SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — UC San Diego baseball dropped a 3-1 decision to UC Santa Barbara on Sunday afternoon in Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. The Tritons (15-16, 11-4 Big West) took the early lead before the Gauchos (22-11, 10-5 Big West) scored two runs in the seventh and one more in the eighth to secure the finale and the series, 2-1.
 

Nic Gregson delivered a strong performance on the mound, pitching a season-long 7.0 innings, matching his season high with seven strikeouts and allowing no earned runs. UC San Diego managed four hits in the contest with Alex Leopard providing the only run for the Tritons—a 441-foot solo home run in the fourth inning. 

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons threatened with runners on base in each of the first three innings before Leopard launched a solo home run in the fourth inning. 
 
Gregson kept the UCSB offense in check through six, including retiring the Gauchos in order in the fifth and sixth innings. The score remained in UC San Diego's favor through the sixth inning, with Leopard's homer being the only run on the board.
 
In the seventh inning, the Gauchos took the lead with two unearned runs. After a leadoff single and a fielding error, UCSB had two runners in scoring position with no outs. A double down the left-field line brought in both runners, resulting in a 2-1 advantage for Santa Barbara. A solo home run in the eighth extended the lead for UCSB, 3-1.
 
Crossland drew a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth and advances to second base on a wild pitch, but UC San Diego was unable to add more runs. 
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Alex Leopard recorded his fourth home run of the season.
• The Tritons recorded four hits and left four runners on base, while UCSB recorded six hits and left seven runners on base.
• UC San Diego used four pitchers in the contest, including Nic Gregson, Nathan Huy, Connor Etnire and Jake Villar.
• UC San Diego is now 5-20 in the all-time series (4-17 in D-I) with UC Santa Barbara and 2-1 this season.

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will travel across town for a midweek matchup with San Diego State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before hosting Cal Poly in a weekend series beginning Friday. Tuesday's game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network and live statistics will be available via UCSDTritons.com.
 
Article partially generated by 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.