LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego baseball fell to Cal Poly, 11-3, on Friday evening in Triton Ballpark. The Tritons' (15-18, 11-5 Big West) offense was highlighted by two home runs, but the Mustangs (20-16, 11-5 Big West) capitalized on four errors to secure the victory.
 
Gabe Camacho and Michael Crossland both hit home runs in the contest, their 11th and eighth for the season respectively. Anthony Potestio scored a run and recorded two walks, while Nick Costello reached base three times via one hit, one walk and a hit by pitch.
 
Steele Murdock (4-2) started the game for UC San Diego, pitching 4.1 innings and allowing five hits, six runs, three of which were earned, while striking out two. Connor Etnire pitched 1.0 inning, surrendering one hit and one unearned run, while striking out two. Ethan Russell closed out the game, pitching 1.1 innings without allowing a hit or a run, striking out two batters. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons got on the board early with a solo home run by Camacho in the bottom of the first inning. Cal Poly quickly tied the game in the top of the second with an RBI ground out to make it 1-1.
 
The Mustangs took the lead an inning later, scoring on a wild pitch to lead, 2-1. UC San Diego responded in the bottom of the inning when Crossland hit a solo shot to left center to tie the game once again, 2-2.
 
Cal Poly created distance in the fourth, scoring three unearned runs via one hit and two errors to pull back in front, 5-2. The Mustangs added a run in the fifth and one more in the seventh to lead, 7-2.
 

The Mustangs had their biggest inning in the top of the eighth, aided by four hits and an error. Cal Poly scored on an RBI single and a three-run homer to extend its advantage, 11-2.

 
UC San Diego stranded a runner on base in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh and two in the eighth. The Tritons managed to score once more in the ninth inning when Potestio scored on a throwing error, but the game concluded with an 11-3 final in favor of Cal Poly.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Gabe Camacho knocked his 11th home run (407 ft) of the season and Michael Crossland hit his eighth (409 ft).
• Raphael Dunne recorded his first collegiate hit, a single in the bottom of the ninth.
• The Tritons recorded five hits and left 11 runners on base, while Cal Poly recorded 11 hits and left 11 runners on base.
• UC San Diego used five pitchers in the contest, including Steele Murdock, Jake Villar, Connor Etnire, Quincey Brown and Ethan Russell.
• UC San Diego is now 9-8 in the all-time series with Cal Poly and 0-1 this season.

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will continue the weekend series with Cal Poly on Saturday at 2 p.m. There will not be a video stream but live stats 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.