LA JOLLA, Calif.— UC San Diego baseball defeated Creighton, 8-7, on Friday evening to open the home schedule in Triton Ballpark. The Tritons' (2-2) rallied to score five runs in the seventh inning for a comeback win over the Bluejays (2-2) in the first meeting between the programs.
 
J.C. Allen recorded four RBI with his first home run of the season, while Anthony Potestio scored two runs and contributed one RBI while also stealing a base. Gabe Camacho reached base three times with two walks and scored once. On the mound, Steele Murdock struck out eight batters over 4 2/3 innings, matching his career high in his second start of the season.
 
Julian Cazares contributed 1 1/3 innings of relief, surrendering two hits but no earned runs, striking out two and facing seven batters. Connor Etnire (2-0) pitched 1.0 inning, yielding 1 earned run on two hits for his second win of the early season. Devon King delivered a scoreless inning, striking out 1 without allowing a hit. Kayden Henson closed out the final inning, allowing three hits and one earned run to secure his second save of the season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Creighton took the first lead of the game in the second inning with a sacrifice fly. UC San Diego responded with a double from Alex Leopard, followed by Nick Costello's RBI double and a sacrifice fly from Potestio, advancing the Tritons to a 2-1 lead after two innings.
 
Creighton tied the game in the third inning, 2-2, with an RBI single. The fourth inning saw the Bluejays take a lead once again with a solo home run, making it 3-2. In the fifth, both teams added a run; an RBI single for Creighton and a sacrifice fly from Michael Crossland for the Tritons left the Bluejays ahead 4-3.
 
Creighton extended its lead in the sixth with an RBI single, but UC San Diego took control in a pivotal seventh inning. Following a series of hits and a walk to load the bases, Camacho walked in a run, and Allen delivered the crucial grand slam, putting the Tritons ahead 8-6.
 
In the ninth, the Bluejays rallied to add a run on an RBI single and threatened for more with two on and no outs. A clutch 6-4-3 double-play and a fly-out to Costello in right ended the run for the Bluejays and the Tritons secured the 8-7 victory.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Steele Murdock matched his career high with eight strikeouts (at UC Riverside, Apr. 19, 2025).
• J.C. Allen knocked his first home run of the season and second of his Triton career (vs UC Davis, May 11, 2025).
• The Tritons used five pitchers, including Steele Murdock, Julian Cazares, Connor Etnire, Devon King and Kayden Henson.
• UC San Diego is 1-0 all-time against Creighton. 

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will continue the Tony Gwynn Legacy event on Saturday against BYU at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ 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.