SAN DIEGO—UC San Diego baseball defeated San Diego State, 9-6, on Tuesday evening in the finale of the Trolley Series at Tony Gwynn Stadium. With the win, the Tritons improved to 3-1 to take the season series for the first time in program history.
 
The Tritons (19-23, 9-9 Big West) were led by Jalen Smith who finished 2-for-4 including a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Crew Robinson tallied a team-best three RBI and Brock Kleszcz knocked his first homerun of the season. Izaak Martinez (3-1) earned the win with 3.0 hitless innings, including three strikeouts.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons got off to a quick start with a leadoff triple by Luke Saunders in the first, followed by an RBI single by Jalen Smith to make it 1-0. Smith advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt and Marc Filia brought him home with a sac-fly to give UC San Diego an early 2-0 lead.
 
Martinez was dominant in his first start of the season, retiring all nine batters faced in order. Martinez tallied three strikeouts in his 3.0 innings of work, without allowing a hit.
 
In the top of the fourth, the Tritons added to their lead with a bases-loaded double by Robinson to score three. Robinson came home on a fielding error by the Aztecs and UC San Diego built a 6-0 lead.
 
SDSU broke through in the fifth with a solo homerun, but the Tritons responded immediately. Brock Kleszcz knocked a two-run pinch-hit homerun—his first of the season—to make it 8-1.
 
The Aztecs cut into the deficit, scoring three runs in the eighth. UC San Diego got a run back the following inning with an RBI single by Emiliano Gonzalez to score Jalen Smith from second.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, San Diego State attempted a rally, scoring two runs on two hits but the advantage proved enough for the Tritons to secure the victory and the series win.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Starting pitcher Izaak Martinez went 3.0 shutout innings, retiring all nine batters faced including three strikeouts.
• Five Tritons tallied RBI in the contest, including Marc Filia, Emiliano Gonzalez, Brock Kleszcz, Crew Robinson and Jalen Smith.
• Emiliano Gonzalez, Luke Saunders and Jalen Smith recorded multi-hit performances for the Tritons.
• It was the first series win for the Tritons since the teams first met in 1971. 
• With the win, the Tritons improve to 4-4 in the all-time (DI) series against San Diego State and take the season series, 3-1.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will return to Triton Ballpark to host Cal State Fullerton for a three-game series, Friday-Sunday. The games 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.