LA JOLLA, Calif. – Returning to their home diamond for the first time in March, the UC San Diego softball team dropped their midweek contest against the Princeton Tigers by a 3-1 final score on Wednesday afternoon at Triton Softball Field.

The Tritons fell to 7-18 overall and Princeton improved to 9-7.
 
Making her sixth start of the season, Shelby Tomlinson did a tremendous job in the circle for the Tritons as she threw a complete game and allowed just two runs while walking only one batter and recording a pair of strikeouts.
 
At the plate, Hailey Mulligan had a nice afternoon at the dish as she went 2-for-3 with a triple and a run scored against the Tigers. Brooklyn Lee was also able to record a pair of hits while serving as the team's designated player on Wednesday.   
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Following a scoreless first inning from both sides, visiting Princeton was able to get on the board in the top of the second thanks to a triple that came around to score on a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 Tigers.

UC San Diego didn't wait around to answer Princeton's initial run, as Hailey Mulligan tripled to right field and then came around to score on a Teagan Dobson RBI single to make it a 1-all game. The Tritons would go on to load the bases later in the inning but weren't able to break the tie.
 
The game would remain deadlocked at one all until the top of the fifth when the Tigers were able to plate a run on a safety squeeze bunt that brought the go-ahead run home from third to give Princeton a 2-1 advantage heading into the bottom of the fifth.
 
Princeton would add an additional insurance run in the top of seventh as they went on to pick up the 3-1 in La Jolla on Wednesday.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Shelby Thompson tossed her first complete game of the season and the second of her career with the last one coming in a loss to Tarleton State on May 23, 2022.
• With her two-hit performance on Wednesday, Hailey Mulligan raised her batting average on the season to .311 as she's recorded hits in two of her last three games played.
• UC San Diego's defense was on their toes throughout their game against Princeton as it marked the fourth time this season the Tritons haven't committed an error in a game.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will now turn their attention to conference play, as they're set to welcome the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners to La Jolla to begin Big West play. The first two games of the series will be tomorrow March 14 with a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. PST. Live stats and broadcast information can be found at 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 has begun a new era 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.