RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The UC San Diego baseball team hit five home runs but it wasn't enough as the Tritons dropped a pair of ballgames to host UC Riverside on Saturday afternoon at the Riverside Sports Complex. The Highlanders took game one, 13-3 (7 innings) and won the nightcap, 11-6.
 
With Saturday's results, the Tritons are 11-24 overall and 8-15 in Big West action. UC Riverside is 14-20 overall and 12-15 in conference play.
 
GAME 1: UC RIVERSIDE 13, UC SAN DIEGO 3 (7 innings)
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the second, Jackson Kritsch led off the inning with an infield hit. Everett Lau ripped a 2-1 pitch down the right field line that cleared the fence for a two-run homer to put the Tritons in front, 2-1.
 
The UC San Diego lead was short-lived, as the Highlanders tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the home half of the second.
 
The Tritons re-took the lead in the fourth, when Kritsch led off the frame with a walk and later scored on a passed ball with two outs.
 
The Highlanders sent 15 batters to the plate in the bottom of the fifth, scoring eight times – including five runs after two were out – to take a 10-3 lead. Two more runs in the sixth and one in the seventh put the game in the win column for UC Riverside.
 
Noah Conoln (1-5) was charged with seven runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings to take the loss for UC San Diego. UC Riverside's Tyler Frazier (2-1) scattered seven hits and three runs (two earned) over six innings to pick up the win.

GAME 2: UC RIVERSIDE 11, UC SAN DIEGO 6
The Highlanders' bats picked up where they left off in game one, building a 5-0 lead over UC San Diego in game two through three innings.
 
The Tritons dented the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. Lau reached on a one-out infield single. Two batters later, Tate Soderstrom belted a two-run homer to right field – his second of the season – to draw the Tritons to within three, 5-2.
 
The Highlanders quickly answered, posting single runs in the fourth and fifth to lead 7-2.
 
In the top of the sixth, UC San Diego's home run barrage began in earnest. Blake Baumgartner led off the inning with a solo shot to left. Two batters later, it was Aaron Kim taking a 3-1 pitch out to left field. With two outs and no one one, Marc Filia joined the home run parade with a solo blast to left center, making the score 7-5.

UC Riverside responded with three more runs in the home half of the sixth to put the game out of reach.
 
Tritons' starter Aren Alvarez surrendered five earned runs over 2.1 innings to suffer the loss, falling to 1-5 on the season. UC Riverside's Juline Tucker (2-2) surrendered five runs over six innings while earning the win. Jake Lachemann notched his third save.

TRITON TIDBITS

• UC San Diego's four homer outburst in game two was a season-high for the Tritons.
• After dropping a pair on Saturday, the Tritons are 6-9 on the road this season – including 5-6 in Big West play.
• Four of Baumgartner's five homers have come against Big West competition.

UP NEXT
The Tritons and Highlanders wrap up their four-game series on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the game will be streamed on BigWest.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 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.