NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball fell to CSUN, 6-4, on Saturday afternoon at Matador Field. The Tritons (27-21, 14-12 Big West) dropped game two with the Matadors (29-18, 15-8 Big West) to even the weekend series, 1-1.
 
Nick Costello finished 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBI and two runs scored, while Emiliano Gonzalez was responsible for the other two runs batted in.
 
Starter Zack Ernisse had a strong outing, pitching 5.0 innings and allowing one run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Sam Hasegawa (0-1) was credited with the loss.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego got on the board in the top of the first with a sac-fly by Gonzalez for an early 1-0 lead. The Matadors threatened with two on and two outs but a strikeout by Ernisse ended the inning without a run.
 
After a leadoff single in the second, Ernisse and the Tritons recorded the next seven Matadors in order into the fourth frame. CSUN broke through in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single to tie the game, 1-1.
 
The Tritons retook the lead in the top of the sixth after advancing two runners into scoring position with one out. Gonzalez grounded out to the shortstop but scored the go-ahead run for UC San Diego, 2-1.
 
However, CSUN answered immediately in the bottom of the inning, scoring five runs on four hits to take the lead, 6-2. 
 
UC San Diego got two runs back in the top of the seventh with a two-out single to left center by Costello to bring in two runs and make it 6-4. The Tritons had a runner reach in the top of the eighth and the ninth, but UC San Diego was unable to cash in both times.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• With his two RBI in the game, Emiliano Gonzalez brought his total to six runs batted in for the series.
• It was the eighth multi-hit game for Nick Costello and sixth multi-RBI performance. It was the 13th multi-RBI game for Gonzalez, which leads the team. 
• UC San Diego moved 6-6 in the all-time series with CSUN and 1-1 in the weekend series. 

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will wrap up the weekend series at CSUN 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.