LA JOLLA, Calif. – Early batting efficiency propelled UC San Diego baseball to a 6-4 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Friday evening at Triton Ballpark. The Tritons (21-19, 10-9 Big West) remain seated in fifth place, one spot behind the Gauchos (27-13, 12-10 Big West) in the Big West standings.
Thomas Maher continued to find his form in his freshman season, collecting four RBI on 2-of-4 hitting.
Cooper Thacker went 1-for-3 with an RBI double, while
J.C. Allen and
Anthony Potestio also recorded doubles alongside Maher and Thacker.
Matthew Dalquist (5-4) collected his fifth win on Friday, striking out four and walking three, while giving up five hits and three runs in six innings.
Spencer Seid pitched the next 2.1 innings, slinging one strikeout and walk, allowing two hits and a run.
Sam Hasegawa earned his third save, facing two batters who grounded out to conclude the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Potestio got the Tritons up 1-0 after stealing second and an overthrow at third base that gave him enough time to reach home plate. Maher saved a bases-loaded jam in the next inning with a 4-3 double play to keep the Gauchos scoreless.
Thacker cracked a leftfield line-hugging RBI double to make it 2-0 in the second inning. Maher rode the rightfield line in the following inning for a two-RBI double, notching a 4-0 lead for the Tritons in the fourth inning.
Dalquist retired the Gauchos in order in both the third and fourth innings to preserve the early shutout.
UCSB broke through for three runs in the fifth inning via an RBI double and a two-run home run. Maher responded in the sixth with an infield single to send in two Tritons for a 6-3 lead.
Dalquist faced the minimum again in the sixth inning and Seid took over with a spotless seventh to preserve UC San Diego's lead. The visitors hit another home run over the right field wall in the final inning, but it would not be enough as Hasegawa forced a pair of groundouts to close out the contest.
TRITON TIDBITS
- Sam Hasegawa is now tied with Jake Villar for the team lead with three saves apiece.
- True freshman Thomas Maher recorded a career-high four RBI on Friday.
- Both teams cycled through three pitchers in the opening game of the series.
- UC San Diego is now 2-14 against UC Santa Barbara.
UP NEXT
The Tritons will face off with UC Santa Barbara in game two of the weekend series on Saturday at 2 p.m. 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 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 garnered 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.
