RIVERSIDE, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball fell to California Baptist, 10-6, on Tuesday evening in Totman Stadium. The Tritons (13-10) scored three runs in the final two innings but were unable to overcome an early deficit to the Lancers (14-11).
 
Gabe Camacho had a standout game for UC San Diego, finishing 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, a walk and four RBI. Michael Crossland also went 2-for-4 with a home run and a walk, responsible for the only other run batted in for the Tritons. UC San Diego used six pitchers in the contest, with start Nathan Ries (1-2) taking the loss.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons got runners on base in the first and second innings but both times came up empty. CBU was first to strike, scoring three runs on three hits in the bottom of the second to take an early, 3-0, lead.
 
UC San Diego answered in the top of the third after the leadoff batter Cooper Thacker reached on a throwing error and Noah Lazuka walked to put two runners aboard. Camacho doubled to right center to bring in both runners and make it 3-2. However, three consecutive strikeouts ended the inning with the Tritons still trailing.
 
California Baptist added three more runs in the third with an RBI double and a two-run homer to make it 6-2. But the Tritons responded once again with Colton Lomanto scoring on a wild pitch to pull back within three, 6-3.
 
The Lancers cemented their lead in the bottom of the fourth with a three-run home run to create distance, 9-3. 
 
UC San Diego had runners on base in the fifth and sixth innings but were unable to bring them home each time. Crossland finally broke through in the top of the eighth with a leadoff home run that bounced off the top of the wall in right center to make it 9-4. A pair of walks put two more runners on base with one out but the Tritons were unable to cut into the deficit further in the inning.
 
The Lancers got the run back in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI double to bring the lead back to six, 10-4. Camacho knocked in two more runs with a homer to right field in the ninth but that was all the Tritons were able to rally for in the inning, falling 10-6.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Michael Crossland hit his 10th home run of the season and Gabe Camacho recorded his fifth in the contest. Crossland currently leads the Big West in homers.
• Julian Cazares made his Triton debut in the contest.
• The Tritons moved to 1-1 in the season series with CBU and 30-32 in the all-time series.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will remain on the road for a four-game nonconference series at Santa Clara beginning Thursday at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and live statistics will be 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 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 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 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.