IRVINE, Calif. – The UC San Diego baseball team salvaged their series with UC Irvine and quieted one of the top offenses in the conference in a 5-2 victory. The Tritons improve to 8-16 and 5-7 in conference action while the Anteaters drop to 19-10 and 13-3 in conference action.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Michael Fuhrman singled to left center in the first inning. Blake Baumgartner launched a double all the way to the center field wall and brought Furhman in. Tate Soderstrom hit a double to drive in Baumgartner and give the Tritons a 2-0 lead to open the game. In the top of the third, Anthony Lucchetti and Baumgartner both drew walks, Tate Soderstrom advanced the pair with a sac bunt and Paul Gozzo increased the lead with an RBI single down the right field line.
 
Brandon Weed walked a pair of batters in the bottom of the of the third. With two outs, Luke Spillane singled the ball to left field to bring an Anteater home. Mike Peabody tried to add a second run for the Anteaters on the play, but the Tritons' relay reached home for the out.
 
Fuhrman hit a well-placed leadoff double to open the seventh, Lucchetti advanced him to third and Baumgartner brought him in with a hit to take a 4-1 lead. Soderstrom singled to left field and Gozzo was walked to load the bases but the Anteaters got the next two outs to close the inning.
 
Nathan Church hit a triple to start the bottom of the seventh and scored on the next Anteater hit. Michael Mitchell stayed composed on the mound and struck out the side.
 
Brock Kleszcz reached base on a hit by pitch in the eighth and was able to make it to third when Fuhrman put the ball in play. Lucchetti hit a double to allow Kleszcz to score and retake a three-run lead at 5-2.
 
Luke Mattson replaced Mitchell in the eighth and pitched two scoreless innings to earn the save.

FROM THE COACH
"Today our guys on the mound really gutted out innings and did a nice job staying aggressive with all their pitches," stated Head Coach Eric Newman. "Offensively, we battled hard and got some really good at-bat's from Fuhrman, Lucchetti, Soderstrom and Kleszcz. Our guys hung in there together through out the weekend and I was really proud of how they stayed together when it was getting tough. We can build off this and will need to as we will face another very tough opponent in Santa Barbara next weekend." 

TRITON TIDBITS

• Mitchell recorded a career high six strikeouts against UC Irvine. He earned the win, his first of the season.
• The win today marked the first time the Tritons have defeated the Anteaters. It also ended the Anteaters' perfect record at home.
• Mattson picked up his third save of the season, tying him with Mitchell.
• Lucchetti had his first multi double game with two doubles. He is also the only Triton to hit multiple doubles in a game this season.
• Fuhrman's three hits was a season high.

UP NEXT
The Tritons return to Triton Ballpark to host preseason Big West favorites UC Santa Barbara April 16-18. April 16's game can be streamed on BigWest.TV while April 17 and 18's games can be seen 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 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.