LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego baseball got sensational pitching performances all day but only could win the first game of a double header against CSUN as the Triton batters could not back up the pitching staff in game two. Noah Conlon put together complete game performance with nine strikeouts in a game one 5-2 win while the Tritons fell short in a 2-0 loss to end the day. The Tritons sit at 23-28 overall and 20-19 in the conference while CSUN's record is 21-18 both overall and in conference.
 
GAME ONE
Triton batters took advantage of free bases throughout the game to get runs. The offense was walked nine times and hit by a pitch five times. Jackson Kritsch took a pitch to the hips with bases loaded to tie the game in the first and make it a 1-1 game.
 
Logan White Jr. hit a double down the right field line, Brandon Stewart moved him over with a sac bunt and Lucchetti hit a single up the middle to take a 2-1 lead.
 
Lucchetti reached base in the fourth and Baumgartner took a hit by pitch to put runners on first and second. A big swing from Aaron Kim brought Lucchetti home to extend the Triton's lead to two runs.
 
The Tritons added its fourth run in the sixth as Kritsch drew his second hit by pitch with bases loaded to make it a three-run lead for the Tritons. Brandon Stewart hit the ball out of the park in the seventh to give an insurance run and take a 5-1 lead.
 
The defense, led by Conlon, looked strong all game long. Conlon looked sharp all game while only giving up two walks, two runs and seven hits. He had great support from the fielders who did not record an error and were responsible for two runners caught stealing.
 
GAME TWO
The Tritons had no problems getting base runners on base but struggled to convert those runners to runs. They finished the game stranding 10 on base including a bases loaded situation to end the first.
 
The pitching staff performed well on the mound, with Aren Alvarez, Izaak Martinez and Luke Mattson holding the Matadors to two runs.
 
CSUN picked up its first run with a single from Luke Powell to right field to plate a runner in the fourth. They looked to do damage in the top of the ninth with bases loaded and one out but only managed one run to take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the frame.
 
The Tritons looked to rally in the ninth but Blaine Traxel came in to pitch for the Matators and retired the side to end the game.
 
FROM THE COACH
Game one – "Noah was really exceptional in this game today. His effort right there was the difference," stated Head Coach Eric Newman. "We had some good at bats early. Lucchetti and White getting us on the board early and helping us extend the lead. And then late in the game, we just kind of kept the pressure on. Stew's home run late was really cool. It was not only a cool moment for him but added some insurance for the team. I thought we did a really good job in that game, we just never really were able to bust it open. We had lots of opportunities to do that. As we're going forward, we just got to take advantage of those opportunities."
 
Game Two – "We got a good pitching performance. The offense wasn't there in this game. I didn't like our approach, didn't like how we handled our at bats. We pitched it and defended it the way we needed to in order to win that game, but you have to score to win and if you get shut out, you're obviously not going to win that game. Tomorrow we have to do a better job. We got a little unfocused and undisciplined in our at bats, started chasing the wrong things and let some tension in when it wasn't going our way. We've got to learn how to deal with that and just let the game come to you and play the game with some freedom and some joy and that will be the difference for us if we can do that tomorrow."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Conlon's complete game was his first and his nine strikeouts matched a career high set against Mercyhurst on June 5, 2019. It was also the second complete game by a Triton pitcher this season.
• Martinez set a new career high with six strikeouts.
• With a win today, the Tritons are guaranteed to finish .500 or higher in Big West Conference games in their first year in Division I.
• Between the two games, the Tritons left 25 runners on base.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will conclude their season tomorrow with the final game of the CSUN series at 1:00 p.m. inside Triton Ballpark. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3. Prior to the start of the game, the Tritons' 16 seniors will be honored. The senior ceremony will be streamed live on the UC San Diego baseball Twitter account, starting at approximately 12:40 p.m.

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 accolades, while 38 have received 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.