SAN DIEGO– UC San Diego baseball fell to the University of San Diego, 2-0, on Tuesday evening at Fowler Park.
 
Four Tritons (6-8) recorded a hit in the contest, including Nick Costello, Emiliano Gonzalez, Matt Halbach and Jalen Smith. However, UC San Diego was unable to cash in, leaving seven runners stranded. The Triton pitching staff turned in a strong performance collectively, limiting the Toreros (6-5) to just three hits in the contest, their lowest total of the season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a quiet start to the game, with both teams scoreless through the first three innings. Austin Smith allowed just two base runners in those frames, including a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second after a 19-minute delay due to a blackout in the stadium.
 
After three straight walks to load the bases, the Toreros were first to break through putting up two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to lead 2-0.
 
USD got their leadoff runner to third in back-to-back innings in the fifth and sixth, but a strikeout from Zach Ernisse and a fantastic play by Michael Fuhrman at shortstop left both runners stranded.  
 
The Tritons weren't short of base runners either, getting runners aboard in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings but were unable to bring them in.
 
UC San Diego threatened one more time in the ninth inning with two outs, getting two runners on by way of an error and a hit batter. However a strikeout ended the rally and kept the Tritons off the board.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Starting pitcher Austin Smith (Fr., LHP) went 3.0 innings, allowing two runs on one hit with four walks and three strikeouts.
• The Tritons bullpen (Ernisse, Holt, Hasegawa, Alvarez) combined for 5.0 innings, with two hits, no runs, one walk and four strikeouts.
• It was the second time UC San Diego has been shut out this season.
• With the loss, the Tritons move to 0-5 in the all-time (D-I) series with USD.

UP NEXT
As recently announced, UC San Diego will head north to Lake Elsinore to face UC Santa Barbara in a pair of neutral-site nonconference games on March 11 and 12. The games will take place at Storm Stadium, home of the Lake Elsinore Storm, a minor league affiliate of the San Diego Padres.

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.