LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego baseball will play its final games of the inaugural Division I season this weekend. They host CSUN at Triton Ballpark May 27-29. All games can be streamed on ESPN3. 

DETAILS
Games 49-52
UC San Diego (21-27, 18-18 BW) vs CSUN (20-16, 20-16 BW)
Thursday, May 27 at 5:00 pm 
Friday, May 28 at 1:00 pm (DH)
Saturday, May 29 at 1:00 pm
Triton Ballpark, La Jolla, Calif. 
Live Stats | Watch ESPN 
 
PROBABLE STARTING ROTATION
Thursday: UCSD RHP Cameron Leonard  vs CSUN RHP Blake Sodersten
Friday game 1: UCSD RHP Noah Conlon vs CSUN RHP Gavin Lizik
Friday game 2: UCSD TBA vs CSUN RHP Jeremy Hassel
Saturday: UCSD RHP Brandon Weed vs CSUN RHP Blaine Traxel

ATTENDING THE GAMES
Per current COVID-19 safety guidelines and protocols implemented by UC San Diego, spectators are not permitted to attend home games at Triton Ballpark at this time. Each active UC San Diego scholar-athlete is permitted to admit two guests per contest. Scholar-athlete guests must be pre-registered and follow all campus safety guidelines including – but not limited to – health screening surveys, wearing masks that cover nose and mouth at all times, and proper physical distancing. UC San Diego reserves the right to deny entry to, or remove, guests who are not in compliance, and may amend this policy at any time. Due to current campus policy, student-athlete guests for visiting teams are not permitted.

COVERING THE TRITONS
Media members wishing to cover a UC San Diego game in-person at Triton Ballpark this season must notify a member of the Athletics Communication staff no later than 24 hours before the first pitch. All media members will need to complete a UC San Diego symptom screening form on the day of game prior to arriving on campus.
 
Following the conclusion of home events, a video highlight melt and video postgame interviews will be made available for media members to download.

SENIOR DAY
Prior to the start of the final home game on May 29, the Tritons will honor their 16 seniors. The players that will be honored are Brandon Weed, Luke Mattson, Mark Quinby, Brandon Stewart, Blake Baumgartner, Jackson Kritsch, Paul Gozzo, Zach Tresemer, Everett Lau, Jo Bynum, Logan White Jr., Aaron Kim, Noah Conlon, Cameron Leonard, Luke O'Brien and Tate Soderstrom.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC San Diego took its third series in a row when they beat Hawaii on the road. The pitching staff put together an ERA of 2.57 for the series, a season high. The Tritons did not record an error in the three games they won. Offensively, UC San Diego was sparked by strong individual performances throughout the series including Aaron Kim going 4-for-4 in game one, Jackson Kritsch going 3-for-3 in game four and a big two run home run in game four from Tate Soderstrom.
 
USE CREDIT UNION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jackson Kritsch was named the Triton Student-Athlete of the Week after sparking the Tritons at the plate and playing sound defense against Hawaii. Brandon Weed was named the Triton Student-Athlete of the Week on May 10 after his outstanding outing on the mound. Previously, Blake Baumgartner was recognized as Triton Student-Athlete of the Week on April 19, Michael Mitchell was named the Triton Student-Athlete of the Week on April 12, Ryan McNally was named Triton Student-Athlete of the Week on March 22 and Anthony Lucchetti earned the honor on March 1.
 
BIG WEST WEEKLY AWARDS
Senior Cameron Leonard became the first Triton to earn Big West weekly recognition when he was named the Big West Pitcher of the Week on March 15. The Triton ace pitched 5.1 scoreless innings and did not give up a walk or run in his first D1 win. He allowed two hits and his six strikeouts were one shy of his career high.
 
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
The Tritons have shown good patience at the plate and have been walked 202 times. Michael Fuhrman has 26 walks to lead the Tritons. The Tritons were highly successful with this in 2020 and finished 3^rd in the nation in Division II with 146 walks.
 
FINDING A GROOVE AT THE PLATE
While Baumgartner struggled early in the season, he has started to find his grove at the plate in Big West action. He had an eleven-game hitting streak that went through the UC Santa Barbara and UCI series and is hitting .321 in conference action. Michael Fuhrman has also found a lot of success in conference games and has hit for .364.
 
STRONG LONG BALL GAME
The Tritons' 41 home runs ranks second in the Big West, only behind UC Santa Barbara. Baumgartner leads the team with six and 15 total Tritons have hit a home run this season. No other Big West team has 15 different players with a home run on the season and 15 is believed to be the second most players from one school to hit a home run. Kansas State has 16 different players with a home run this season.
 
TOUGH TEAM TO RUN ON
The Tritons lead the conference with 30 players caught stealing. Paul Gozzo ranks second with 15 runners thrown out. Aaron Kim, who has thrown out 10 runners this season, ranks fifth in the conference.
 
SCOUTING CSUN
The Rainbow Warriors are 20-16 overall and elected to play a conference only schedule this season. Similarly to the Tritons, the Matadors has been hot in the latter half of the season and have won the last three series. Kai Moody leads the Matadors at the plate with a Big West leading .393 batting average while fellow Matador Denzel Clarke has a Big West leading slugging percentage of .628. Triton batters will look to exploit a pitching staff that has given up the most home runs in conference games (43) and has recorded the most hit batters in conference games (71).
 
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program has begun a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
 
RECORD WATCH
Several Tritons will look to break into the career top ten or improve upon their standings in the record book. Here's a rundown:

• Blake Baumgartner is tied with Jack Larsen and Kellen Lee for fouth in home runs with 27. One more will move him in a tie for third with David Morehead and another will give him sole possession of third all-time.
• Baumgartner also has 109 career walks, which puts him in at fourth all-time. 
• Aaron Kim has 21 career home runs and is tied with Shay Whitcomb for 10^th all-time
• Brandon Stewart has 36 stolen bases and will need six to crack the top ten. 
• Michael Mitchell has been one of the best closers for the Tritons. With nine career saves, he will need one more to break into the top ten.

HITTING MILESTONES
Baumgartner reached 150 career hits against UCSB and currently has 167. Brandon Stewart hit his 100^thcareer hit against CSUF last weekend. The only other play on the Triton's current roster that has more than 100 hits is Jackson Kritsch, who previously played for SF State for four years. Paul Gozzo, who has had stints at Tulane and UConn, has 97 career hits. Michael Fuhrman, who has been one of the hottest hitters on the team, is up to 95.
 
100 STRIKEOUT CLUB
Luke Mattson, Cameron Leonard , Brandon Weed and Noah Conlon have all recorded 100 career strikeouts with the latter recording it last weekend against Hawaii. Michael Mitchell sits at 82 career strikeouts.
 
HISTORY OF SUCCESS
During UC San Diego's Division II era, the Tritons were consistently one of the top teams in the nation. In their 20 year history of Division II baseball, the Tritons played post season baseball 11 times and made the World Series five times. They were back-to-back-to-back NCAA West Regional Champions from 2017-19 and finished runner-up at the World Series in 2010 and 2017. 

TRITONS IN THE PROS
In the 2020 MLB draft, the Tritons were one of three Division II teams with a player drafted when Shay Whitcomb was selected by the Houston Astros in the fifth round and 160th. The Tritons have had 23 former players drafted by the MLB and five sign free agent contracts.
 
BIG WEST PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1.             UC Santa Barbara – 119 (10)
2.             Long Beach State – 96
3.             UC Irvine – 95
4.             Cal Poly – 94
5.             Cal State Fullerton – 78
6.             CSUN – 64 (1)
7.             Hawai'i – 61
8.             UC Davis – 39
9.             UC San Diego – 33
10.           UC Riverside – 29
11.           CSU Bakersfield – 18
      () First place votes
 
UC SAN DIEGO ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
Most UC San Diego home baseball, softball, men's and women's basketball games and men's and women's volleyball matches are broadcast live on ESPN3. For more information on where to watch UC San Diego baseball, visit UCSDTritons.com/live.
 
UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast, Tritoncast. Produced by UC San Diego Athletics Communications, Tritoncast features in-depth interviews with UC San Diego personalities including scholar-athletes, alums, coaches, and administrators. Triton fans will get an inside look at the UC San Diego Athletics Department as the program transitions to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps, including Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Audible, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Vurbl. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter @Tritoncast.
 
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
You can follow the Tritons on Facebook, Twitter and Instragram. The team's handle is UCSDbsb.
 
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
 
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, visit the official team store of the Tritons here.

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.