LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego junior righty
Ryan Forcucci struck out 11 over five shutout innings as the Tritons opened their 2024 season with a 3-1 victory over San José State Friday night at Triton Ballpark. Senior left-hander
Izaak Martinez allowed just one unearned run out of the bullpen over four innings in the opening night win.
The Tritons (1-0) got clutch two-strike RBI hits from newcomer
Benjamin Rosengard and
Brock Kleszcz in the win. Meantime, the Spartans (0-1) were limited to just one infield single all night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego got on the board with single runs in both the second and third innings. In the second, the Tritons were threatening with the bases loaded and no one out, when left fielder Kleszcz grounded into a double play up the middle, plating first baseman
Doyle Kane with the game's first run. In the third, second baseman Rosengard ripped a single through the left side to bring home shortstop
Noah Sudyka.
Forcucci struck out 11 over five dominant innings, allowing just one hit with no runs or walks.
After the Spartans plated a run off of the Triton bullpen, UC San got the run back when Kleszcz singled to right-center, driving in Kane with the home team's third run.
Meantime, Martinez was impressive out of the bullpen. He surrendered just one unearned run and registered eight punchouts over the final four innings to earn the save.
TRITON TIDBITS
- Ryan Forcucci's 11 strikeouts established a new career high and set a Triton program record in Division I, besting the ten by Matthew Dalquist in 2022.
- UC San Diego's 19-strikeout performance was the second-most in the program's Division I era.
- Izaak Martinez earned his first career save.
- Friday night's attendance of 740 established a new UC San Diego Division I single game high.
- Time of game was a sparkling 1:56.
- The opening weekend series is a matchup of the defending Big West and Mountain West champions.
QUOTABLE
"The pitching performances from Ryan and Izaak were obviously the story tonight," said UC San Diego head coach
Eric Newman. "We had a great crowd tonight, and it was a good, gritty performance against a talented team picked to win their conference."
UP NEXT
UC San Diego and San José State continue their three-game series on Saturday at 2 p.m. from Triton Ballpark. Tickets can be purchased through
Triton Box Office. The game can also be seen live on ESPN+ with live statistics on 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 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.
