LA JOLLA, Calif.— UC San Diego baseball closed out its final homestand of the season with a bang, claiming a 23-0 victory over UC Davis on Sunday afternoon at Triton Ballpark. The Tritons (25-23, 14-13 Big West) matched their Division I record with 23 runs, and held off the Aggies (24-27, 11-16 Big West) for their third shutout of the season.
Alex Leopard and
J.C. Allen cracked a grand slam each in the effort, with the latter leading the team with five RBI off a loaded-bases walk.
Anthony Potestio (3-for-4) and
Michael Crossland (4-for-5) contributed three RBI apiece, while
Emiliano Gonzalez (3-for-5) brought in two.
Colton Lomanto,
Jayden Lee and
Garrett Davidson each pitched in one RBI.
Steele Murdock started on the mound, throwing two strikeouts and three walks in four innings.
Ethan Remmers stepped in for a Senior Day special, tossing a strikeout in one inning of work.
Nathan Ries (3-2) pitched the sixth and seventh innings, recording three strikeouts and a walk to earn the victory.
Landon Marchetti stepped in for the eighth inning, facing four batters and giving up just one hit before
Zack Ernisse closed out the game with two strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego came out with a vengeance, notching the first run after a walk on loaded bases before consecutive wild pitches drove in two more Tritons. Gonzalez kept the runs rolling with an RBI single line drive to right field to end the first inning up 4-0.
Leopard capitalized on another loaded base situation, taking his first pitch over the centerfield wall to double the score at 8-0 in the next inning. Potestio threatened another grand slam five batters later, hitting the centerfield warning track to send in two more Tritons.
The very next batter, Crossland, lasered an RBI single to left field to make it 12-0 by the end of the second inning.
The Tritons did not let up in the third inning as Potestio and Crossland each recorded RBI singles to make it 15-0. Allen continued his home run streak with another grand slam bomb over the centerfield wall to end the inning 19-0.
Another loaded bases situation in the fifth inning brought the score to 20-0 after a hit-by-pitch on Lomanto. Pinch hitters Davidson and Lee drove in the 21st and 22nd runs with centerfield-bound RBI in the sixth inning. Gonzalez notched another RBI via sac fly in the seventh inning to close out the game's scoresheet.
TRITON TIDBITS
- The Tritons are now one home run away from tying the program's all-time single season home run record; they hit 78 home runs in 2018 in 60 games, compared to this season's 77 in 48 games, thus far.
- UC San Diego has hit five grand slams this season with Alex Leopard (March 13 & May 11) and Colton Lomanto (April 26 & May 2) hitting two and J.C. Allen (May 11) with one.
- Jayde Lee recorded his first RBI of his collegiate career.
- The 23-0 scoreline marks the fourth time the Tritons have shutout their opponent this season; it also marks the widest margin of victory this season.
- UC San Diego's 23 runs matches their Division I single-game record, set earlier this season against CSUN (April 13).
- Eleven Tritons contributed to UC San Diego's 20 hits in the contest.
- UC San Diego is now 13-21 in the all-time series (9-7 in D-I) with UC Davis and 1-2 in the weekend series.
- Sunday was Senior Day, where UC San Diego celebrated its 13 departing players: Andy Ambriz, Nick Costello, Matthew Dalquist, Zach Ernisse, Emiliano Gonzalez, Nic Gregson, Patrick Hackworth, Sam Hasegawa, Colton Lomanto, Ethan Remmers, Spencer Seid, Cooper Thacker, and Jake Villar.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will close out the regular season on the road at Hawai'i. The three-game series kicks off on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. PT. The games 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.
