SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—UC San Diego dropped a back-and-forth battle with UC Santa Barbara in the series opener, 10-6, on Thursday evening at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
 
The Tritons (12-20, 4-6 Big West) had three players drive in two RBI in the contest, including Marc Filia, Blake FitzGerald and Jalen Smith. Luke Saunders finished the night 3-for-3 for UC San Diego, while Filia went 2-for-5 and FitzGerald knocked the only homerun in the contest for the Tritons.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons threatened early, loading the bases with two outs in the top of the second. However, UC San Diego was unable to cash in, ending the inning without a run on a ground-out to third.
 
Starter Ryan Forcucci retired the first five Gauchos (22-8, 11-2 Big West) in order before allowing two base runners in the bottom of the second. A strikeout ended the threat and kept the game scoreless through the first two innings.
 
UC San Diego got on the board in the top of the third with a two-run homerun by FitzGerald to give the Tritons the 2-0 lead. 
 
In the bottom of the fourth UCSB broke through, putting up three runs on an RBI single and a sac-fly to take the 3-2 advantage. The Tritons answered immediately in the fifth with a two-RBI single by Filia to retake the lead, 4-3.
 
The Gauchos did most of their damage in the bottom of the fifth, putting up four runs on an RBI single and three-run homerun to jump back in front, 7-3. UCSB added one more run in the sixth to make it 8-4. 
 
UC San Diego cut the deficit in half in the eighth—after loading the bases with two outs, Jalen Smith sent a single back up the middle to bring in two Tritons and make it, 8-6. However, the Gauchos got those two runs back in the bottom of the inning with a two-RBI double. 
 
The Tritons continued to fight down the stretch, getting the first two runners on base to begin the ninth. UC San Diego advanced a runner to third before the Gauchos ended the rally to take game one of the series, 10-6.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Starting pitcher Ryan Forcucci pitched 3.2 innings, allowing three runs on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
• Marc Filia, Blake FitzGerald and Jalen Smith recorded RBI, each plating two runs in the contest.
• Marc Filia and Luke Saunders recorded the only multi-hit outings for the Tritons.
• Austin Smith extended his 28-game streak of reaching base for the Tritons, reaching on three walks.
• With the loss, the Tritons fell to 1-6 in the all-time (DI) series against UC Santa Barbara and 0-3 this season.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will face off with UC Santa Barbara in game two of the weekend series on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. 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.