LOS ANGELES— UC San Diego baseball fell to No. 1 UCLA, 7-2, on Saturday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Tritons' (0-2) offense was highlighted by a home run, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Bruins' (2-0) three home runs and 13 total hits.
 
Gabe Camacho knocked the Tritons' first home run of the season, while Alex Leopard added a double and crossed the plate for one run. Addison Klepsch went 2-for-4 and Trevian Martinez collected one hit and one RBI during his plate appearances.
 
Starter Nic Gregson (0-1) pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs, while striking out five batters and walking one. Julian Cazares contributed one inning without allowing a run, giving up two hits and striking out one. Devon King was efficient in his 1 2/3 innings, not yielding any hits or runs and striking out one. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego took an early lead in the first inning with Camacho's solo home run. UCLA quickly responded with a solo homer by Roch Cholowsky to tie the score, 1-1.
 
In the second inning, Leopard hit a double and reached third on a fly out, but was picked off to end the threat. The Bruins capitalized in their half, scoring on a sacrifice fly after a double and a wild pitch, giving UCLA a 2-1 lead after two innings. 
 
The fifth inning saw the Bruins extend their lead. Cholowsky doubled and later scored on a fielder's choice, making it 3-1 in favor of UCLA.
 
UCLA solidified its advantage in the eighth inning with a four-run surge, including a pair of home runs and a sacrifice fly. This offensive burst pushed the Bruins' lead to 7-1 after eight innings.
 
The Tritons rallied in the ninth, loading the bases with two outs. Trevian Martinez singled up the middle to drive in Leopard and make it 7-2. It looked as if the Tritons would cut into the deficit further when Drake Bicknell sent a blistering shot down the line, but a diving catch by the Bruins' right fielder ended the rally and the contest.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Addison Klepsch recorded a multi-hit performance in the contest.
• Gabe Camacho knocked the Tritons' first homer of the season.
• The Tritons used five pitchers in the contest, including Nic Gregson, Julian Cazares, Devon King, Kayden Henson and Ethan Russell.
  • Henson and Russell made their collegiate debut in the contest.
• UC San Diego is 0-4 in the all-time series with UCLA and 0-2 in Division I. 

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will wrap up the series with No. 1 UCLA on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Jackie Robinson Stadium. The game will be broadcast on B1G+ and live statistics will be available via UCSDTritons.com.
 
Article partially generated with FanWord.
 
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.