LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego pitching staff held the Washington offense to two runs, and the Tritons put together a six-run fifth inning to win the second game of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon, 6-2, and secure at least a split of the series.  
 
Marc Filia's two-homer, three-RBI performance in the first game of the day was not enough for the Tritons (6-2), as the Huskies (4-3) capitalized on five UC San Diego errors to win, 6-3.
 
GAME ONE: UC SAN DIEGO 3, WASHINGTON 6
The Huskies were first to score, putting up the game's first run in the top of the second. Marc Filia answered with his first of two homers, a two-RBI shot in the bottom of the inning to put the Tritons on top, 2-1, before Washington's own two-run homer gave them back the lead. Filia hit his second homer in the bottom of the fourth to tie things back up, but that would be all the scoring UC San Diego could muster.
 
The Huskies took the lead for good in the fifth inning, as a throwing error turned one run on an RBI infield single into two runs for the visitors. Washington added an insurance run in the sixth and held on to win, 6-3.
 
Filia, who went 3-for-7 with four RBI across the two games, was the only Triton to record multiple hits in game one, and the defense committed five errors. Starter Aren Alvarez (1-1) was credited with the loss.
 
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"(We) clearly had some things to work on coming out of that first game," Head Coach Eric Newman said. "First was the defense, and just the overall focus of the group wasn't quite there. It showed up a few times early on and didn't hurt us too bad, but eventually it caught up with us in a few innings and we just couldn't overcome it."
 
GAME TWO: UC SAN DIEGO 6, WASHINGTON 2
Noah Conlon kept the Husky bats in check, allowing only a single, unearned run in the third inning. Washington would score again in the eighth, but at that point it was little more than consolation.
 
The Tritons scored all six of their runs in the fifth inning. After Matt Halbach scored on a wild pitch to tie the game, freshman Luke Solis roped a two-RBI triple to right center to put UC San Diego ahead for good. Michael Fuhrman and Filia's RBI doubles bookended another wild pitch to push the Tritons' lead to 6-1.
 
Conlon (1-1) earned the win, finishing his six innings of work allowing four hits, one unearned run, and a walk, while striking out four Huskies. Gonzalez and freshman outfielder Nick Costello both finished 2-for-4 at the plate.
 
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"I liked the way we bounced back from a focus perspective," Newman said. "We still had our mistakes, but we fought through it well. Noah Conlon really did a nice job of staying poised and pitching all night … Obviously our focus in the 5^th was tremendous, got a great AB from Luke Solis for his first college hit and it got us really going."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Luke Solis' two-RBI triple in game two was his first collegiate hit and RBI
• Marc Filia is the first Triton to homer twice in one game this season; two Tritons did so in 2021, including current senior Blake FitzGerald

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons go for the series win in the final game of the four-game series against Huskies Sunday at noon at Triton Ballpark. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and live stats will be available via UCSDTritons.com
 
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 38 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.