LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego baseball (26-14, 13-8 Big West) suffered its first series sweep of the season via a 15-10 loss to Hawai'i (25-15, 9-9 Big West) on Sunday afternoon in Triton Ballpark.
The Tritons played a nearly all-freshman pitching lineup on Sunday, starting with
Landon Marchetti (1-2). In a three-inning showing, he conceded six hits, four runs, and two walks, as well as throwing two strikeouts.
Julian Custer took over in the fourth, throwing 23 pitches that converted into a hit and four runs.
Devon King closed out the inning, giving up a hit and run before
Spencer Seid substituted in.
Seid pitched two innings, in which he recorded two strikeouts, while giving up three hits and as many runs.
Nathan Huy pitched the seventh inning, where he conceded two hits, runs, errors, and walks.
Xavier Franco pitched a clean eighth inning, giving up just one walk, and was relieved by
Ryan Farmer, who finished the game with two hits and a run conceded.
Kerim Orucevic was consistent on the afternoon, going 3-for-3 on three singles that yielded one RBI.
Nick Costello,
Doyle Kane,
Anthony Potestio, and
Michael Crossland all recorded one RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After two scoreless innings, Hawai'i struck first with an RBI single to left field. A three-run home run two batters later made it 4-0 going into the bottom of the third inning. Hawai'i tacked on another five runs in the fourth via two singles, a fly out, and hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded.
The Tritons ended the shut out in the bottom of the inning with a Kane single to send
Emiliano Gonzalez home. However, the Rainbow Warriors quickly responded with a groundout RBI in the following inning to keep a 10-1 distance.
The sixth inning yielded another Hawai'i homer, this time down the leftfield line to make it 12-1. UC San Diego collected another run soon after with a bases-loaded walk.
A double and sacrifice flyout drew a 14-2 score for Hawai'i in the top of the seventh before UC San Diego levelled the inning's scoring by loading the bases once again. Potestio was hit by a pitch and a
Bradlee Preap groundout cut the deficit to 14-4.
UC San Diego broke into a late-game stride in the eighth inning as Franco pitched a quick four-batter inning. Lomanto's leftfield-bound crack caused a Rainbow Warrior error that saw two Tritons make it to home plate. Orucevic singled right after to make it 14-7.
The Rainbow Warriors claimed their final run off a single in the ninth. Undeterred, the Tritons strung together a single and a walk to set up Crossland, who doubled into leftfield to send both runners home. Wild pitches against back-to-back hitters notched two more runs before a flyout closed out the game, 15-10.
TRITON TIDBITS
- UC San Diego has been swept twice by Hawai'i since joining the Big West in 2021.
- The Tritons were last swept in April 2023 in conference play against UC Santa Barbara.
- The Tritons are now 4-9 against the Rainbow Warriors.
- UC San Diego's 12 run margin of defeat is the second largest this season; the team took a 16-3 loss to UC Irvine on Apr. 13.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will hit the road for 10 consecutive games, starting with a pair of non-conference matchups against Arizona State at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday. The games can be watched live via the Pac-12 Networks 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.
