SAN DIEGO—UC San Diego baseball battled for 13 innings but came up short, 9-8, against the University of San Diego on Tuesday evening in Fowler Park. The Tritons (26-20) erased a seven-run deficit, including scoring four runs in the ninth to force extra innings with the Toreros (34-13).
 
Noah Sudyka put together an outstanding performance for the Tritons, finishing the night 4-for-6 with five RBI, two home runs and a double. Anthony Potestio went 3-for-6 with a home run, a double, an RBI and two runs scored.
 
Izaak Martinez (4-3) was exceptional coming out of the bullpen in the eighth inning, pitching the final 5.1 innings and allowing two runs on four hits with two walks, five strikeouts and 105 pitches.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Toreros jumped out to an early lead, scoring three runs in the first and four more runs in the second to build a 7-0 advantage. 
 
UC San Diego got on the board in the third inning with a solo home run to left by Sudyka. The following inning, Potestio hit a leadoff single and the Tritons advanced him to third before Brock Kleszcz hit a sac-fly to make it 7-2. 
 
In the top of the fifth, Sudyka hit his second home run of the contest with another rocket over the left field wall. Potestio followed in the top of the sixth with a solo shot of his own—this time just inside the right field foul pole to bring the score to 7-4.
 
The Triton bullpen held USD scoreless in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings to help UC San Diego chip away at the deficit.
 
In the top of the ninth, the Tritons loaded the bases with one out before Benjamin Rosengard drew a walk to force in the first run of the inning, 7-5. Sudyka then sent a double to the warning track in right center to clear the bases and give UC San Diego its first lead of the night, 8-7.
 
The Toreros responded with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth, but Martinez retired the next three batters in order to keep the game tied, 8-8, and send it to extra innings.
 
UC San Diego got its first extra-inning opportunity in the top of the 12th, loading the bases with one out. However, a double play ended the inning without a run for the Tritons. USD responded in the bottom of the inning, advancing two runners into scoring position with two outs, but an infield pop-up ended the inning without a run once again. 
 
The Tritons rallied once again in the top of the 13th with three straight infield singles to load the bases with one out. However, a fielder's choice out at home and a strikeout ended the inning without a run. In the bottom of the inning, the Toreros scored the winning run with a one-out single to make it 9-8.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Noah Sudyka's five RBI was a season high for any Triton and one shy of the UC San Diego's Division I single game record.
  • His two home runs brought his total to four on the season, which ranks second on the team.
• Anthony Potestio knocked his second home run of the year.
• The 5.1 innings was the second longest outing of the season for Izaak Martinez, who pitched 6.0 against Utah on Feb. 23.
• The Tritons are now 8-7 in one-run contests and 1-6 in extra-inning games.
• UC San Diego moved to 0-10 in Division I against USD and 0-3 in the season series. 

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will remain on the road, traveling to face CSUN in the weekend series beginning Friday at 3 p.m. 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.