LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego baseball completed its third series sweep of the season with a 9-4 victory over Pacific (2-13). The game served as the Tritons' (12-3) penultimate matchup before the conference season begins next weekend.
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Starting pitcher
Matthew Dalquist (2-0) controlled the game with six strikeouts in 5.0 innings, with one walk and four hits.
Nathan Huy come on in the eighth inning, throwing a strikeout, two walks, and allowing no hits to close out the contest.
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Hits and RBI were spread across the roster.
Emiliano Gonzalez led the way, going 3-for-4 to secure 2 RBI and a run scored.
Patrick Hackworth also drove in two RBI.
Nick Costello,
Matt Halbach,
Andy Ambriz,
Anthony Potestio, and
Noah Sudyka all recorded one RBI. Costello and Halbach both hit a home run in the contest.
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HOW IT HAPPENEDÂ
The Tritons got started in the second inning, stringing together singles from
Doyle Kane and Gonzalez to set up a Hackworth RBI via fielder's choice. Â
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The runs kept flowing in the third inning after UC San Diego loaded the bases. A walk to Ambriz shifted
Michael Crossland to home plate and prompted a pitching change. Gonzalez sent two more in with a single up the middle, before Hackworth plopped a centerfield hit to make it 5-0. Â
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Gonzalez was next into the dugout off a double down the left field line by Potestio; the hit prompted another Tiger pitching change. A Sudyka sac-fly made it 7-0 before the end of the inning.Â
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Costello collected his second home run of the series with another rightfield rocket. On the next sequence, Halbach drove a ball over the left field wall for a 9-0 fourth-inning score line. Â
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Pacific began to turn the tide in the sixth inning, converting a single into two runs to spoil the clean sheet. The Tigers added on in the seventh with a home run, making it 9-4. Huy's substitution ended the surge to ensure the win.Â
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QUOTABLEÂ
 "The starting pitching was really good all weekend, and we've been able to count on that," said UC San Diego head coach
Eric Newman. "Friday night was a great come-from-behind win for our guys to show they know how to do that. The last two days there were some things out of the bullpen we'd like to have seen go a little bit better. Offensively today, we were really good early and then we tapered off a little bit. Getting some guys playing time will serve us well; we've still got a long way to go with Conference play starting next weekend."
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TRITON TIDBITSÂ
- Doyle Kane's run in the second inning marked the first time the Tritons scored first in the series.Â
- Nick Costello knocked his fourth home run of the season, Matt Halbach recorded his second.
- The Tritons outscored the Tigers 22-11 in the three-game series.Â
- UC San Diego wore their all-white uniforms on Saturday afternoon.Â
UP NEXTÂ
UC San Diego is right back at it on Monday at 6 p.m. against Nevada in Triton Ballpark. This one-off contest serves as the Tritons' final non-conference matchup before Big West play begins. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live statistics available via UCSDTritons.com.Â
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About UC San Diego AthleticsÂ
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.
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