HONOLULU – The UC San Diego baseball performed well defensively, on the mound and at the plate to defeat Hawaii 3-2 to take the series win. Brandon Weed grinded through another strong start on the mound and a two-run homer from Tate Soderstrom provided fuel for the Tritons to take the win. The Tritons improve to 21-27 and 18-18 in Big West while Hawaii falls to 24-22 and 16-20.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Triton batters battled well with six hits in six innings, but the Tritons could not convert runners to home plate. Blake Baumgartner was a perfect 3-for-3 during that period. They stranded nine runners through six innings.
 
Brandon Weed battled well on the mound, only giving up one hit and a walk through five innings.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, Kole Kaler recorded Hawaii's second hit off Weed for a double and Scotty Scott drove him in to break the scoreless game.
 
Tate Soderstrom gave the Tritons the lead with a two-run home run out to center field to make it a 2-1 ball game in the seventh.
 
Consecutive hits from Jackson Kritsch and Logan White Jr in the eighth led to the Triton's third run of the day and a crucial insurance run.
 
After allowing back-to-back hits with one out in the eighth, Weed's day on the mound was done and Michael Mitchell came in to finish the inning. Adam Fogel drove a runner in for Hawaii to make it a 3-2 game. The bases loaded up with two outs, but the Tritons got the last out to limit the damage. 
 
Luke Mattson pitched in the ninth to close the game. He allowed a leadoff hit and the tying runner was moved to third on consecutive sacrifice plays. The batter put the ball in play, Everett Lau fielded it and Jackson Kritsch tagged the runner coming to first to end the game.
 
FROM THE COACH
"That was a fun baseball game to be a part of. Well-pitched and well played defensively with really timely hitting," praised Head Coach Eric Newman. "Brandon Weed once again pitched with great poise and competitiveness and we were really solid behind him."
 
"The at bats all game long were very good from the guys and even after we fell behind in the seventh, I felt like we were going to score. Tate's home run was a huge swing and to do it in this park, shows the kind of power he is capable of. The at bats from Kritsch and White in the 8^th were clutch for us to get the insurance run."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Weed set a new career high in innings pitched with 7.1. He finished the game with five walks, two runs, one strikeout and one walk.
• Mattson collected his fifth save of the season.
• The Tritons have picked up a series victory for a third time in a row.
• Kritsch, Baumgartner and Anthony Lucchetti each recorded three hits with Kritsch's being a season high.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will play their final series of the season at Triton Ballpark May 27-29 against CSUN. Prior to the start of Saturday, May 29's game, the Tritons will honor the seniors. All games 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 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.