FULLERTON, Calif. – UC San Diego baseball earned the series win over Cal State Fullerton with a 6-1 win Sunday afternoon at Goodwin Field.
Brandon Weed had his best performance of the season and struck out nine batters while only giving up a single run. The Tritons improve to 15-25 and 12-16 in conference while the Titans fall to 19-24 and 12-12 in conference.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither team got much going through five innings. The Tritons had several hits that were close to going over the wall in the fifth, but only
Tate Soderstrom's double landed as the other three hits were caught right in front of the wall.
Anthony Lucchetti hit a leadoff double in the top of the sixth and
Blake Baumgartner drove him in with a single to right field to plate the first run of the game. With the bases loaded, Jackson Ktisch took a pitch to the back and brought the Triton's second run. The Titans responded with an RBI single to come within one run of the Tritons.
Michael Fuhrman drew a walk in the seventh and
Tate Soderstrom blasted the ball out of right field to give the Tritons a 4-1 lead.
Chris Gilmartin came in relief for Weed and inherited two runners with no outs in the eighth but got the lead runner out when the runner tried to steal third. Bases loaded with two outs, but Gilmartin induced a pop fly to end the inning.
Aaron Kim added some insurance runs with a two-run homer over the left field wall in the top of the ninth to give the Tritons a 6-1 lead. Gilmartin retired the final three batters to end the game.
FROM THE COACH
"The effort over the weekend from our guys was tremendous. To come back after a 16-inning fight on Friday and with the series is an incredible accomplishment for these players," Lauded Head Coach
Eric Newman. "Our seniors really stepped up and led us today. Baumgartner, Soderstrom and Kim made some great swings.
Brandon Weed was tremendous, pitched with great poise and competitiveness."
TRITON TIDBITS
- Weed's final stat line was nine strikes, seven walks, one run and one walk. His seven innings of work was the longest he had pitched since Cal Poly in the end of March.
- With win over CSUF, the Tritons are now tie 3-3 all time with the Titans.
- Kim's home run in the ninth moves him to 21 career home runs and tied for 10th in the record book with Shay Whitcomb.
- The 14 runs the Tritons allowed in the CSUF series was the lowest in a series all season.
UP NEXT
The Tritons return to Triton ballpark May 14-16 to host UC Davis. All games will be 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 has begun a new era 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 II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have garnered 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. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
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.
