LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball dropped a nail bitter in the series opener with UC Davis, 9-8, on Friday evening in Triton Ballpark. After the teams headed into the ninth inning tied at 7-7, the Tritons (24-22, 13-12 Big West) loaded the bases but came up just short to the Aggies (23-26, 10-15 Big West).
 
Gabe Camacho went 3-for-5 with one run scored, while J.C. Allen, Michael Crossland and Michael Crossland finished 2-for-4. Allen collected three RBI and two runs scored, Lomanto tallied three RBI and one run scored, while Crossland scored three runs and one RBI. The trio all knocked a home run, with Allen recording two in the contest.
 
Starter Matthew Dalquist pitched 4.0 innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits with two strikeouts. Spencer Seid pitched 4.0 innings in relief, allowing one run on three hits with one walk and three strikeouts. Sam Hasegawa was credited with the loss, responsible for the go-ahead run by the Aggies in the ninth.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons got on the board first with a solo home run to left field by Crossland in the bottom of the first—his 14th of the season.
 
UC Davis broke through in the top of the fourth scoring on back-to-back RBI singles to take the lead, 2-1. UC San Diego responded right away in the bottom of the inning after a leadoff single by Camacho and a home run to left by Lomanto plated both runners to 3-2 lead.
 
The Aggies did most of their damage the following inning, scoring four runs on four hits in the top of the fifth for a 6-3 advantage. UC San Diego pulled within one in the bottom of the sixth after Emiliano Gonzalez knocked a two-out double and Allen hit a two-run shot off the scoreboard in right field to make it 6-5.
 
Both teams plated a run in the seventh inning with UCD using an RBI single to go up 7-5 before Lomanto responded in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single of his own to make it 7-6. The Tritons tied the game in the bottom of the eighth with Allen's second homer of the contest, this time to right center field.
 
With the game knotted at 7-all in the ninth, the Aggies loaded the bases with one out. Devon King forced a foul out before UCD knocked single to right field that scored two runs for a 9-7 advantage.
 
The Tritons rallied one final time in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases via a walk, a single and a hit-by-pitch. One runner scored after a balk was called but UC San Diego was unable to bring in another run, falling in the opener, 9-8.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• UC San Diego knocked four home runs in the contest to bring the season total to 74. The Tritons are now four home runs away from tying the program's all-time record (78; 2018).
• Michael Crossland knocked his 14th home run of the season to lead the Big West. With two homers in the contest, J.C. Allen now has 10 on the season and Colton Lomanto hit his ninth.
  • It is the first time in the D-I era the Tritons have had multiple hitters with 10+ home runs.
• UC San Diego is now 12-20 in the all-time series (8-6 in D-I) with UC Davis and 0-1 in the weekend series. 

UP NEXT
The Tritons will continue the weekend series with UC Davis on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Triton Ballpark. 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 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.