LA JOLLA, Calif. – Benjamin Rosengard broke through with a home run and a triple and Matthew Dalquist turned in a strong six innings for his longest outing of the season as the UC San Diego baseball team earned a 16-1 victory over the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks on Saturday afternoon at Triton Ballpark.
 
Off the strength of four Triton homers and a pitching staff that allowed just five total Lumberjacks to reach base, the Tritons (8-3) have now won three straight games and have put themselves in position to potentially sweep the weekend series with Stephen F. Austin.   
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both starting pitchers were on top of their game's early as the rain in Southern California cleared and allowed the game to start after just a 15-minute delay. The first three innings were scoreless for both sides as each starting pitcher allowed just three total men to reach base combined.
 
The visiting Lumberjacks were the first to break through on the scoreboard on Saturday as they plated the game's first run on an RBI single to make it 1-0 Stephen F. Austin.
 
UC San Diego wouldn't take long to answer as Rosengard came to the plate in the bottom of the fourth and sent the second pitch he saw over the wall in right field to even the score at one apiece.
 
Rosengard would then play a pivotal role in extending the lead in the bottom of the fifth as Nick Costello worked a lead-off walk, Noah Sudyka singled to center and Michael Crossland grounded a base hit to right field that scored Costello to make it 3-1 UC San Diego. Rosengard would then deliver a big blow with a two-run triple to right field scoring both Sudyka and Crossland to make it 4-1 Tritons. Still adding to their total, Matt Halbach came through with an RBI single to center to score Rosengard as the Tritons enjoyed a 5-1 advantage through five innings.
 
Dalquist would depart following his six tremendous frames to set up Donovan Chriss who faced the minimum through three scoreless innings as he grabbed his first save of the season.
 
UC San Diego's offense continued to apply pressure on Stephen F. Austin as they plated three runs in the seventh as Doyle Kane had an RBI infield single and Costello smacked his second home run of the season as the Triton led 8-1.
 
The Tritons didn't relent in the eighth either as they plated eight total runs as many players from off the bench got their chance to shine. Anthony Potestio delivered his first career collegiate home run and Sudyka hit a round tripper as well as UC San Diego scored a season-high 16 runs in route to their win on Saturday afternoon.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• UC San Diego's season-high 16 runs marks the fourth time the Tritons have scored double digit runs this season as they're now a perfect 4-0 when reaching double digit runs in a game.
• Dalquist recorded his first win since beating Washington on Feb. 25, 2022 where he tossed 6 1/3 innings of one run ball against the Huskies.
• Rosengard's home run today matches his career-high for a season as he hit two home runs for Rice University in 2023.
• Chriss' save against the Lumberjacks on Saturday was the first of his collegiate career as he lowered his ERA on the season to a microscopic 0.82.
• Saturday's game had a 2:40 run time after a slight delay due to scattered rain in the area.

QUOTABLE
"It was really cool to see Matt get back out there today and pick up his first college win in almost two years," head coach Eric Newman said. "He was awesome today and I was really excited to see that and he helped give our offense a chance to wear down their pitcher by just allowing the one run. Rosengard hit the home run to tie it and the offense got moving after that, it was a great day from Halbach and Costello as well. It was great to see Anthony Potestio get in the game and do some cool stuff and it was a fun one all-around."

UP NEXT
The Tritons now look ahead to their series finale against the Lumberjacks on Sunday, March 3 with first scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Triton Ballpark. Tickets can be purchased through Triton Box Office. The game can also be seen live on ESPN+ 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.