LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego baseball team spoiled No. 22 UC Santa Barbara's weekend sweep and picked up a 9-5 victory at Triton Ballpark on Sunday afternoon in the series finale. The Tritons improve to 9-19 and 6-10 in conference while the Gauchos drop to 24-10 and 15-5 in conference.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
A solo home run from Zach Rodriguez put the Gauchos on the board in the top of the second. Marc Filia answered with a home run just inside the right field line to tie the game up in the bottom of the second.
  
After three innings from Brandon Weed, Luke Mattson came into the game to pitch for the Tritons.
 
With baserunners on second and third, the umpire called a balk on Mattson and a Gaucho runner scored in the fifth. Jason Willow drove in a run to give the Gauchos a 3-1 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Anthony Lucchetti hit a sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game.
 
The Tritons put on their rally caps in the seventh inning to score five runs and take a 7-3 lead. Blake Baumgartner and Jackson Kritsch hit back-to-back RBI singles. Filia hit a double down the left field line to plate both Kritsch and Baumgartner at home. Brandon Stewart capped off the inning by scoring off a wild pitch.
 
The Gauchos scored a run in the top of the eighth. Kritsch hit a double to deep center field to score two runners and give the Tritons their biggest lead of the day with a 9-4 advantage.
 
Nicolas Vogt hit a one-out home run for the Gauchos in the top of the ninth, but Michael Mitchell and Triton fielders retired the final two batters to seal the win.
 
INTERVIEW WITH MARC FILIA
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The win over the Gauchos marks the Tritons' first ever victory over UC Santa Barbara. It is also the highest ranked team they have beaten at the Division I level.
• Baumgartner hit 3-for-5 and now has an eight-game hit streak.
• Filia went 3-for-4 at the plate and was a triple shy of the cycle. His three hits set a new career high.
• Mitchell got the win for the Tritons. He gave up two hits, two runs, one walk and threw two strikeouts through 2.2 innings of work.
• The Tritons stranded 13 Gauchos on base.

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons stay at Triton Ballpark for a match-up with Cal State Bakersfield April 23-25. All four games next weekend can be viewed 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 38 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.