LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball fell to UC Irvine, 13-5, on Saturday afternoon at Anteater Ballpark. With the loss, the Tritons (17-7, 7-1 Big West) ended their 12-game winning streak and evened the series with the Anteaters (15-8, 3-5 Big West) at 1-1.
 
Michael Fuhrman finished 2-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored after knocking a grand slam home run—the second of the weekend for UC San Diego. Luke Saunders went 2-for-2 with a run scored.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It looked as if the Tritons would pick up where they left off on Friday night, loading the bases in the top of the first inning with no outs. However, UC San Diego was unable to cash in on the early opportunity. 
 
It was a different story for the Anteaters, who put five runs on the board in the bottom of the first. UC Irvine added four runs in the second inning and two more in the third to take a commanding, 11-0, lead.
 
UC San Diego continued to battle, eventually getting on the board in the top of the seventh with a bases-loaded sac-fly by Luke Solis. The Tritons loaded the bases again and Fuhrman sent a 1-1 pitch over the fence in left field for the second grand slam of the weekend to make it 11-5.
 
The Triton pitching staff settled down to hold UCI scoreless in innings four through seven, before the Anteaters added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth.
 
UC San Diego got the leadoff man on in the top of the ninth, but were unable to rally to cut into the UCI lead any further. 
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Michael Fuhrman's grand slam was the second of the weekend for the Tritons, after not recording one since their 2021 season finale. 
• Michael Fuhrman and Luke Sunders recorded multi-hit performances for the Tritons.
• The 12-game winning streak was the longest for UC San Diego of the Division I era and longest since 2018.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will look to bounce back in the series finale against UC Irvine on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Anteater Ballpark. 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 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.