LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball fell to cross-town foe San Diego State, 14-7, on Tuesday night at Triton Ballpark.
 
The Tritons (7-13) were led by Jalen Smith, who finished 3-for-4 with two triples and a run scored. Matt Halbach went 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored and Michael Fuhrman led the team in RBI with a three-run homerun in the game.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Aztecs (5-15) took the early lead with a sac-fly in the top of the second for a 1-0 advantage. UC San Diego answered in the bottom of the inning when Ryan McNally hit an RBI double off the wall in dead-center field to score Matt Halbach from second and tie the game 1-all.
 
San Diego State tacked on two more runs in the top of the third to retake the lead, 3-1. 
 
The Tritons took their first lead of the contest in the fourth inning with a three-run homerun to left field by Michael Fuhrman to lead 4-3.
 
SDSU did most of its damage in the sixth inning, putting six runs on the board. The Aztecs added one more run in the seventh to take a 10-4 lead.
 
UC San Diego rallied in bottom of the seventh when Matt Halbach drove in two runs with an RBI double, advancing to third on an SDSU error. Halbach would later score on a wild pitch to pull the Tritons within three, 10-7.
 
However, the Aztecs offense remained hot, tacking on four more runs in the next inning to extend their lead, 14-7, and ultimately clinch game one of the season series.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Starting pitcher Zach Ernisse went 2.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits with two walks and a strikeout.
• The Tritons used five pitchers out of the bullpen (Morris, Holt, Tornero, Soberon, Dale), combining for 7.0 innings of work, allowing 13 runs (10 earned) with eight walks and six strikeouts.
• With the loss, the Tritons fall to 1-4 in the all-time (D-I) series with San Diego State.
• Michael Fuhrman, Matt Halbach and Ryan McNally were credited with RBI for UC San Diego. 
• Jalen Smith tallied two triples and a single in the contest and Matt Halbach recorded a single and a double for the only multi-hit performances of the game. 

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will continue begin Big West competition, playing host to Cal Poly for a weekend series Friday-Sunday. The games 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.