SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After leading 4-1 heading into the eighth inning, UC San Diego baseball gave up four runs to fall to Santa Clara 5-4 in the series opener on Friday night at Schott Stadium. 
 
The Tritons (6-5) got a tremendous outing from their freshman starter, Matthew Dalquist, who pitched 7.0 innings, allowing one run on five hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts. Matthew Fuhrman led UC San Diego offensively, finishing 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons struck first with an RBI single down the left field line from Matt Halbach in the second inning to lead, 1-0. UC San Diego then retired the next seven batters in order before the Broncos got on the board in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI double to tie things up 1-1.
 
UC San Diego had plenty of early opportunities, threatening in the third with runners on second and third with one out, but back-to-back strikeouts left the Tritons stranded. The Tritons had runners in scoring position in the fourth and fifth innings but again, were unable to cash in.
 
It was a different story in the sixth, as the Tritons put together a two-out rally behind an RBI double from Ryan McNally and a two-RBI double from Fuhrman to retake the lead 4-1.
 
The Broncos threatened with a runner on third in the seventh, but a strikeout from Dalquist and a fly-out to right ended the inning for the Tritons. 
 
Dalquist was dominant in his third start of the young season, pitching 7.0 innings and allowing just one run on five hits. The Tritons turned to their bullpen to begin the eighth and things went awry quickly for UC San Diego, loading the bases and giving up a three-run double to tie the game at 4-all.
 
With two outs and a runner on second, the Broncos sent a line-drive single down the right field line to score the winning run in the bottom of the ninth for the walk-off victory.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Starting pitcher Matthew Dalquist (Fr., RHP) went 7.0 innings, allowing one run on five hits with 10 strikeouts and one walk.
• Michael Fuhrman registered the only multi-hit game for the Tritons, finishing 2-for-5 with a two-RBI double.
• Matt Halbach and Ryan McNally each recorded an RBI in the contest.
• With the loss, the Tritons move to 4-5 in the all-time series with Santa Clara and 0-1 in the weekend series. 
• Aren Alvarez (1-2) was credited with the loss for UC San Diego.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will take on Santa Clara in game two of the three-game series on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT. A free live stream 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.