LA JOLLA, Calif.—After trailing by as many as four runs, UC San Diego baseball rallied in the ninth but could not complete the comeback in an 8-7 loss to UConn on Saturday evening in Triton Ballpark.
 
The Tritons (6-11) were paced by Austin Smith who finished the night 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Matt Halbach went 2-for-2 including a triple with an RBI and two runs scored and Jalen Smith also recorded a triple, finishing 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego was first to score, when Marc Filia drove in a run in the bottom of the third on a fielder's choice. The Huskies (13-3) would answer in the next inning, putting up two runs on the board to take the 2-1 lead.
 
The Tritons wouldn't stay quiet for long, scoring again in the bottom of the second. Halbach tripled to center field and Emiliano Gonzalez brought him in on a sac-fly to tie the game, 2-2.
 
The teams stayed knotted through the fourth inning, before UConn struck again with a leadoff homerun in the fifth and added one more on a pass ball to take a 4-2 lead.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the Tritons got one back after J. Smith tripled to right-center and Blake FitzGerald sent a grounder to second base to score the run. 
 
UConn did most of its damage in the seventh inning, scoring on back-to-back homeruns to make it 7-3. However, the Tritons would not give up, loading the bases in the bottom of the inning and scoring two on a single from A. Smith.
 
The Huskies added an insurance run in the top of the ninth which would prove to be the difference in the game. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, UC San Diego loaded the bases again and drew back-to-back walks to make it a one-run ballgame. However, a final strikeout cut the comeback short and the Tritons fell 8-7.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Zach Tonnerre got his first collegiate start for the Tritons, pitching 4.2 innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits. 
• Matt Halbach, Austin Smith and Jalen Smith all recorded multi-hit games for the Tritons.
• Five Tritons were credited with RBI including Marc Filia, Blake FitzGerald, Emiliano Gonzalez, Matt Halbach and Austin Smith.
• UC San Diego gave up four homeruns in the contest, the most allowed this season.
• The Tritons are 0-1 in the all-time division I series with Connecticut.
• With the loss, the Tritons extend a nine-game skid to fall to 6-11 on the season.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will continue a seven-game homestand on Sunday in the second game of its three-game series with UConn. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and 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.