LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball fell to No. 12 UC Irvine, 16-3, on Saturday afternoon in Triton Ballpark. The Tritons (22-11, 9-5 Big West) and the Anteaters (25-6, 11-3 Big West) will meet for the rubber match on Sunday with the series even, 1-1.
 
Nick Costello finished 1-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and a run scored, while Colton Lomanto went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI. 
 
Starter Zack Ernisse (1-2) was credited with the loss, pitching 1.1 innings. Five other Tritons came on in relief out of the bullpen, with Ryan Farmer and Nathan Huy each pitching 2.0 innings.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Irvine built a large lead early on, scoring three runs on two hits and leaving the bases loaded in the first. The Anteaters added four more runs on four hits in the top of the second for a 7-0 lead. 
 
The Tritons got a base runner in each of the first three innings but were unable to get on the board early. 
 
The Anteaters added a run in the third and left the bases loaded. UCI added four more runs in the fourth and three in the fifth to build a commanding 15-0 lead. 
 
UC San Diego broke through in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three runs on three hits. Costello brought in the first run for the Tritons with a single to left center field. After a single by Michael Crossland put two on with two outs, Lomanto doubled to bring in two more runs and make it 15-3.
 
The Tritons threatened again in the bottom of the seventh, getting two runners on with one out. However, back-to-back fly-outs ended the inning without a run. An inning later, UC San Diego got the leadoff man aboard when Benjamin Rosengard doubled to left center. The Tritons advanced him to third with one out but were unable to cash in once again.
 
UC Irvine got its final run of the contest in the top of the ninth with an RBI double. The Anteaters were limited to one run in the inning after loading the bases with one out. A strikeout and a pop-up forced by Xavier Franco ended the inning at 16-3.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Nick Costello added to his RBI total, now tallying five runs driven in during the series.
• It was the second multi-RBI performance for Colton Lomanto.
• The Tritons moved to 4-10 in the all-time series with UC Irvine, 4-8 in Division I and 1-1 in the weekend series.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will wrap up the weekend series with UC Irvine 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.