LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball took the series opener, 7-1, over UC Riverside on Friday evening at Triton Ballpark.
 
The Tritons (16-23, 7-9 Big West) were led by Noah Sudyka who finished 2-for-3 with four RBI and a run scored. Jalen Smith knocked a three-run homerun—his fourth of the year—to record the other four runs for UC San Diego. Starting pitcher Ryan Forcucci (1-4) had his best outing of the season, pitching 7.0 innings and allowing one run on two hits with two walks and five strikeouts to earn his first collegiate win.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Highlanders (7-31, 3-16 Big West) got on the board first, loading the bases in the second inning and drawing a walk to force in the first run of the game.
 
After notching the final out of the second, Forcucci retired the next 13 Highlanders in order before walking the leadoff batter in the seventh. A double play cleared the bases and a pop-up ended the inning to cap a stellar performance for the freshman righthander.
 
UC San Diego broke through in the fifth, scoring two on a double down the right field line by Sudyka. The Tritons got two more runners on before J. Smith knocked a three-run homer to left field to give UC San Diego the 5-1 advantage. 
 
The Tritons added two more runs the following inning with another Sudyka base hit, this time a single to right field to make it 7-1. 
 
Ethan Holt came on in relief in the eighth for Forcucci and retired all six batters faced to close out the contest and give the Tritons the series-opening victory.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Starting pitcher Ryan Forcucci pitched a career-high 7.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits with two walks and five strikeouts. 
• Jalen Smith and Noah Sudyka recorded multiple RBI for the Tritons.
• Noah Sudyka was the only Tritons to record a multi-hit performance.
• With the win, the Tritons improved to 3-2 in the all-time (D-I) series with UC Riverside and 1-0 this season.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will face off with UC Riverside in game two of the series on Saturday at 2 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.