LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball defeated Northern Colorado, 17-10, to open the three-game series on a rainy Friday afternoon in Triton Ballpark. The Tritons (5-6) moved to 1-1 in the all-time series with the Bears (2-11) and 1-0 in the weekend series.
 
It was a strong day for the Tritons at the plate, led by Emiliano Gonzalez who set a UC San Diego Division I record with five hits, and tied the all-time record with five runs scored. Gonzalez finished 5-for-6 with five runs, two RBI and a double. Brock Kleszcz knocked his first home run of the season—a three-run shot—and finished the day 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Noah Sudyka also tallied three RBI, tying the all-time record with four walks in the contest. 
 
Michael Mitchell (1-0) earned his first win of the season, pitching 3.0 innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Northern Colorado took the early lead, plating three runs in the top of the second to make it 3-0. The Tritons responded in the bottom of the inning, scoring on a bases-loaded walk by Sudyka and a sac-fly by Fuhrman to pull within one, 3-2. 
 
UC San Diego's offense exploded for five runs an inning later sparked by an RBI single by Gonzalez to tie the game 3-3. The Tritons took the lead with a three-run home run off the left field foul pole by Kleszcz and Patrick Hackworth brought in the fifth run of the inning to help the Tritons build a 7-3 lead.   
 
The Bears got a run back in the top of the fourth and threatened for more, but a 4-6-3 double play ended the inning and limited the damage, 7-4. UC San Diego rallied again in the bottom of the fourth, scoring on back-to-back bases-loaded walks and a fielder's choice to make it 10-4.
 
Once again, UNC got a run back with a solo homer in the fifth, but the Tritons responded again with two run this time to extend their lead, 12-5. 
 
Northern Colorado did most of its damage in the top of the seventh, scoring five runs to make it 12-10. UC San Diego responded once again, scoring two in the seventh including a leadoff home run by Brandon Larson and an RBI by Jalen Smith. The Tritons added three more in the bottom of the eighth with Gonzalez's fifth hit of the day—an RBI double—and an RBI fielder's choice by Crew Robinson to secure the 17-10 victory.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Emiliano Gonzalez set a Division I record for most hits in a game (5) and finished one hit shy of the all-time record (Evan Kehoe, 6 hits, 4/25/08 vs SFSU).
• Noah Sudyka tied the all-time record for walks in a game (4).
• Six Tritons were credited with multiple RBI, including Fuhrman, Robinson, Smith, Gonzalez, Kleszcz and Sudyka.
• It was the eighth game with 10 or more hits by the Tritons this season.

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will continue the three-game series with Northern Colorado on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Triton Ballpark. 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 began a new era in 2020 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 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.