LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego baseball team returns to Triton Ballpark this weekend to host Big West preseason favorites UC Santa Barbara. This will be the first match-up between the two teams.
DETAILS
Games 25-28
UC San Diego (8-16, 5-7 BW) vs UC Santa Barbara (21-9, 12-4 BW)
Friday, April 16 at 3:00 pm
Saturday, April 17 at 12:00 pm (DH)
Sunday, April 18 at 1:00 pm
Triton Ballpark, La Jolla, Calif.
Live Stats|
BigWestTV (Friday) |
ESPN3 (Saturday/Sunday)
PROBABLE STARTING ROTATION
Friday: UCSD RHP
Cameron Leonard vs UCSB Michael McGreevy
Saturday game 1: UCSD RHP
Noah Conlon vs UCSB LHP Rodney Boone
Saturday game 2: TBA vs TBA
Sunday: UCSD RHP
Brandon Weed vs UCSB RHP JD Callahan
ATTENDING THE GAMES
Per current COVID-19 safety guidelines and protocols implemented by UC San Diego, spectators are not permitted to attend home games at Triton Ballpark at this time. For more information on UC San Diego ticket policies, visit
UCSDTritons.com/tickets.
COVERING THE TRITONS
Media members wishing to cover a UC San Diego game in-person at Triton Ballpark this season must notify a member of the Athletics Communication staff no later than 24 hours before the first pitch. All media members will need to complete a UC San Diego symptom screening form on the day of game prior to arriving on campus.
Following the conclusion of home events, a video highlight melt and video postgame interviews will be made available for media members to download.
LAST TIME OUT
UC San Diego went 1-3 in their series against UC Irvine. After dropping the first three games, the Tritons salvaged the series with a 5-2 win over the Anteaters on April 11. This marked the first time in program history that the Tritons defeated the Anteaters. Baumgartner led the Tritons at the plate going 5-for-12 and hitting three RBIs.
USE CREDIT UNION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Michael Mitchell was named the Triton Student-Athlete of the Week on April 12. Mitchell came out of the bullpen in the Triton's win over UC Irvine to maintain the Triton lead and earn the win. His six strikeouts set a new career high.
Ryan McNally was named Triton Student-Athlete of the Week on March 22. Previously,
Ryan McNally was named the Student Athlete of the week on March 22 and
Anthony Lucchetti earned the honor on March 1.
BIG WEST WEEKLY AWARDS
Senior
Cameron Leonard became the first Triton to earn Big West weekly recognition when he was named the Big West Pitcher of the Week on March 15. The Triton ace pitched 5.1 scoreless innings and did not give up a walk or run in his first D1 win. He allowed two hits and his six strikeouts were one shy of his career high.
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
The Tritons have shown good patience at the plate and have been walked 100 times.
Blake FitzGerald leeds the Tritons with 14 walks.
Blake Baumgartner recorded his 100
th career walk against UCI this past weekend. The Tritons were highly successful with this in 2020 and finished 3
rd in the nation in Division II with 146 walks.
DON'T RUN ON THE TRITONS
The Tritons' defense has not allowed many stolen bases thanks in part to catcher
Paul Gozzo. Gozzo has thrown out 10 of 14 attempts on the season. Gozzo leads the conference in conference games with six runners caught stealing.
SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA
The Gauchos are currently in second in the Big West standings, one game behind UCI. They took their series over CSUN last weekend but dropped the final game of the series. Their pitching staff boasts an ERA of 3.54, the second lowest in the conference. Rodney Boone highlights the starting rotation with an ERA of 1.79 and 54 strikeouts on the season. Offensively, the Gauchos are hitting .287 and lead the conference in home runs (29) and RBIs (195).
TRITON TIES
Triton pitching coach
Matt Harvey was on the Gauchos' staff for seven years prior to joining UC San Diego. While at UC Santa Barbara, Harvey worked with several current MLB players including Shane Bieber, Dillion Tate and Greg Mahle.
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program has begun a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the
Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
RECORD WATCH
Several Tritons will look to break into the career top ten or improve upon their standings in the record book. Here's a rundown:
HITTING MILESTONES
With two more hits, Baumgartner will have 150 career hits.
Brandon Stewart will need three more hits to reach 100 career hits. The only other play on the Triton's current roster that has more than 100 hits is
Jackson Kritsch, who previously played for SF State for four years.
100 STRIKEOUT CLUB
Brandon Weed is the only current Triton with over 100 career strikeouts, but other Tritons look to join the ranks this season.
Luke Mattson currently sits at 97 while
Cameron Leonard is at 92.
HISTORY OF SUCCESS
During UC San Diego's Division II era, the Tritons were consistently one of the top teams in the nation. In their 20 year history of Division II baseball, the Tritons played post season baseball 11 times and made the World Series five times. They were back-to-back-to-back NCAA West Regional Champions from 2017-19 and finished runner-up at the World Series in 2010 and 2017.
TRITONS IN THE PROS
In the 2020 MLB draft, the Tritons were one of three Division II teams with a player drafted when
Shay Whitcomb was selected by the Houston Astros in the fifth round and 160th. The Tritons have had 23 former players drafted by the MLB and five sign free agent contracts.
BIG WEST PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. UC Santa Barbara – 119 (10)
2. Long Beach State – 96
3. UC Irvine – 95
4. Cal Poly – 94
5. Cal State Fullerton – 78
6. CSUN – 64 (1)
7. Hawai'i – 61
8. UC Davis – 39
9. UC San Diego – 33
10. UC Riverside – 29
11. CSU Bakersfield – 18
() First place votes
UC SAN DIEGO ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
Most UC San Diego home baseball, softball, men's and women's basketball games and men's and women's volleyball matches are broadcast live on ESPN3. For more information on where to watch UC San Diego baseball, visit
UCSDTritons.com/live.
UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast,
Tritoncast. Produced by UC San Diego Athletics Communications, Tritoncast features in-depth interviews with UC San Diego personalities including scholar-athletes, alums, coaches, and administrators. Triton fans will get an inside look at the UC San Diego Athletics Department as the program transitions to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps, including Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Audible, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Vurbl. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter
@Tritoncast.
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
You can follow the Tritons on Facebook, Twitter and Instragram. The team's handle is UCSDbsb.
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the
Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, visit the official team store of the Tritons
here.
UP NEXT
The Tritons will remain at home and host CSU Bakersfield from April 23-25 at Triton Ballpark. All games will be streamed 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.
