LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball defeated Loyola Marymount, 7-5, on Sunday afternoon in Triton Ballpark to wrap up the Tony Gwynn Legacy weekend. With the win, the Tritons (5-3) finished the event, 2-2, including taking the program's first meeting with the Lions (4-3).
 
Three different Tritons recorded three hits in the contest, including Emiliano Gonzalez who finished 3-for-4 with two RBI, two runs scored and his first home run of the season. Matt Halbach also finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored and Doyle Kane went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
 
Starter Spencer Seid pitched 4.1 hitless innings, facing the minimum with no walks and four strikeouts. Ryan Farmer (1-1) earned his first win as a Triton, while Landon Marchetti picked up his first collegiate save.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons got on the board quickly in the bottom of the first after a leadoff double by Michael Crossland and two-out double down the left field line by Doyle Kane. Emiliano Gonzalez added to the Tritons' lead a solo home run in the bottom of the second, sending one over the left field wall to make it 2-0.
 
Seid was exceptional in his second start of the season, not allowing an LMU hit through his 4.1 innings of work. The sophomore lefty struck out four batters and faced the minimum to hold the Lions off the board.
 
LMU finally broke through in the fourth with a solo home run to right field to cut the lead in half. The Lions added another run in the top of the fifth with another solo homer to right center to tie the game, 2-2.
 
UC San Diego responded in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs on four hits and one error to pull back in front, 5-2. Preap scored on a wild pitch for the first run of the inning and Halbach followed with an RBI single through the right side to bring in Kane from third. Gonzalez added the third run of the inning, singling through the left side to score Halbach. The Tritons left the bases loaded to end the inning.
 
The Lions got a run back in the top of the eighth with an RBI triple down the right field line to make it, 5-3. The Tritons responded once again, scoring two runs in the bottom of the inning to extend the lead, 7-3. Costello scored on a wild pitch and Crossland doubled to left field to plate Gonzalez.
 
Loyola Marymount threatened in the top of the ninth, scoring two runs on two hits and loading the bases with two outs. With the Tritons lead cut to 7-5 and the go-ahead run on first, freshman Landon Marchetti recorded a three-pitch strikeout to secure the victory and his first career save.  
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Starter Spencer Seid pitched 4.1 hitless innings, striking out four Lions. The only base runner in his outing reached on a throwing error.
• Ryan Farmer (1-1) was credited with his first win as a Triton and Landon Marchetti secured his first collegiate save.
• Emiliano Gonzalez hit his first home run of the season.

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will play host to Stephen F. Austin for a four-game weekend series, beginning Friday, March 1 at 6 p.m. in Triton Ballpark. The Tritons and the Lumberjacks will face off in a double-header on Saturday, March 2 at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. and wrap up the weekend on Sunday at 1 p.m. UC San Diego will travel across town to face San Diego State in the midweek matchup on Wednesday, March 6.
 
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.