LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball defeated Cal State Bakersfield, 9-1, in the Big West opener on Friday evening in Triton Ballpark. The Tritons (9-5) limited the Roadrunners (4-10) to just two hits in the contest.
 
Matthew Dalquist (2-1) earned the victory, pitching 7.2 innings without allowing a run or walk while striking out eight batters. Dalquist faced 26 batters and retired the final 14 he faced in order, giving up only two hits over his 95-pitch outing, 63 of which were strikes.
 
Three Tritons recorded multi-hit performances, including Anthony Potestio (2-for-4), Noah Lazuka (2-for-4) and Michael Crossland (2-for-4). Crossland led the team with two RBI and a double, while Lazuka finished with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Gabe Camacho also recorded two runs scored and an RBI in the contest.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a pitcher's duel early on, with the teams remaining scoreless through the first five innings. Dalquist retired the Roadrunners in order in the second and the third innings and struck out the side in the fourth after allowing a leadoff single. 
 
The Tritons were held hitless into the bottom of the fifth inning before a solo home run to right center by Emiliano Gonzalez broke up the no-no and put the first run on the board. This was followed by a single from Patrick Hackworth, but the inning concluded with no further runs, leaving the score at 1-0 in favor of the Tritons.
 
In the sixth inning, the Tritons demonstrated a strong offensive performance, scoring four runs. The inning began with consecutive singles by Potestio, Lazuka and Alex Leopard loading the bases. Camacho was hit by a pitch, bringing in a run. A subsequent error allowed two more runs to score, followed by a double from Crossland, extending the lead to 5-0.
 
The Tritons continued their momentum into the seventh inning, adding four more runs. A pinch-runner, Cooper Thacker scored on a double by Lazuka. Errors by the Roadrunners contributed to additional runs, and a single by Crossland drove in another unearned run, bringing the score to 9-0.
 
After allowing a single to begin the fourth, Dalquist retired the next 14 batters in order. The right hander tallied eight strikeouts in the contest for the longest outing of his career.
 
The Roadrunners managed to add a run in the ninth inning after a hit by pitch and a groundout RBI. However, the Tritons maintained their lead, concluding the game with a decisive 9-1 victory.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Michael Crossland turned in the lone multi-RBI performance of the contest and Crossland, Anthony Potestio and Noah Lazuka had multiple hits.
• Emiliano Gonzalez's home run made it 20 total home runs for the Tritons in the early season to lead the Big West.
• Anthony Potestio returned to the lineup for the first time in seven games after an early season injury.
• UC San Diego is now 10-4 in the all-time series with Cal State Bakersfield.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will host Cal State Bakersfield for game two of the weekend series on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will not be broadcast but live statistics will be 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.