LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball is the outright 2023 Big West Champion. The Tritons finished their conference season with a 21-9 record to earn the University's first Big West title across all membership sports in the third season of Division I competition.
After being picked to finish eighth in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Tritons went 34-18 overall in their 2023 campaign, winning six of their 10 conference series—all via 3-0 sweeps. UC San Diego closed out the season in impressive fashion, winning 12 of their final 14 contests, including a sweep at then-Big West leader Cal State Fullerton.
Three teams went into the final weekend of conference play with nine losses apiece. The Tritons mathematically clinched a share of the title after completing the sweep at UC Riverside on May 21 and had a bye in the final weekend series. At 18-9, both UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton were still in contention to share the title with the Tritons heading into Thursday's opener, before the Gauchos dropped a 17-1 decision at Hawai'i and the Titans dropped the finale in San Luis Obispo, 5-4.
Currently in year three of the NCAA-mandated four-year Division I reclassifying period, the Tritons are not eligible for NCAA postseason competition. While UC San Diego does hold the tiebreaker over Cal State Fullerton, the Tritons will not receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. UC San Diego Athletics will be fully eligible for NCAA postseason competition in the 2024-25 academic year—the 2025 season for Triton baseball.
AWARD WINNERS
The Tritons took home five Big West weekly awards this season.
Michael Fuhrman earned UC San Diego's first ever Big West Field Player of the Week award on March 20 and the Tritons swept both field player and pitcher awards two additional weeks.
Brandon Larson was named Field Player of the Week and
Izaak Martinez was named Pitcher of the Week on May 1 and Martinez took home a second weekly honor on May 22, with
Crew Robinson earning the Field Player of the Week nod. The Big West will announce its all-conference honorees next week.
Emiliano Gonzalez and
Michael Mitchell were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team for their efforts in the classroom and on the field. Gonzalez holds a 3.53 cumulative GPA and will graduate this spring with a degree in history. Mitchell holds a cumulative 3.59 GPA and will graduate this spring with a degree in international business. Both scholar-athletes are now eligible for CSC Academic All-America honors.
PITCHING IN THE BIG WEST
The Tritons finished with a 4.44 team earned run average, ranking third in the Big West for team totals.
Izaak Martinez was dominant with a 2.84 earned run average this season, good enough for fifth overall in the Big West.
Ryan Forcucci ranked third in the conference for opponent batting average (.206) and Martinez finished fifth (.213). Forcucci led the Tritons in strikeouts with 69 and Martinez was just behind him with 63, ranking 11th and 14th respectively.
Martinez finished third in the conference in saves (9) and seventh in total wins (6), while
Nic Gregson and
Ethan Holt tied for 11th with five wins apiece and
Ryan Rissas ranked 10th with five saves. Forcucci ranked first in fewest hits allowed (41) and Martinez ranked just behind him in third (45).
BATTING IN THE BIG WEST
The Tritons finished with a .282 team batting average, good enough for third in the conference. Leading the way offensively were
Doyle Kane and
Patrick Hackworth, both recording a .327 batting average and ranking 15th for all Big West batters. Hackworth also ranked second in the conference with a .456 on base percentage and
Brandon Larson (.537) and
Michael Fuhrman (.533) ranked 12th and 13th respectively for slugging percentage.
Fuhrman ranked eighth with 44 runs scored, while Larson finished ninth in runs batted in (45),
Matt Halbach ranked 14th with 63 hits and Kane ranked seventh with 66.
QUOTABLE
"First, I am so grateful to my coaching staff for all the hard work they put in every day," said UC San Diego head coach
Eric Newman. "Thank you to the entire athletic department, Triton baseball community and alumni for the support and encouragement through the season. It was really special getting messages throughout the season, knowing that so many were following."
"I am so proud of the players for their incredible hard work, and believing this was possible, this season. Their accomplishments on the field and in the classroom continue to be outstanding."
"I wish we were headed to a regional, and recognize the significance of this conference championship and continuing the strong legacy of Triton Baseball."
CELEBRATING THE TRITONS
UC San Diego Athletics will host a celebration for the 2023 Big West Champions on Wednesday, May 31 at 12 p.m. in front of the Price Center on UC San Diego's main campus. Join us in celebrating this historic accomplishment for UC San Diego, and hear remarks from head coach
Eric Newman, UC San Diego Director of Athletics Earl Edwards and a select number of Triton scholar-athletes. Media inquiries should be directed to rmcpherson@ucsd.edu.
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 earned 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.
