Choi's grand slam in that Western Oregon contest was the first by a Triton since Justin Rahn's against CPP in the third inning of a 20-5 triumph during the NCAA West Regional in La Jolla on May 16, 2014. Having finished 2014 with 11 home runs in 54 games, UCSD has 15 through 45 games this season.

HIT-BY-PITCH RECORD
Cal State Dominguez Hills pitchers hit UCSD batters a total of nine times during a 19-0 drubbing in game one of the Feb. 21 doubleheader in La Jolla. That constituted a Triton program record at least for the Division II era (since 2001), and likely all-time. UCSD was plunked seven times in a single game four times prior, in 2007, 2005, 2004 and 2003.

CRUZ A STAR OF THE YEAR
UCSD junior Troy Cruz was named on Jan. 14 as one of eight San Diego Hall of Champions Amateur Stars of the Year for 2014. The local product out of Chula Vista (Bonita Vista HS) was a two-time SDHOC Star of the Month during the 2014 calendar year. He helped guide UCSD to a record sixth CCAA tournament title and into the NCAA postseason, excelling as both an infielder and pitcher. Cruz was recognized at the 69th Annual Salute to the Champions on Feb. 23 at the Town and Country Convention Center. Both he and Triton head coach Eric Newman were in attendance, with Cruz addressing the crowd. Read a Triton Q&A with Cruz here.

TRITON NOTES
Troy Cruz went a perfect 4-0 in his four starts in March, with a 2.10 ERA, 24 strikeouts and a single walk in 25.2 innings, earning him the third San Diego Hall of Champions Star of the Month award of his Triton career ... Justin Donatella's incredible February (3-1, 0.36 ERA, 33 strikeouts) with a shutout streak of 23.2 innings, earned him a first career San Diego Hall of Champions Star of the Month selection ... Trevor Scott and Jack Larsen were named on Feb. 3 as the 2015 season's first CCAA Baseball Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively ... Cruz was chosen to the NCBWA Preseason All-America Third Team at the utility spot, with Cruz (first team), Donatella (second) and Erik Lewis (second) each named to NCBWA Preseason All-West Region teams (Jan. 23) ... UCSD was picked to place third in the 2015 CCAA regular-season race by the league's 11 head coaches, as announced on Jan. 27, with 2014 West Region champion Chico State favored.

ROSTER NOTES
UCSD's 36-player 2015 roster features 17 letterwinners, seven returning redshirts and 12 newcomers ... The Tritons have retained six out of nine regular position players and three of four starting pitchers ... UCSD returns a quartet of all-conference performers from a year ago in junior All-American and two-time All-CCAA First Team selection Troy Cruz, senior Erik Lewis (first team), junior Justin Donatella (first) and senior Michael Mann (third) ... All but two players on the roster, junior pitcher Alon Leichman (Kibbutz Gezer, Israel) and redshirt freshman Tim White (Stratford, CT), are California natives ... Besides Cruz (Chula Vista/Bonita Vista HS), the five other San Diego products are redshirt freshman catcher Steven Coe (Valley Center/Valley Center HS), and newcomers Troy Forester (Carlsbad/Palomar College/Carlsbad HS), Cameron Kurz (Encinitas/La Costa Canyon HS), Tyler Plantier (Poway/Del Norte HS), and Jack Rupe, Jr. (San Marcos/Mission Hills HS) ... Plantier is the son of Phil Plantier, who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball for five franchises, and served as the hitting coach of the hometown San Diego Padres from 2011-14 ... Tyler Howsley, Jack Larsen and Gradeigh Sanchez played together at Mission Viejo's Capistrano Valley High School.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
UCSD's 2015 schedule consists of 49 regular-season games, including 28 at home within the friendly confines of Triton Ballpark. The Tritons faced CCAA favorite Chico State at home for the second year in a row, sweeping that four-game series between archrivals, March 6-8. UCSD wrapped up a season-opening, season-long 11-game homestand on Feb. 17. The CCAA Championship will be held in the neutral-site city of Stockton for the third year in a row, but after the previous two editions took place at Banner Island Ballpark, the four-team tournament is headed back to Klein Family Field on the campus of the University of the Pacific, May 7-10. It will be a familiar locale for the Tritons, who won their third and fourth CCAA tourney titles back-to-back at the venue when the event was held there previously in 2010 and 2011.

HEAD COACH ERIC NEWMAN
Eric Newman is in his fourth season as the UCSD head coach. The 2012 CCAA Coach of the Year has a 127-79 record (97-55 CCAA) in charge of the Tritons and 222-151 overall in his six-plus seasons as a head coach. Newman guided UCSD to the 2012 CCAA regular-season and tournament titles in his first go-around in La Jolla, and a subsequent trip to the NCAA Division II West Regional. His Tritons won a record sixth conference tourney crown last May in Stockton, to again nab the CCAA's automatic berth into the NCAA Championship. With UCSD earning the region's top seed, Triton Ballpark played host to the 2014 NCAA West Regional. Newman has now led the Tritons to two CCAA banners and two NCAA postseason appearances in his three years, as well as two 30-win campaigns. He previously went 95-72 in three seasons at the helm of Dallas Baptist University from 2005-07.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Cal State L.A. (26-18, 21-15 CCAA) had lost seven straight prior to taking the final three games of its split-venue set with Cal State San Bernardino last weekend, to win the series and maintain its hold on fourth place in the CCAA table. Icezack Flemming (8-2, 2.89 ERA) is tied for the CCAA lead in wins and second in strikeouts (72). Fellow starting pitcher Brandon Quintero (4-2, 3.68) was teammates with UCSD's Troy Cruz for the National Baseball Congress World Series champion Santa Barbara Foresters last summer. The junior right-handers both pitched in the final on Aug. 9, as Quintero (6.0 IP, 5 H, R, 4 BB, 5 K) drew the start and Cruz (3.0, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K) earned the winning decision. Triton starter Alon Leichman played with CSULA senior rightfielder and leadoff man Trent Zaks at Cypress College. Zaks (.317, 36 R, 4 HR, 29 RBI) has a comfortable lead atop the CCAA with 24 doubles. Cal State L.A. went 35-22 overall in 2013 en route to the program's first conference tournament banner. Vince Beringhele is in his eighth season at the helm of the Golden Eagles.

SERIES HISTORY
The tight all-time series between these league rivals was completely even at 35-35 before UCSD swept last year's four-game CCAA set. The Tritons actually went 5-2 against the Golden Eagles in 2014, as Cal State L.A. took two of three in an early-season non-conference series. The teams split a doubleheader in La Jolla on Feb. 8, before the Golden Eagles held off a late charge by the Tritons to win 9-8 at home the next day. CSULA scored seven in the fourth and UCSD rallied with six in the eighth in that one. In early April, UCSD won 6-3 and 4-3 at home before sweeping a twin bill in Los Angeles, 13-2 and 2-0. UCSD won the 2013 regular-season series, 3-1, as the teams split a pair in Los Angeles before the Tritons swept a home doubleheader. The sides played to a 2-2 series split in 2012, each winning twice at home.

GEAR HERE
UCSD Athletics has partnered with Advanced-Online to provide a web-based, on-demand option for UCSD apparel and merchandise. Fans have access to over 600 products that can be processed and shipped within 24 hours. Visit the site at UCSDTritonsGear.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA - #TritonsRising
UCSD Athletics on Facebook (UCSDtritons)
UCSD Athletics on Instagram (@UCSDtritons)
UCSD Athletics on Twitter (@UCSDtritons)
UCSD Athletics on YouTube (UCSDathletics)
Triton Baseball on Twitter (@UCSDbsb)
Coach Newman on Twitter (@CoachEricNewman)
Coach Avila on Twitter (@CoachAvi)
Coach Bloodworth on Twitter (@CoachBlood_)
Coach Burleson Twitter (@CoachB_UCSD)

UP NEXT
UCSD will head by bus north to Stockton on Wednesday, May 6, for the 2015 CCAA Championshp. The four-team, double-elimination tournament will be held at Klein Family Field on the campus of the University of the Pacific, May 7-10. The Tritons open play on Thursday, May 7, with game time only to be determined once seeds become finalized this weekend.

#TritonsRising