SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — UC San Diego baseball put together a strong defensive performance and picked up their first Big West victory when they defeated Cal Poly 5-2 at Baggett Stadium. The Tritons improve to 4-9 while the Mustangs drop to 11-7 and 3-2 in conference play.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither team was able to score in the early innings of the contest, despite having chances. After Blake FitzGerald led off with a walk in the top of the second inning, a one-out double to left field from Tate Soderstrom put himself and FitzGerald in scoring position for the Tritons, but they were unable to capitalize after a pair of strikeouts.
 
The Mustangs eventually ended the scoring drought with an RBI single from Reagan Doss in the fourth, but UC San Diego responded in the next inning.
 
The Triton bats were hot in the fifth, with four-straight hits to open the inning. After a single by Paul Gozzo and a double down the left field line by Logan White Jr., Brock Kleszcz and Ryan McNally each singled to drive in Gozzo and White Jr. and claim the Tritons' first lead of the day, 2-1. Later in the inning with two outs, Jackson Kritsch stroked a single to center field to knock in Kleszcz and increase the lead to 3-1.
 
Although Cal Poly tacked on a run in seventh to make it a one-run ballgame, the Tritons picked up some late insurance runs. With White Jr. on base in the ninth, McNally sent a home run over the left field fence to bring the score to 5-2.
 
Luke Mattson, who took the mound to relieve starter Cameron Leonard in the seventh inning, closed out the game to secure UC San Diego's first-ever Big West Conference victory and pick up the save. 
 
Mattson finished the game with a trio of strikeouts and gave up just one earned run. Leonard also shined, surrendering only one earned run as he tossed six innings. He allowed just five hits to the Mustangs, only one of which was an extra-base hit. 
 
FROM THE COACH
"Fridays in this conference you have to get a good performance on the mound and make the plays defensively, and today we did that," stated Head Coach Eric Newman. "Cameron was very consistent all day and Luke came in and did a really nice job. Offensively, we had some early opportunities that we didn't cash in but the guys stayed with it and we were able to do some damage in the middle and late innings."

TRITON TIDBITS

• Cameron Leonard earned his second win of the season and pitched for a season high six innings.
• McNally had a season high three RBIs and hit his first home run of the season.
• Mattson earned his second save of the year, matching his total number of saves from 2019 and 2020.
• The Tritons did not register an error for the first time this season and out hit the Mustangs 11-to-7.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will play a double header tomorrow with game one slated to start at 12:00 p.m. Both games can be streamed through Big West TV.

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.