LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego senior right-hander
Cameron Leonard pitched 5.1 scoreless innings as the Tritons downed visiting Santa Clara, 3-1, Friday afternoon at Triton Ballpark.
UC San Diego (2-8) earned its first home victory of the season. The Broncos fell to 5-8.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the bottom of the second, the Tritons took a 1-0 lead when junior first baseman Blake Fitzgerald hit a solo homer over the wall in right-center, his first long ball of the season.
With runners at the corners and one away in the bottom of the fourth, UC San Diego added to its lead when sophomore
Devon Hawks lifted a sacrifice fly to left, plating Fitzgerald with the game's second run.
Leonard scattered a pair of hits, striking out six without issuing a walk over 5.1 innings for the Tritons to earn his first victory of the season (1-1).
The Broncos got a run in the top of the sixth to cut the Tritons' lead to 2-1, but the UC San Diego bullpen limited the damage to just the one run.
UC San Diego added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, when catcher
Paul Gozzo laced an RBI single to left field, scoring
Blake Baumgartner. Gozzo was 3-4 at the plate on Friday.
Senior
Luke Mattson worked the final 3.1 innings to earn his first save of the season.
FROM THE COACH
"This game was really well-pitched on our end, said UC San Diego head coach
Eric Newman. "It was nice to see both Cam and Luke pitch to their ability; they both were throwing strikes with multiple pitches. We needed an effort like that on the mound to get things righted. When you pitch it well, you always feel a little bit better about your team. That's just baseball."
TRITON TIDBITS
- Earlier Friday, UC San Diego announced the remainder of its 2021 baseball schedule.
- Fitzgerald's homer was the first of his career, and he earned a career-high three walks.
- The Tritons' bullpen pitched 3.2 innings, allowing two hits and striking out four.
UP NEXT
The Tritons and Broncos square off in game three of the four-game set on Saturday at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
Return To Sport… Safely
In order for UC San Diego scholar-athletes to be permitted to return to training and competition safely and within federal, state, local, and university guidelines, the athletic department implemented a number of measures designed to complement and enhance the university's highly-successful Return To Learn program. Notable actions include being physically distanced when practical, including during out-of-season training sessions; wearing masks, except when undergoing physically strenuous exercise; and maintaining proper hygiene. Athletes, coaches, and staff are testing at a higher frequency than the campus population, teams adhere to CDC, NCAA, and Big West Conference guidelines, and department officials participate in regular meetings with conference and university-affiliated physicians and the UC San Diego emergency operations staff.
