LA JOLLA, Calif. – After falling behind 11-0 to San Jose State, UC San Diego (3-0) baseball completed an improbable 12-11 comeback on Sunday afternoon at Triton Ballpark to sweep the three-game series.
Eight Tritons recorded RBI on the day, with
Noah Sudyka and
Emiliano Gonzalez each collecting a team-leading two RBI.
Ryan Rissas (1-0) got the win on the mound with his three-inning no-run performance and
Izaak Martinez got his second save of the weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Matthew Dalquist started on the mound against the Spartans (0-3), who got off to a hot start. By the end of the first inning, the Tritons were in a 5-0 hole. San Jose State added another three runs in the fourth and fifth to make it 11-0 before the Tritons found their footing.
UC San Diego caught fire in the fifth inning, loading the bases via a
Benjamin Rosengard single.
Doyle Kane finished the job, splitting the third base line for an RBI single. A bouncing infield hit from
Patrick Hackworth was enough to send in another run before Gonzalez emulated Kane to make it 11-3.
Kleszcz continued the effort with a hit into center field, which was quickly followed up by a Crossland RBI single and a Sudyka RBI double to make it 11-7.
A pitching change could not jam the Tritons' flow.
Matt Halbach took the first pitch to left field for the team's fifth RBI single of the inning to end the inning 11-8.
Rosengard collected his first RBI, a single, in the seventh inning to close the lead to 11-9. Hackworth's triple in the next inning soon became a run to come within one and a wild pitch allowed Kleszcz to reach home and draw even. A balk anti-climactically completed the Tritons comeback at 12-11.
Relief pitcher Rissas picked up from the sixth inning, keeping the Spartans quiet through the eighth inning as he allowed three hits and no walks to get the win.
Martinez closed out the contest with a swinging strikeout.
QUOTABLE
"That was an incredible weekend for us," said UC San Diego head coach
Eric Newman. "The way we came back today shows the relentless commitment our guys had to sticking with it even when it looked really tough. Really proud moment for me as a coach to be a part of that."
"I was really impressed with how our guys came out this weekend and played. We have a ton of respect for San Jose State and knew they would bring out our best."
"The crowds this weekend were really great. I really appreciate the students and community getting behind what is happening here at Triton Ballpark and want them to keep coming back!"
TRITON TIDBITS
UP NEXT
UC San Diego heads north for a Tuesday date with USC. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Loyola Marymount's Page Stadium. The game can be seen live on USC's Live Stream 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.
