SAN DIEGO—UC San Diego baseball fell, 9-8, to University of San Diego on Tuesday night at Fowler Park. The Tritons (14-17, 5-7 Big West) and the Toreros (8-24) were tied into the ninth inning before USD hit a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.
Colton Lomanto finished 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI, while
Alex Leopard finished 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, an RBI and three runs scored.
Michael Crossland was also responsible for multiple runs, finishing 1-for-3 with a triple, a walk two RBI and two runs scored and
J.C. Allen finished the night 2-for-5 with two RBI.
Starter
Nathan Ries went 2.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
Sam Hasegawa (2-2) was credited with the loss after allowing the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. He pitched 2.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego got on the board in a hurry, with Lomanto hitting a three-run home run in the top of the first for the early, 3-0, lead. The Tritons added to their advantage with a two-out RBI single up the middle by Allen in the top of the third to lead, 4-0.
USD broke through with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third to cut the lead in half, 4-2.
The Tritons responded the next inning, scoring four runs on three hits to extend their advantage, 8-2. After
Cooper Thacker and
Patrick Hackworth were both hit by pitches to reach base, Crossland got the scoring underway with a bases-clearing triple down the right field line. Leopard brought in Crossland with a double to left field before Allen singled through the left side to bring Leopard in for the fourth run of the inning.
The Toreros tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, scoring six runs on two hits to make it 8-8.
UC San Diego stranded a runner in the top of the eighth and the top of the ninth before USD rallied in the bottom of the ninth to break the tie with a bases-loaded single to center field.
TRITON TIDBITS
- Colton Lomanto knocked his second home run of the season. The Tritons currently lead the Big West with 44 home runs.
- Six Tritons were hit by a pitch in the contest—the most this season.
- Garrett Patterson made his first collegiate appearance on the mound in relief.
- UC San Diego used six pitchers in the contest, including Nathan Ries, Zack Ernisse, Jake Villar, Landon Marchetti, Garrett Patterson and Sam Hasegawa.
- UC San Diego is now 4-4 in one-run ballgames this season.
- It is the fourth game in the last five meetings with USD decided in the final inning.
- Two games decided in the ninth inning (8-9, 4/8/25 & 2-5, 4/4/23), one in the tenth (7-8, 2/21/24) and one in the thirteenth (8-9, 5/7/24).
UP NEXT
The Tritons will return home to host CSUN for a three-game series this weekend in Triton Ballpark beginning Friday at 6 p.m. The games 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.
