IRVINE, Calif. – UC San Diego baseball dropped both games of their double header against UC Irvine on Saturday at Anteater Ballpark. The Anteaters won game one 11-1 in seven innings and took game two 9-3. The Tritons drop to 9-16 and 4-7 in Big West play while the Anteaters improve to 19-9 and 13-2 in Big West action.
GAME ONE
Aaron Kim was walked, and
Blake Baumgartner and
Noah Sudyka were hit by pitches to load the bases in the second with two outs. But the Tritons were unable to take advantage and exited the top of the second with all three stranded.
The Anteaters put up a crooked number in the second inning when they scored six runs. That rough stretch put an end to
Noah Conlon's day on the mound after 1.2 innings. The Anteaters plated another run in the third to take a 7-0 lead.
Kim and
Tate Soderstrom would record the first and second hit of the day for the Tritons in the top of the fourth. Strikeouts from Baumgartner and
Marc Filia and a pop-up from Sudyka closed out the inning and stranded the runners.
The Triton bats found some life in the sixth when Soderstrom hit a double and Baumgartner singled to left field to bring him home and give the Tritons their first run of the series.
The Anteaters scored four more runs in the seventh to take a 11-1 lead and end the game due to the 10-run rule in the seventh inning.
GAME TWO
The Anteaters took an early lead in the second inning with a two RBI single from Connor McGuire.
Jackson Kritsch was hit by a pitch to open the fourth by getting.
Michael Fuhrman launched the first pitch he saw over left field for a two-run home run.
Anthony Lucchetti singled to left center on the next at bat and was able to make his way around the bases to score a run and give the Tritons a 3-2 lead.
After putting together a good 3.2 innings to start the game,
Nic Gregson was replaced by
Luke Mattson. Mattson threw 2.1 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
With Mattson out of the game in the seventh, the Anteaters scored four runs to take a 6-3 lead. They added another three runs in the eighth and retired the final three Triton batters to close out the top of the ninth.
FROM THE COACH
"Our guys are battling right now. This is a tough stretch for us against some good teams, and you can see why Irvine is where they are in the league," stated UC San Diego head coach
Eric Newman. "We will come out tomorrow ready to compete again and try to go win a game."
TRITON TIDBITS
- In game two, Baumgartner drew a walk, the 100th of his career.
- Lucchetti and Soderstrom were the only Tritons with multiple hits in a game between the two games. Soderstrom went 2-for-3 in game one while Lucchetti was 2-for-4 in game two.
- Blake FitzGerald matched a career high three walks in game two.
UP NEXT
The fourth and final game of the series will begin at 1:00 pm April 11 at Anteater ballpark. The game can be streamed on 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 has begun a new era 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 II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have garnered 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. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
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.
