LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball limited crosstown foe San Diego State to just one hit in a 2-1 victory on Tuesday evening in Triton Ballpark. The Tritons (16-6) earned their 11th consecutive victory—the second-longest streak in the country—to improve to 5-4 in the Division I series with the Aztecs (7-13).
Doyle Kane knocked in the only two runs for the Tritons, finishing 1-for-3 with a walk.
Luke Saunders had an impressive night at the plate, going 3-for-4, and accounting for half of UC San Diego's six hits.
The Triton pitching staff combined for nine strikeouts, using seven pitchers to hold SDSU to just one hit and five base runners.
Seth Sumner (1-0) earned his first collegiate victory after an inning of work with one strikeout and
Ryan Rissas recorded his fourth save of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams got off to a slow start offensively, with UC San Diego stranding five runners on base through the first four innings. The Tritons held the Aztecs hitless through the first 2.2 innings.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Tritons had their first opportunity, loading the bases with one out. Kane singled to center field to bring in the Tritons' two runs of the game to make it 2-0.
The Aztecs responded an inning later, getting one run back after a passed ball and a ground-out advanced a runner to third with one out. SDSU got on the board with another ground-out to make it 2-1.
UC San Diego had at least one runner reach base in each remaining inning, but the Tritons were unable to cash in to extend their lead.
Rissas entered the game from the bullpen in the top of the ninth to shut down the Aztecs in order. Rissas struck out the leadoff man and closed out the contest with his strikeout of the inning to secure the victory for the Tritons.
TRITON TIDBITS
- Seth Sumner earned his first collegiate victory and Ryan Rissas earned his fourth save.
- The Tritons held SDSU to one hit in the ballgame—their lowest of the D-I era. UC San Diego also limited Oregon to one hit on May 10, 2022.
- Luke Saunders recorded his first multi-hit performance of the season, accounting for half of the Tritons six hits.
- Doyle Kane recorded his sixth multi-RBI game and extended a 14-game hitting streak.
- The Tritons improved to 5-4 in the Division I series with San Diego State and 8-14 in the all-time series.
- It is the first of four contests with San Diego State this season.
- The game marked the last contest of an 18-game homestand for the Tritons.
UP NEXT
The Tritons will hit the road for their first true road series of the season, traveling to face UC Irvine for a weekend series. Game one is set for Friday night at 6 p.m. in Anteater 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.
