LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball marked another milestone in the Division I era with its first-ever Big West series sweep, recording a 12-0 victory over UC Riverside on Sunday afternoon at Triton Ballpark.
 
Nine different Tritons (18-23, 9-9 Big West) recorded an RBI in the contest, including Ryan McNally who finished 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored. Additionally, eight of UC San Diego's nine hits were for extra bases, including three homeruns. 
 
Coming off his Big West Pitcher of the Week nod, Zack Ernisse (3-1) was dominant in his second collegiate start. The freshman lefty threw 6.0 shutout innings, allowing four hits, one walk and striking out four. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither team allowed a hit through the first two innings before a leadoff single by the Highlanders (7-33, 3-18 Big West) in the top of the third. 
 
An inning later, UC San Diego got its first hit and never looked back. The offense exploded for 10 runs in the inning—the most scored in an inning this season. Marc Filia got the scoring started with a leadoff homerun—his Big West-leading 10th homer of the season. One batter later, Michael Fuhrman knocked a solo shot as well before Crew Robinson hit a two-run blast to make it 4-0.
 
With two runners on, Luke Saunders hit a bases-clearing triple to left center and Jalen Smith brought him in with a ground-out to second to make it 7-0. The Tritons loaded the bases with two outs before Ryan McNally knocked his second double of the inning to clear the bases and give UC San Diego the comfortable 10-0 advantage. 
 
Ernisse did not allow another hit until the top of the sixth, a leadoff single. UCR threatened with runners on the corners and two-outs, but Ernisse forced the ground-out to end the inning without a run.
 
UC Riverside threatened again in the top of the eighth with two outs and the bases loaded, but another ground-out ended the inning and kept the shutout intact. 
 
The Tritons rallied again in the bottom of the eighth to put another crooked number on the board, crossing four runs in the inning. With the bases loaded and no outs, Matt Halbach was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Filia grounded into a double-play but UC San Diego was able to score another run on the play. Back-to-back RBI doubles from Blake FitzGerald and Anthony Lucchetti gave the Tritons the 14-0 advantage.
 
Reliever Lonnie Morris closed out the contest with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth to secure the second shutout of the season for the Tritons.
  
TRITON TIDBITS

• Starting pitcher Zack Ernisse (3-1) pitched 6.0 shutout innings, allowing four hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
• The UC San Diego bullpen (Soberon, Dale, Morris) combined for four strikeouts and allowed just one hit for the second shutout of the season.
• UC San Diego's 10 runs in the fourth inning is the most scored in a frame by the Tritons in the Division I era and their 14 runs is the second-most this season (22-10 vs Seattle, Feb. 19).
• Eight of UC San Diego's nine hits were for extra bases. 
• Ryan McNally recorded the only multi-hit performance of the contest.
• With the win, the Tritons improved to 5-2 in the all-time (D-I) series with UC Riverside and earn the season sweep, 3-0. The Tritons outscored the Highlanders in the series 33-7.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will wrap up the Trolley Series with San Diego State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium. 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.