SAN DIEGO—UC San Diego baseball defeated San Diego State, 5-3, in ten innings on Tuesday evening at Tony Gwynn Stadium. With the win, the Tritons (31-18) took the season series 3-1 over the Aztecs (21-27) and moved to 7-5 in the Division I series.
 
Nick Costello and Crew Robinson each tallied two RBI for the Tritons, while Bradlee Preap finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
 
The Tritons used six pitchers in the contest, combining for 12 strikeouts. Aren Alvarez (3-2) got the win after closing out the final two innings, allowing one run on two hits with four strikeouts.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
San Diego State was first to strike, putting up two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first. With two runners left on in scoring position, Ryan Rissas ended the inning with a strikeout to limit the damage.
 
UC San Diego was quick to respond, getting a run back in the top of the second. Michael Fuhrman hit a leadoff double and the Tritons advanced him to third before Costello brought him in on sac-fly to make it 2-1. The Aztecs threatened in the bottom of the inning with two on and two outs, but UC San Diego was able to keep them off the board.
 
The Tritons put together another rally in the third, getting two on with one out and advancing a runner to third. However, SDSU ended the inning to maintain its one-run lead. UC San Diego evened things up an inning later with another Costello sac-fly to make it 2-2. ­
 
Ryan Farmer came out of the bullpen in the third for the Tritons and faced the minimum through his two innings of work, including one strikeout.
 
UC San Diego continued to create opportunities but stranded two runners in the sixth and one each in the seventh and eighth innings. The Tritons threatened again in the ninth with two on and one out. UC San Diego advanced a runner to third on a fielder's choice before a strikeout ended the inning without a run once again.
 
On the mound Chris Gilmartin, Seth Sumner and Alvarez combined to retire nine batters in a row to send the game to extra innings.
 
In the tenth, Michael Fuhrman reached on a fielding error and Preap singled to put two on with one out. Robinson hit a line-drive double to left center to clear the bases and make it 4-2. Noah Sudyka tripled down the left field line to extend the lead 5-2.
 
The Aztecs got a run back in the bottom of the tenth and threatened for more, bringing the winning run to the plate with two outs. Alvarez secured the victory and the series with a strikeout to end the rally and the contest.
 
QUOTABLE
"Happy to get a win in a tough midweek game," said head coach Eric Newman. "A lot of guys contributed to this win on the mound and at the plate. 

"Bradlee Preap really stood out today with his competitiveness at the plate and catching."

TRITON TIDBITS

• Aren Alvarez four of the nine batters faced to close out the contest.
• Bradlee Preap turned in the only multi-hit performance for the Tritons.
• Nick Costello, Crew Robinson and Noah Sudyka were credited with RBI.
• The Tritons moved to 7-5 in the Division I series and 9-14 in the all-time series with San Diego State.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will wrap up their third season of Division I competition at UC Riverside for a weekend series beginning Friday at 6 p.m. 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.