LAKE ELSINORE, Calif.– UC San Diego baseball fell to UC Santa Barbara, 9-6, on Friday evening at Lake Elsinore Diamond.
 
The Tritons (6-9) were led by Jalen Smith who finished 3-for-4, including a two-RBI double, while Anthony Lucchetti and Blake FitzGerald both finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego struck first in the bottom of the second inning, scoring FitzGerald from third on a wild pitch to lead 1-0. However, the Gauchos (9-4) responded the following inning, putting up six runs in the third. UCSB added two more runs in the seventh to take a commanding, 8-1 lead. 
 
The Tritons were not short of opportunities, putting runners on base in five of the first six innings but eight were left stranded. UC San Diego finally cashed in in the bottom of the seventh, with a bases-loaded walk drawn by FitzGerald to force in a run and a two-run single from J. Smith to cut the deficit to four.
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UCSB got one run back in the eighth on a sac-fly to lead 9-4. UC San Diego rallied once again in the bottom of the inning, when Lucchetti and FitzGerald each registered an RBI single to make it 9-6. 
 
However, UC San Diego was unable to find any more late-game magic as the final three Tritons were retired in order to end the contest.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Starting pitcher Matthew Dalquist (Fr., RHP) went 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
• Blake FitzGerald, Anthony Lucchetti and Jalen Smith all registered multi-hit games for the Tritons and were responsible for four of the runs batted in.­­
• With the loss, the Tritons move to 1-4 in the all-time series with UC Santa Barbara.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will remain in Lake Elsinore for the second game of the two-game series with UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT. Live statistics 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.