LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego baseball took game two of the weekend series against UC Irvine, 9-4, on Saturday afternoon in Triton Ballpark. The Tritons (18-20, 14-6 Big West) amassed 11 hits, including two home runs, while the pitching staff held the Anteaters (17-23, 8-12 Big West) to five hits over nine innings.
 
Gabe Camacho led UC San Diego with two hits, including a home run, and drove in three runs while crossing the plate twice. Thomas Maher contributed his first collegiate home run and Michael Crossland added two hits and an RBI, scoring a run.
 
Trevor Rector started on the mound for UC San Diego, pitching 3.0 innings and allowing three hits while striking out four batters. Austin Bowker (3-1) contributed 3.2 innings in relief, giving up two runs on two hits and recording two strikeouts. Nathan Huy provided a strong middle relief performance with 1.1 innings pitched, allowing no hits and striking out one. Devon King closed the game with a clean inning, striking out two and not allowing any baserunners.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Irvine loaded the bases in the top of the first but Rector and the Tritons kept the Anteaters off the board. 
 
The Tritons opened strong with Camacho hitting a two-run home run to deep right field, scoring Anthony Potestio, and giving them an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. In the second inning, Trevian Martinez doubled and later scored on a single by Nick Costello, extending the lead to 3-0.
 
The third inning saw UCI respond with a two-run double, cutting the lead to 3-2. However, UC San Diego added two more runs with Camacho's RBI single and J.C. Allen's RBI double, bringing the score to 5-2 at the end of the third.
 
UCI left the bases loaded without a run again in the top of the fourth before the Tritons added two more runs in the bottom of the inning. Delshaun Lanier tripled and scored on a groundout by Potestio, followed by Crossland's RBI single, extending the lead to 7-2.
 
In the fifth, Martinez's sacrifice fly brought home Alex Leopard, pushing the Tritons' lead to 8-2.
 
The Anteaters narrowed the gap in the seventh with a two-run home run, making it 8-4. UC San Diego solidified its lead in the eighth inning with a solo home run by Maher, extending the advantage to 9-4.
 
After UCI's homer in the seventh, the Tritons retired the final seven batters in order for the Anteaters. After recording the last out of the seventh—on one pitch—Huy retired all four batters he faced, and King pitched a perfect ninth inning to secure the victory.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Gabe Camacho recorded his 12th home run (412 ft) of the season, while Thomas Maher (359 ft) knocked the first of his collegiate career.
• The Tritons recorded 11 hits and left five runners on base, while UC Irvine recorded five hits and left 10 runners on base.
• The Tritons used five pitchers in the contest, including Trevor Rector, Austin Bowker, Nathan Huy and Devon King.
• UC San Diego is now 9-11 in the all-time series (9-9 in D-I) with UC Irvine and 2-0 this season.
  • The victory secured the Tritons' fifth Big West series win of the season.

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will wrap up the weekend series with UC Irvine on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available via UCSDTritons.com.
 
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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 24-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 39 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 90 percent, the highest rate among institutions in NCAA Division I or II.