LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball defeated Cal State Fullerton, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon in Triton Ballpark. With the win, the Tritons (15-4, 2-1 Big West) took the series with the Titans (8-10, 1-2 Big West) and moved to 10-5 in the all-time series.
 
Matthew Dalquist (3-0) earned the victory out of the bullpen, pitching the final 5.0 innings and allowing one run on five hits with no walks and six strikeouts. 
 
Nick Costello finished 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored, while Patrick Hackworth went 2-for-4 with a home run.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Donovan Chriss and Spencer Seid retired the Titans in order in the first and second innings respectively, both recording back-to-back strikeouts through the first two frames.
 
Hackworth got the Tritons on the board first in the bottom of the second, knocking a solo home run over the fence in right field. The Titans responded an inning later for their first run of the game with an RBI single to tie the game, 1-1. 
 
Dalquist entered out of the bullpen for the Tritons in the fifth and immediately pitched a 1-2-3 inning to maintain the tie. 
 
UC San Diego took the lead in the bottom of the fifth, capitalizing on a Fullerton fielding error to lead, 2-1. The Titans tied the game once again with a solo home run in the sixth to make it 2-2.
 
The Tritons took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh when Rosengard singled through the left side to bring in Costello. Gonzalez followed with an RBI single of his own to score Halbach and give UC San Diego some insurance, 4-2. 
 
After allowing the leadoff homer in the sixth, Dalquist allowed just one baserunner in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings. He collected six strikeouts, including two in the ninth to secure his third victory of the season.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The combination of Donovan Chriss, Spencer Seid and Matthew Dalquist combined for 11 strikeouts and no walks in the contest.
• After being slated as the Sunday starter, Matthew Dalquist was a late scratch due to illness. The right-hander recovered to enter in the fifth and record the win.
• With the win, the Tritons are now 10-5 all-time against Cal State Fullerton and 2-1 in the weekend series.
• The contest ended a stretch of 18 of the first 19 games being played in Triton Ballpark.

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will play their first series away from Triton Ballpark next weekend, traveling to face UC Davis for a three-game series beginning Saturday, March 23 at 2:30 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live statistics available via 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 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.