DAVIS, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball fell to UC Davis, 2-0, in the series opener on Saturday afternoon at Dobbins Stadium. The Tritons (15-5, 2-2 Big West) left nine runners on base but were unable to break through against the Aggies (11-9, 2-2 Big West).
 
Anthony Eyanson (3-1) made his first start of the season, pitching 7.0 innings and allowing two runs on seven hits with no walks and four strikeouts. It was the longest outing of the sophomore's career. 
 
The Tritons collected just four hits in the contest, with one apiece for Michael Crossland, Emiliano Gonzalez, Bradlee Preap and Noah Sudyka. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Aggies took the early lead, hanging a run on the board in the bottom of the first and adding one more in the third to lead, 2-0.
 
UC San Diego had two runners reach base in the first and one in the third, but the Tritons were unable to cash in.  
 
As rain began to fall in the top of the fifth, the Tritons got their best chance of the day, loading the bases with three straight walks. But with two outs, a strikeout ended the inning without a run for UC San Diego.
 
Eyanson found his groove in the middle innings, retiring nine in a row after allowing a leadoff single in the fourth. 
 
UC San Diego threatened once again in the top of the seventh with two on and one out, but the Tritons came up empty once again after a sac bunt moved both runners into scoring position and a ground-out ended the frame on back-to-back pitches.
 
Eyanson allowed another single to start the bottom of the seventh, but three quality defensive plays by the Tritons kept the Aggies from reaching second and maintained the 2-0 score. 
 
Izaak Martinez came out of the bullpen for the Tritons in the eighth and held the Aggies off the board, not allowing a hit and recording one strikeout to give UC San Diego a chance for the comeback.
 
However, the Tritons were retired in order in the final two innings to drop the series opener.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Anthony Eyanson recorded the longest outing of his collegiate career (7.0 innings) in his first start of the year.
• Izaak Martinez lowered his ERA to 0.38 with the clean appearance and has an opponent batting average of .092. Both lead the Big West. 
• It was the first shutout allowed by UC San Diego this season and first since their 0-11 loss to CSUN on Senior Day last season (May 7, 2023).
• With the loss, the Tritons moved to 11-18 in the all-time series against UC Davis and 7-4 in Division I.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will face UC Davis in game two of the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game 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.