LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball fell to UC Irvine, 10-4, in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Anteater Ballpark. With the loss, the Tritons (17-8, 7-2 Big West) dropped their first conference series of the season and moved to 3-7 in the Division I series with the Anteaters (16-8, 4-5 Big West).
 
Matt Halbach finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored, while Brandon Larson went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Brock Kleszcz knocked his second home run of the season and Emiliano Gonzalez accounted for the other RBI for the Tritons.
 
Ryan Rissas turned in 3.2 solid innings on the mound in relief, allowing one run on one hit with three strikeouts. Zack Ernisse (0-3) was credited with the loss. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons got the scoring started early, with a run in the top of the first on an RBI single by Larson and another in the second with a leadoff home run by Kleszcz to make it 2-0. 
 
UC Irvine got a run back in the bottom of the second to make it 2-1 before the Tritons added to their lead in the top of the third. Larson knocked in his second RBI of the game with a sac-fly and Emiliano Gonzalez added an RBI single to give UC San Diego the 4-1 lead.
 
The Anteaters pulled within one, scoring twice in the bottom of the third. The Tritons rallied an inning later, advancing two runners into scoring position with one out in the top of the fourth but were unable to cash in. UCI tied the game in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-4.
 
An inning later, UC Irvine did most of its damage in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs on two hits and one error to take the lead, 9-4.
 
The Tritons saw one last opportunity in the top of the seventh, getting two runners on with two outs but again UC San Diego was unable to cash in. The Anteaters added one more run in the bottom of the inning to seal the, 10-4, victory.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Matt Halbach turned in the multi-hit performance for the Tritons—his 11th of the season.
• Doyle Kane extended a 17-game hitting streak.
• Brock Kleszcz knocked his second home run of the season.
• The Tritons fell to 3-7 in the Division I series with UC Irvine and 3-9 in the all-time series.

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will return to Triton Ballpark for a five-game homestand beginning Tuesday at 6 p.m. against the University of San Diego. 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.