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UC San Diego

Blake FitzGerald v UW
7
UConn UCONN 14-4
8
Winner UC San Diego UCSD 7-12
UConn UCONN
14-4
7
Final
8
UC San Diego UCSD
7-12
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
UConn UCONN 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 1 0 7 9 0
UC San Diego UCSD 0 3 1 0 3 0 0 1 X 8 12 1

W: Martinez, Izaak (2-1) L: O'Donnell, Brendan (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

FitzGerald Leads Tritons to Victory in Series Finale with UConn

UC San Diego snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 8-7 win against the Huskies

LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball earned a hard-fought 8-7 victory over UConn in the series finale on Monday afternoon at Triton Ballpark.
 
The Tritons (7-12) were paced by Blake FitzGerald who finished the day 3-for-3, including a solo homerun, tallying two RBI, two runs scored and a walk. Jalen Smith also recorded a multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Izaak Martinez (2-1) was credited with the win for UC San Diego, pitching 2.0 innings and allowing one run on two hits with two strikeouts. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons took the early lead after loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second. Nick Costello hit a grounder back to the pitcher and Ryan McNally laid down a sac-bunt to drive in two runs, before Noah Sudyka sent an RBI single up the middle to make it 3-0, Tritons.
 
The Huskies (14-4) got on the board in the top of the third with an RBI groundout, but UC San Diego answered immediately in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Blake FitzGerald sent a solo shot to right-center for his first homerun of the season to lead 4-1.  UConn's offense came alive in the fifth inning, putting up five runs to take its first lead of the contest, 6-4. 
 
The Tritons did not get discouraged, answering in the bottom of the inning to put three runs on the board. Austin Smith, Jalen Smith and Blake FitzGerald tallied consecutive RBI base-hits to retake the lead for UC San Diego, 7-6.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, the Tritons threatened again loading the bases with one out. But back-to-back strikeouts kept UC San Diego from adding to its lead.
 
The Huskies tied the game again in the eighth inning with a solo homerun to make it 7-all. 
 
UC San Diego put together one last rally in the bottom of the eighth when Michael Fuhrman sent a sac-fly to center field to bring in McNally from third, scoring what would prove to be the winning run for the Tritons.
 
Izaak Martinez and the Tritons closed out the top of the inning, retiring the Huskies in order to secure the 8-7 victory.
 
QUOTABLE
"Guys have done a really good job fighting this whole time and today was no different," said UC San Diego head coach Eric Newman."Going through this stretch has been tough, but I also think it has made us tougher as a group."
 
"I saw a very determined group out there this whole series and today they were rewarded with a win."
 
TRITON TIDBITS
  • Starting pitcher Ryan Forcucci (0-1) went 4.1 innings, allowing five runs—all coming in the fifth inning—on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
  • Aren Alvarez struck out four of the seven batters he faced, recording 2.0 scoreless innings in relief for UC San Diego.
  • Seven different Tritons were credited with runs batted in, including Costello, FitzGerald, Fuhrman, McNally, A. Smith, J. Smith and Sudyka.
  • Blake FitzGerald and Jalen Smith recorded multi-hit games, while Michael Fuhrman and J. Smith tallied an extra-base hit. 
  • With the win, the Tritons end a 10-game losing streak to improve to 7-12.
  • UC San Diego improved to 1-2 in the all-time (D-I) series with UConn.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will continue a seven-game homestand on Tuesday, playing host to cross-town rival San Diego State at 6 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.
 
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