BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball defeated Cal State Bakersfield, 11-6, on Sunday afternoon at Hardt Field. With the win, the Tritons (26-11, 13-5 Big West) secured the series sweep over the Roadrunners (11-27, 6-12 Big West)—their fifth series sweep of the season.
 
Noah Sudyka finished the day 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored, while Brock Kleszcz also went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. Seven different Tritons drove in a run in the contest.
 
Donovan Chriss (1-0) earned his first win of the season, pitching 3.2 innings without giving up a run. He allowed four hits and struck out two in his longest outing of the season. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second consecutive game, the Roadrunners got on the board first, scoring four runs—one earned—on three hits and one error in the second inning for the early, 4-0, lead.
 
UC San Diego finally broke through in the top of the fifth, scoring two runs on three hits. Kleszcz hit a one-out double before Sudyka singled to right field to score the first run of the game for the Tritons. Nick Costello followed with a single to move Sudyka to third and a sac-fly by Michael Crossland made it 4-2.
 
Cal State Bakersfield got both runs back in the bottom of the inning however, scoring two runs on one hit and one error to build the lead back to four, 6-2.
 
The Tritons would not be discouraged, exploding for five runs on five hits an inning later to take the lead. Colton Lomanto got the scoring started with an RBI double to center field. Pinch hitter Delshaun Lanier followed with a first-pitch double to left center to make it 6-4. After a passed ball advanced two runners into scoring position, Sudyka knocked a two-RBI single to left field to tie the game. Benjamin Rosengard brought in the final run of the inning with a single to score Sudyka from second and give the Tritons their first lead of the day, 7-6.
 
CSUB threatened in the bottom of the inning, getting two runners on with one out. With both runners advanced into scoring position, Chriss secured the final out of the inning with a strikeout to maintain the one-run lead. 
 
Bakersfield got two runners on with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, but a sac-bunt, and back-to-back fly-outs kept the Roadrunners off the board once again.
 
The Tritons piled on four insurance runs in the top of the ninth, sparked by a bases-loaded RBI single by Cooper Thacker. Kleszcz brought in two more with a single to center field and Sudyka laid down a safety squeeze to make it 11-6.

After the Roadrunners got the leadoff man aboard in the bottom of the ninth, the Tritons secured three straight fly-outs to end the game.

QUOTABLE
"I am really proud of our guys' focus and commitment this weekend," said head coach Eric Newman. "We had to be gritty and tough all weekend to come out of here with three wins.

"I can't say enough about their resolve this weekend and ability to stay in the moment one pitch after another. We had to do that to come out of here like we did.

"I love that we got contributions all weekend on the mound and up and down the lineup. We made plays defensively when we needed them and got great at bats from our guys when trailing the last two games."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Noah Sudyka matched the single game season-high for the Tritons with his four RBI.
• Donovan Chriss earned his first victory of the season in his longest outing of the year.
• The Sunday victory marked the second time the Tritons mounted a comeback of four or more runs in the series, rallying from 0-5 on Saturday evening to win, 6-5.
• The Tritons moved to 9-4 in the all-time series with Cal State Bakersfield and earned their fifth series sweep of the season.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will return to La Jolla for a three-game series with Hawai'i beginning Friday at 6 p.m. in Triton Ballpark. The 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.