LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball will continue a busy stretch of six games in eight days, playing host to UC Davis in a weekend series Thursday-Saturday. The Tritons (17-9, 7-2 Big West) will look to get back on track against the Aggies (10-14, 3-6 Big West) after dropping their first conference series last weekend.
 
The series will begin on Thursday at 6 p.m., with game two scheduled for Friday at 5 p.m. and the series finale on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Tritons will then face San Diego State for a home-and-home midweek series, hosting the Aztecs (11-13) on Monday at 6 p.m. and traveling across town on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
 
­­All home games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available via UCSDTritons.com.

DETAILS
Games 27-29
UC San Diego (17-9, 7-2) vs UC Davis (10-14, 3-6)
Thursday at 6 p.m.| Friday at 5 p.m. | Saturday at 1 p.m.
Triton Ballpark (500) | La Jolla, Calif.
All-time series: 8-17 (4-3 in D-I)
Game 1 on ESPN+ | Game 2 on ESPN+ | Game 3 on ESPN+ | Live Stats | Radio
 
Games 30-31
UC San Diego vs San Diego State (11-13)
Monday at 6 p.m. | Triton Ballpark (500) | La Jolla, Calif.
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
Tuesday at 6 p.m. | Tony Gwynn Stadium | San Diego, Calif.
Watch on Mountain West Network | Live Stats
All-time series: 7-13 (5-4 in D-I)
 
GIVEAWAYS AT THE BALLPARK
For Thursday's opener with the Aggies, the first 250 fans will receive a free UC San Diego pennant. Saturday is Triton Day as UC San Diego welcomes prospective students to its campus. Admission to Saturday's contest is free to all fans, who will also receive a free Triton scroll banner upon entry.
 
ABOUT THE TRITONS
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 17-9
Big West: 7-2
Home: 15-4
Away: 1-2
Neutral: 1-3
Vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-1
Streak: L3
 
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 10-14
Big West: 3-6
Home: 5-8
Away: 5-6
Neutral: 0-0
Vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: W1
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will travel for a Big West series at Hawai'i beginning Friday, April 14 at 9:30 p.m. PT. All games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available via UCSDTritons.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC San Diego's winning streak ended at 12—the longest of the Division I era and longest since 2018—after falling Saturday at UC Irvine. The Tritons went 1-2 in the series with the Anteaters, taking the Friday opener 10-3, but falling 13-5 and 10-4 the following days to drop their first conference series of the season. UC San Diego is currently tied for second place in the Big West with Cal State Fullerton at 7-2. UC Santa Barbara did not play a conference series over the weekend and sits in first place at 5-1.
 
Weekend Top Performers
Brandon Larson: 4-for-10 (.400), 2 r, 8 rbi, 1 2b, 2 hr, 1.100 slg%, .417 ob%
Luke Saunders: 4-for-9 (.444), 3 r, 1 2b, .556 slg%, .545 ob%
Patrick Hackworth: 4-for-11 (.364), 1 r, 1 rbi, 1 2b, .455 slg%, .364 ob%
 
Michael Mitchell: 0.00 era, 1-0, 1 gs, 5.0 ip, 2 h, 0 r, 3 bb, 3 so
Ryan Rissas: 0.00 era, 1 app, 3.2 ip, 1 h, 1 r, 0 er, 3 bb, 3 so
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
The Tritons rank in the top 50 teams in the nation in several statistical categories, including triples (T-6th, 14), WHIP (T-49th, 1.38), earned run average (31st, 4.21), and hits allowed per nine innings (44th, 8.30).
 
UC San Diego ranks first among reclassifying teams in triples, WHIP, ERA, strikeout to walk ratio, hits allowed and W-L percentage. The Tritons rank second in strikeouts per nine innings and batting average.
 
HEART OF THE ORDER
Sophomore Matt Halbach has been red hot to start the season. The third-baseman is currently second the Big West in hits (36)—one hit behind first place—and first in triples (5). He ranks fifth in runs scored (24), sixth in runs batted in (24) and 12th in batting average (.343). 
 
Following Halbach in the lineup, Doyle Kane has been just as tough of an out for opponents. The redshirt sophomore transfer is just behind Halbach with 35 hits this season and ranks 12th in batting average as well (.343). Kane ranks 14th in runs scored (20) and 16th in runs batted in (20).

DOWN TO THE WIRE
The Tritons have combined to score 83 of their 195 runs in the final three innings (seventh: 34, eighth: 36, ninth: 13)—including outscoring their opponents 36-11 in the eighth. UC San Diego has dropped three of its nine losses by only one run, including Arizona, Washington State and Santa Clara.
 
STACKING UP AGAINST THE BIG WEST
The Tritons rank second in the Big West in batting average (.297), just behind CSUN (.323). UC San Diego also ranks second in runs batted in (181), runs scored (195), total hits (264) and first in triples (14) and third in doubles (54).
 
UC San Diego ranks second in opponent batting average (.241), and third in earned run average (4.21), total strikeouts (251) and in hits allowed (212).
 
Four Tritons rank in the top 20 in batting average, including Doyle Kane (T-12th, .343), Matt Halbach (T-12th, .343), Patrick Hackworth (15th, .341) and Brandon Larson (T-18th, .333)
 
Halbach and Kane rank second and third respectively in the conference in total hits with 36 and 35.
 
MARTINEZ NAMED UCU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (MAR. 27)
Redshirt junior Izaak Martinez pitched 4.0 shutout innings in two appearances to help UC San Diego sweep CSU Bakersfield in the weekend series. Martinez pitched two shutout innings in the opener on Friday, retiring all six batters faced including three strikeouts. In the Sunday finale, Martinez earned his first save of the season, shutting out the Roadrunners in the final two innings and collecting four strikeouts. Martinez has allowed just two runs in his last seven appearances and five total hits.
 
FURHMAN NAMED BIG WEST FIELD PLAYER OF THE WEEK (MAR. 20)
Senior Michael Fuhrman earned UC San Diego's first-ever Big West Field Player of the Week award, after helping the Tritons go 4-0 in week five. Fuhrman finished 6-for-14 for the week with a .429 batting average, .857 slugging percentage and .471 on-base percentage. He led the team in both runs scored (six) and runs batted in (seven), including two three-run home runs to help UC San Diego sweep Long Beach State for the first time in program history.
 
EYANSON NAMED UCU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (FEB. 27)
Anthony Eyanson was dominant in his first collegiate start, pitching 5.0 shutout innings against Arizona on Feb. 20. The freshman right-hander allowed just two hits with no walks and six strikeouts, holding the Wildcats to a .118 batting average in the Tritons' final game of the MLB Desert Invitational.
 
EXPERIENCED ROSTER
The Tritons return 25 scholar-athletes from the 2022 roster, including six starters from a team that finished 13-17 in The Big West a season ago. UC San Diego's 2023 roster includes 2022 All-Big West second team honorees Emiliano Gonzalez and Jalen Smith, along with 2021 Big West second team selections Michael Fuhrman and Michael Mitchell (who returns to action after sitting out the 2022 campaign due to injury).
 
FRESH FACES
UC San Diego will add 14 newcomers to its roster for the 2023 season, including nine true freshmen, four junior college/college transfers. The Triton additions include six pitchers and eight position players. 
 
JALEN SMITH NAMED TO BIG WEST PRESEASON TEAM
Senior Jalen Smith was selected to The Big West's first-ever Baseball Preseason Coaches' Team. It was the first preseason honor for Smith, who is also a two-time All-Big West Second Team selection. The infielder was recognized in 2022 for his performance with UC San Diego and in 2021 while a member of the UC Davis program.
 
Smith was exceptional in his first season at UC San Diego, appearing in a team-high 54 games and making 53 starts at third base. The junior transfer finished with a .305 average with seven homeruns and 34 runs batted in.
 
Smith led the Tritons in almost all statistical categories, including OPS (.921), at bats (203), hits (62), doubles (16), triples (3), total bases (105), slugging percentage (.517), walks (30), on-base percentage (.404) and stolen bases (7-10). Smith also ranked among the top hitters in the Big West in doubles (6th), hits (12th), triples (3rd), homeruns (10th), walks (12th), and stolen bases (12th).

TRITONS PICKED 8TH IN PRESEASON POLL
UC San Diego was picked to finish eighth in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll with 33 total points.Defending Big West champion UC Santa Barbara was picked to finish first in the preseason coaches' poll with 96 points and eight of the 11 first-place votes. UC Irvine was tabbed to finish second (84 points), followed by Long Beach State (79), Cal Poly (71), Cal State Fullerton (68) and Hawai'i (66). LBSU, CSUF and UH all received one of the remaining first-place votes. 
 
Rounding out the group was CSUN (45), UC San Diego (33), UC Davis (28), CSU Bakersfield (23) and UC Riverside (12). 
 
HOME SWEET HOME
After spending opening weekend on the road in Arizona, the Tritons will return to La Jolla to play their next 18 games inside Triton Ballpark. UC San Diego will open its home season with the Tony Gwynn Legacy against UNLV on Feb. 24 and remain home until March 28 when the Tritons face crosstown rival San Diego State for the first of four midweek contests with the Aztecs.

TRITONS SIGN EIGHT TO NLIS
UC San Diego signed eight incoming freshmen who will join the Tritons for the 2023-24 season. The Tritons will welcome Michael Crossland (Seattle, Wash.), Julian Custer (San Diego, Calif.), Nathan Huy (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Devon King (San Diego, Calif.), Steele Murdock (Herriman, Utah), Kerim Orucevic (Park Ridge, Il.), Anthony Potestio (Brentwood, Calif.) and Landon Runyan (Huntington Beach, Calif.) for the 2024 season.
 
The 2023 signing class includes four pitchers, two outfielders, one infielder and one utility player. Five scholar-athletes join the Tritons from California, while Illinois, Washington and Utah were also represented. Four of the eight signees ranked among the top-11 or above for their position in their state by Prep Baseball Report (PBR), including Crossland, Huy, Murdock and Orucevic.
 
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program is in its third year of a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE
While at the Division II level, UC San Diego baseball experienced great success for 20 years as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The Tritons amassed six regular season titles in arguably the toughest conference nationally in the NCAA Division II. UC San Diego made five appearances in the NCAA D-II World Series, and most recently appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2019. 
 
During his nine seasons coaching the Tritons at Division II, Eric Newman was named ABCA/Diamond West Region Coach of the Year for three consecutive seasons (2017-2019) and also twice recognized as CCAA Coach of the Year (2012, 2019).

WHY THE TRITONS
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.

EXCELLING IN THE CLASSROOM
UC San Diego baseball had seven current scholar-athletes named to the 2022 Big West Spring Academic All-Conference Team. Those Tritons earning academic recognition were Cole Dale, Michael Fuhrman, Brock Kleszcz, Izaak Martinez, Luke Saunders, Joe Soberon and Noah Sudyka. 
 
In order to qualify for the Academic All-Conference Team, scholar-athletes had to carry a minimum 3.00 cumulative institutional grade point average (GPA), must have completed one full academic year at the member institution prior to the season for which the award is being received, and must have competed in at least 50 percent of the institution's contests in the student-athlete's respective sport.

GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO BASEBALL
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through Twitter and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdbsb.
 
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!

GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.
 
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.