STOCKTON, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball earned its first win of the season with an 11-4 victory over Pacific on Saturday at Klein Family Field. With the win, the Tritons (1-1) evened the weekend series with the Tigers (1-1).
 
Anthony Potestio made a strong impact, recording a career-high four hits, finishing 4-for-5 with a double, three runs and two stolen bases. Michael Crossland drove in four runs—also a career high—and hit a home run, contributing significantly to the team's offensive efforts. 
 
Starter Spencer Seid (1-0) earned the win on the mound, pitching 5.0 innings with four strikeouts and allowing three earned runs. He threw a total of 68 pitches, 44 of which were strikes, and managed to get 8 flyouts and 3 groundouts. Steele Murdock made his collegiate debut on the mound in relief, contributing 2.0 innings, giving up 3 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 4 batters without issuing a walk. Devon King completed the final 2.0 innings without allowing any hits or walks, striking out 3 batters and recording 3 groundouts.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons started strong in the first inning with Potestio doubling down the right field line, setting up a two-run homer by Crossland, giving them an early 2-0 lead. The momentum continued in the third inning, where Potestio singled to right center and later scored along with Alex Leopard on an error by the pitcher, extending the lead to 4-0.
 
Pacific got on the board in the third with an infield RBI single to make it 4-1. In the fifth inning, the Tritons capitalized on an error by the second baseman, allowing Noah Lazuka to score an unearned run, bringing the lead back to four. The Tigers answered in the bottom of the inning with a two-run home run to make it 5-3. 
 
The seventh inning saw a surge in offensive performance for the Tritons, highlighted by a double by Gabe Camacho and a subsequent double by J.C. Allen that brought in a run. Additional contributions were made by Potestio, who singled for another RBI, leading to a three-run inning that pushed the score to 8-3. Pacific got one run back in the bottom of the seventh, scoring on a single to right field to make it 8-4.
 
The Tritons sealed their victory in the ninth inning with Cooper Thacker scoring on a single by Crossland, followed by another unearned run scored by Potestio due to a fielding error, culminating in a three-run inning. This final offensive push solidified UC San Diego's 11-4 win, with the team collecting 11 hits and benefiting from five errors by the Tigers.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Anthony Potestio, Michael Crossland and Gabe Camacho turned in multi-hit performances.
• Potestio, Alex Leopard and J.C. Allen were credited with an RBI each, while Crossland drove in four runs.
• With the win, UC San Diego improved to 4-1 in the all-time series and 1-1 on the season with Pacific.
• Five Tritons made their season debut, including Devon King, Delshaun Lanier, Steele Murdock, Spencer Seid, and Cooper Thacker.
  • Murdock made his collegiate debut as a redshirt freshman.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will wrap up the weekend in Stockton on Sunday with the final game of the opening series at Pacific. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live statistics available via UCSDTritons.com.
 
Article partially generated with FanWord.
 
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.