LA JOLLA, Calif. – Despite a strong performance from starting pitcher
Brandon Weed, the UC San Diego baseball team fell 2-1 to CSU Bakersfield on Sunday afternoon at Triton Ballpark. A few costly mistakes in the sixth proved to be the difference in the game.
The Tritons fall to 10-22 and 7-13 in conference while the Roadrunners improve to 14-9 and 11-5 in conference.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Brandon Weed put together a quality start and pitched five scoreless innings. He finished the day with six strikeouts and gave up three hits and one walk.
Paul Gozzo hit his first triple of the season that hugged the left field line to plate
Jackson Kritsch in the second inning, putting UC San Diego on top by a 1-0 score.
After Weed's day on the mound was done,
Izaak Martinez came into pitch in the sixth. He got a strikeout but allowed two runners on base via a walk and hit batsman before
Luke Mattson came into pitch. A fielding error from
Everett Lau loaded the bases and the Roadrunners picked up two unearned runs to take the lead.
The Triton bats were cold after the third and only recorded one more hit during the eighth inning.
FROM THE COACH
"
Brandon Weed obviously pitched his butt off for us. Three free bases in the sixth inning was the difference in the game on our side. We didn't take care of the ball, put two guys on base. We had a walk, hit by pitch, an error and that's the game," stated Head Coach
Eric Newman. "That's what baseball is going to be like. The margin of error is small. You can't make those mistakes. Izaak's been better than that in the past but he wasn't today. Everett's been better in the past, but he wasn't today. So that's what the game came down to."
TRITON TIDBITS
- The triple from Gozzo was his first of the season and only the second in his career.
- Weed also picked off a runner for the second week in a row.
- Mattson has pitched 11.2 straight innings without giving up an earned run.
UP NEXT
The Tritons will be on the road the next two weekends. Their first stop will be at UC Riverside for a four-game series from April 30 to May 2.
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.
