HONOLULU – The UC San Diego baseball team split a double header with Hawaii on Saturday, ensuring at least a split of the series. The Tritons picked up a come from behind 4-2 victory in game one and dropped game two 5-2. The Tritons sit at 20-27 on the season and 17-18 in conference.
GAME ONE
Neither team was able to score a run through six innings. The Tritons were able to work the count and reach first base on three walks but were only able to hit the ball twice in that frame.
On the opposite side, Hawaii hit the ball five times, but the Rainbow Warriors were not able to bring runners in scoring position home.
After
Noah Conlon hit a batter with a ball,
Izaak Martinez came into pitch in the sixth. The bases loaded with one out, but Martinez managed to work his way out of a jam with a strikeout and an inducing a pop fly to end the inning.
Hawaii broke through in the seventh when Adam Fogel hit an RBI double. Fogel reached home plate on a Sac Fly to give the Rainbow Warriors a 2-0 lead.
The Tritons responded with a big rally in the top of the eighth to reclaim the lead.
Luke Glascoe came in to pinch hit and drew a lead-off walk.
Michael Fuhrman and
Anthony Lucchetti hit back-to-back doubles to tie the game up. The Tritons loaded the bases up with one out and
Jackson Kritsch hit a two RBI double to complete the four-run rally and lead 4-2.
Michael Mitchell came in to pitch in the eighth and retired all six batters he faced for his fourth save of the season.
GAME TWO
Fuhrman hit a leadoff double, advanced to third on a wild pitched and scored when Baumgartner put the ball in play in the first. Hawaii responded with a leadoff double from Kole Kaler and Kaler was able to make it home to tie the game up.
The Tritons loaded the bases up with two outs in the third and
Everett Lau drew a walk to reclaim the lead. Hawaii put the Tritons in a similar situation and hit an RBI single to tie the game up 2-2.
An error from
Ryan McNally put the leadoff batter Kale Koler on first in the fifth. He made his way to third and scored on a Sac fly to give the Rainbow Warriors their first lead of the day.
Down 5-2 heading into the ninth inning, the Tritons looked to rally.
Tate Soderstrom hit a leadoff single and Glascoe reached base with a hit by pitch. Buddie Pindel, who had kept the Tritons scoreless through 5.1 innings of work, was replaced by Tyler Dyball. Dyball got a strikeout and the defense recorded a double play to end the game.
FROM THE COACH
Game one: "We won that game with pitching and defense as the catalyst. Conlon was really gutty for us again. Threw the ball well and competed hard on the mound," said Head Coach
Eric Newman. "The string of at bats in the 8th inning were tremendous, I was proud of how we competed and fought back and our defense late in the game was really good."
Game two: "Was a really ugly game for us kind of all across the board. Poor defense gave them too many opportunities to score. Offensively, our guys just seemed a little off across the board. We had some chances early in that game to bust it open and just couldn't square anything up. Then late game mistakes defensively cost us."
TRITON TIDBITS
- Noah Conlon recorded his 100th career strikeout in game one.
- With a win in game one, the Triton's win streak reached five games, the longest of the season.
- Martinez earned the win in relief in game one and improved his record to 3-1 on the season.
- Fuhrman has recorded a stolen base in every game of the series so far.
UP NEXT
The Tritons will play the series finale tomorrow at Les Murakami Stadium. Game will start at 4:05 p.m. PDT.
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.
