RIVERSIDE, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball defeated UC Riverside, 7-3, on Thursday evening at Riverside Sports Complex. The Tritons (18-18, 8-8 Big West) outhit the Highlanders (12-23, 3-15 Big West) 12-5 to take game one of the weekend series.
 
Colton Lomanto led the team offensive, finishing 3-for-5 with a triple, a home run, four RBI and two runs scored. Emiliano Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scores, while J.C. Allen and Cooper Thacker both turned in multi-hit performances as well. Gabe Camacho and Thacker both knocked a triple in the contest as well.
 
Matthew Dalquist (4-4) turned in a stellar performance on the mound, pitching 6.2 innings and allowing three runs on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. Jake Villar earned his third save of the season, pitching the final 2.1 innings and giving up one hit, no runs, no walks and two strikeouts to face one batter over the minimum.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lomanto got the scoring going for the Tritons in the top of the second with a solo home run to left center. 
 
After a two-out single in the bottom of the first, Dalquist and the Tritons retired the next 15 batters in order. Dalquist collected six strikeouts in the run, including striking out the side in the fourth. 
 
The Tritons added to their lead with four runs on six hits in the top of the sixth to pull in front, 5-0. Lomanto continued to swing a hot bat, driving in two runs with a triple off the wall in center field. Camacho followed with a triple of his own—this time to right field—to bring home Lomanto. Allen capped the rally by driving in Camacho with a single to right center.
 
The Highlanders broke through in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three runs on three hits to make it 5-3. Villar took over with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and after allowing an RBI double, he retired the next seven batters in order to close out the contest for the save.
 
UC San Diego added a run in the eighth on an RBI single by Potestio after Cooper Thacker knocked the third triple of the contest for the Tritons. Lomanto capped off the night with an RBI single to score Emiliano Gonzalez and secure the 7-3 victory for the Tritons.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Colton Lomanto was a double shy of the cycle. 
• Lomanto's home run was the 57th of the season for the Tritons which ranks first in the Big West.
• It was the fourth time in the Division I era the Tritons have hit three or more triples in a game. 
  • The single game record is four vs Michigan (Feb. 18, 2023). 
  • All three other times were vs UC Riverside (April 17, 2025, March 14, 2023 & April 30, 2021).
• UC San Diego used two pitchers in the contest, Matthew Dalquist and Jake Villar.
  • Villar currently leads the team with three saves.
• It marked the ninth game with one or fewer walks giving up by Triton pitching.
• It marked the fourth straight game with 12 or more hits for the Tritons.
• UC San Diego is now 13-2 in the Division I series with UC Riverside and 1-0 in the weekend series.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will remain at UC Riverside for game two of the weekend series on Friday at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast 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.