SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball dropped the series finale to Cal Poly, 12-11, on Sunday afternoon in Baggett Stadium. The Tritons (14-16, 5-7 Big West) held the lead into the bottom of the eighth inning before a late surge gave the Mustangs (22-8, 12-0 Big West) the sweep.
 
Alex Leopard had a standout day, going 4-for-5 with two home runs, four RBI and three runs scored. Cooper Thacker and Trevian Martinez also knocked homers in the contest, with Thacker finishing 1-for-3 with three RBI and Martinez finishing 1-for-3 with two walks.
 
Starter Steele Murdock had a solid outing, pitching 5.0 innings and allowing one run on three hits with no walks and four strikeouts. Jake Villar (0-3) was credited with the loss, responsible for the go-ahead run in the eighth inning.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons were first to score in the back-and-forth battle, plating three runs in the top of the first on an RBI ground-out by Colton Lomanto and a two-run homer by Leopard. UC San Diego added to its lead in the top of the fifth when Patrick Hackworth knocked an RBI single to right field to make it 4-0.
 
Murdock faced one batter over the minimum through his first three innings, including three strikeouts. Cal Poly got on the board in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI double to make it 4-1.
 
UC San Diego answered in the top of the sixth when Leopard hit his second two-run homer of the contest to extend the lead, 6-1. The Mustangs rallied in the bottom of the inning, scoring four runs on three hits and one error to pull within one run, 6-5.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Cal Poly took its first lead of the contest, scoring two runs on one hit to pull in front, 7-6. The Tritons answered back in the top of the eighth, scoring four runs on two hits to retake the lead, 10-7. Martinez knocked a one-out solo home run and Thacker hit a three-run blast after J.C. Allen and Garrett Davidson drew back-to-back walks.
 
The Mustangs jumped back in front, scoring five runs on four hits to lead 12-10. 
 
UC San Diego mounted one final rally in the ninth inning, getting two runners on base with two outs. Allen singled through the left side to score Leopard from third to pull the Tritons within one, 12-11. With two runners on, a ground-out ended the rally and the contest.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Alex Leopard was the fourth Triton to hit two home runs in a contest this season, joining Patrick Hackworth (Feb. 21 vs Pepperdine), Michael Crossland (Mar. 1 vs Cincinnati and Mar. 9 vs Cal State Bakersfield) and J.C. Allen (Mar. 2 vs Cincinnati). 
• Leopard recorded his fourth and fifth homers of the season. It was the second homer for both Martinez and Thacker.
  • The Tritons currently lead the Big West with 43 home runs this season.
• UC San Diego used six pitchers in the contest, including Steele Murdock, Garrett Davidson, Devon King, Julian Cazares, Jake Villar and Sam Hasegawa.
• UC San Diego is now 4-3 in one-run ballgames this season.
• The Tritons moved to 9-7 in the all-time series with Cal Poly and 0-3 in the weekend series.
  • It was the first time the Tritons were swept in a weekend series this season.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will return to San Diego to face USD in a midweek game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Fowler Park. 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.