LA JOLLA, Calif. – The No 3. University of California, San Diego baseball team took both games of a double header against Cal Marcos at Triton Ballpark on March 8. It was the first sweep in conference play for the Tritons this season. They now sit at 17-4 and 11-4 in CCAA action.
"It's good for us to get this sweep. Our league is very difficult to get four games in any weekend. It's hard to win those," stated Head Coach
Eric Newman. "So when you get those opportunities you try and take advantage of them and just happy for the guys to do that."
The Tritons' next home series will be March 13-15 when they host Cal State East Bay in La Jolla.
GAME 1 – 20-6 Win
The offense exploded in the first two innings, recording 11 runs -- the most through the first two innings all season.
Michael Fuhrman went a perfect 4-for-4 from the plate.
Nick Kitzmann and
Devon Hawks both went 3-for-4 with five RBIs.
Blake Baumgartner and
Nick Kitzmann both homered and Kitzmann,
Shay Whitcomb and
Michael Fuhrman both hit doubles. The starting pitcher for the Cougars was pulled after Kitzmann's third home run of the series put the Tritons up 11-1 after two innings.
The Cougars' Luc Stuka hit a three-run homer in the top of the third to cut the Triton lead to 11-4.
Devon Hawks answered hitting a single to right field with bases loaded to drive in two more runs to give the Tritons a 13-4 lead.
The Tritons' barrage continued in the fourth inning as they added five runs to increase the lead to 18-4.
Jo Bynum hit his first triple in the seventh inning and hits from
Luke Glascoe and
Marc Filia gave the Tritons a sizable 20-4 lead with two innings to go.
GAME 2 – 3-1 Win
The hot handed UC San Diego offense cooled off in game two, thanks in part to pitching from the Cougars' Jacob Miller, who held the Tritons to just two hits in the game and struck out 10 batters.
Cal State San Marcos took a 1-0 lead in the first after hitting back-to-back doubles. Three Tritons were walked to start the bottom of the first, but the following three batters were struck out to end the inning scoreless.
It wasn't until the fifth inning the Tritons would get on the board. An error from the second baseman kept the inning alive with two outs.
Anthony Lucchetti singled to tie the game and
Michael Fuhrman hit a two-run double to give the home team a 3-1 lead.
Luke Mattson came in relief and earned the win for UC San Diego with two innings of work and three strikeouts.
Michael Mitchell got the save and only needed 22 pitches to retire six batters.
About UC San Diego Athletics
With 30 national team championships, nearly 150 individual titles and the top student-athlete graduation rate among Division II institutions in the United States, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program annually ranks as one of the most successful in the country. The Tritons sponsor 23 intercollegiate sport programs that compete on the NCAA Division I and II levels and, in summer 2020, will transition into full Division I status as a member of the Big West Conference. UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent. A total of 82 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. In competition, more than 1,300 UC San Diego student-athletes have earned All-America honors.
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