LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego baseball moved to 2-0 in the series with Long Beach State on Saturday with a 13-10 win at home. The Tritons built a nine-run lead and held on late to move to 13-8 on the year and 5-3 in Big West play.
 
Eight Tritons had hits and six had RBIs. J.C. Allen, Michael Crossland and Colton Lomanto all had three hits in five at-bats. Lomanto had a team-high four RBIs.
 
Garrett Davidson pitched 2.1 innings and earned the win for the Tritons, giving up just one hit and one run to move to 3-0 on the season. Devon King pitched the final 1.2 innings and did not allow a hit to pick up his second save of the year.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Crossland got the Tritons going early with a solo home run in the first inning. The Dirtbags got a solo homer of their own in the top of the second and proceeded to load the bases, but Chapman Weber came in to pitch for the Tritons and got the home side out of the jam.
 
The Triton offense exploded in the bottom of the second with five runs on three homers to take control of the game. Lomanto started the scoring with a two-run home run after a lead-off double from Allen. The Tritons then had another two-run shot, this time from Delshaun Lanier after a single by Emiliano Gonzalez. Anthony Potestio then joined the fun with a homer of his own.
 
Long Beach State pulled one back in the top of the third before the Tritons had another scoring burst in the fourth. Lanier earned a walk and came all the way around to score after a double by Potestio. Gabe Camacho got on base as well after being hit by a pitch before Allen and Lomanto hit two-out doubles to score three more runs for the Tritons and make it 10-2.
 
The visitors loaded the bases again in the fifth but could only bring in one run as Davidson came in to pitch for UC San Diego with two outs. He got the final out after forcing a grounder to third.
 
The Tritons added a run in the sixth with an RBI single from Lomanto. Long Beach State got a run in the seventh before UC San Diego grew the lead more in the bottom of the inning. Gonzalez and Cooper Thacker both hit doubles before Crossland singled to bring in Thacker and put the Tritons up 13-4.
 
Long Beach State did not go down easily, scoring six runs in the eighth to make the score 13-10. Five singles, two walks and a hit batter came on consecutive at-bats before King took the mound for the Tritons with two runners on and one out. The right-hander got a strike out and fly out to end the inning.
 
Two runners reached for the Tritons in the bottom of the eighth, but no insurance runs made it home. King stayed in to pitch the ninth and kept the Dirtbags scoreless as UC San Diego won 13-10.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Michael Crossland's home run was his ninth of the season. Delshaun Lanier, Colton Lomanto and Anthony Potestio all hit their first homers this year.
• The Tritons hit a season-high four home runs for the second time this year (Feb. 21 vs Pepperdine).
• The Tritons scored double-digit runs for the fourth time this season.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will go for the series sweep on Sunday at 1 p.m. from Triton Ballpark. 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 in NCAA Division I. The 24-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 84 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.