LOS ANGELES—UC San Diego baseball dropped its season opener to No. 1 UCLA, 8-4, on Friday evening in Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Tritons (0-1) took an early lead but a big fourth inning propelled the Bruins (1-0) to victory.
 
J.C. Allen led the way offensively, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Trevian Martinez went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Nick Costello made his return to the lineup after sitting out last season due to injury, going 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. The Tritons tallied eight hits in the contest, compared to seven for the Bruins.
 
Starter Steele Murdock went 2.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on two hits with four walks and one strikeout. Jake Villar (0-1) was credited with the loss, giving up five runs—three earned—on four hits with three walks in 1.1 innings. True freshmen Quincey Brown and Connor Etnire made their collegiate debuts and each pitched a clean inning, with Etnire recording his first collegiate strikeout. The Tritons tallied four strikeouts and issued 10 walks in the contest.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a quick 1-2-3 inning for both squads in the first, UC San Diego was first to strike in the top of the second. Costello brought in the first run of the 2026 season, doubling down the right field line to score Allen from third. On the next at bat, Martinez singled up the middle to bring in Costello and give the Tritons a 2-0 advantage.
 
In the bottom of the inning, UCLA advanced a runner to third with one out, but a strikeout and a foul-out to Martinez behind the plate kept the Bruins off the board.
 
An inning later, Allen singled through the left side to score Anthony Potestio from second and give the Tritons a 3-0 lead. The Bruins responded in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs on one hit and one error to tie the game, 3-3.
 
UCLA did most of its damage the following inning, scoring five runs on four hits and one error to take a commanding lead, 8-3. 
 
The Tritons continued to fight, stranding a runner in the fifth and seventh, before rallying in the eighth to load the bases. Martinez knocked a two-out single through the left side to score Allen from third, but the Bruins prevented any further rally by the Tritons. 
 
UC San Diego's bullpen held the Bruins scoreless through the final four frames, allowing just one hit. However, the Tritons were unable to close the gap further, falling 8-4 to open the series.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• J.C. Allen and Trevian Martinez recorded multi-hit performances.
• The Tritons used seven pitchers in the contest, including Steele Murdock, Jake Villar, Quincey Brown, Nathan Huy, Garrett Davidson, Connor Etnire and Chapman Weber.
  • Brown and Etnire made their collegiate debut in the contest.
• UC San Diego is 0-3 in the all-time series with UCLA and 0-1 in Division I.  

UP NEXT
The Tritons will remain in Los Angeles for game two of the weekend series with No. 1 UCLA on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Jackie Robinson Stadium. The game will be broadcast on B1G+ 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.