UC San Diego

LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego baseball fell to Cal State Fullerton, 10-5, on Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale at Triton Ballpark. The Tritons (24-26, 18-12 Big West) managed on Senior Day but the Titans'(23-30, 15-15 Big West) knocked three home runs and 15 hits to secure their spot in the Big West Championship next week.
 
Addison Klepsch posted three hits and collected one RBI in the game, while senior J.C. Allen contributed with a home run. Anthony Potestio hit a double and stole two bases, finishing with two hits and an RBI. Seniors Alex Leopard and Nick Costello both recorded a hit and a run scored respectively and senior Ryson Ujimori was credited with an RBI as well.
 
Nathan Ries started for UC San Diego on the mound, pitching 4.0 innings, allowing seven hits and four earned runs, with three strikeouts. Graduate student Jake Villar and Cal Elvis provided strong relief, each pitching 1.1 innings without allowing a run. Villar struck out four consecutive batters while Elvis recorded two strikeouts—his first in Division I appearances. Senior Julian Cazares closed the game, pitching 1.0 inning and allowing one earned run on a solo home run. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Titans took an early lead with a solo home run in the first inning, giving them a 1-0 advantage. The Tritons responded in the second inning. Drake Bicknell walked, followed by a single from Costello and UC San Diego loaded the bases after a hit-by-pitch to Delshaun Lanier. Ujimori's fielder's choice allowed Bicknell to score and Costello also scored on a fielder's choice by Potestio, putting the Tritons ahead 2-1 after two innings.
 
Fullerton regained the lead in the third inning, scoring two runs on three hits. A double and an RBI single tied the game before a sacrifice fly brought in another run, putting the Titans up 3-2. They increased their lead in the fourth inning, scoring on a fielder's choice to make it 4-2.
 
In the fifth inning, the Titans extended their lead to 5-2 with an RBI groundout. The sixth inning saw a surge from CSF with four runs, including a two-run homer to increase the lead to 9-2.
 
The Tritons narrowed the gap in the eighth inning. Allen hit a solo home run 419 feet to straight away center field and Nathaniel Widelski added a sacrifice fly, scoring Leopard, to make it 9-4.
 
In the ninth inning, the Titans got a run back with a solo homer. The Tritons managed to score one more run with a sacrifice fly by Klepsch, bringing the final score to 10-5 in favor of the visitors.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Prior to the contest, UC San Diego recognized 11 Tritons playing in their final home game in Triton Ballpark. Tritons being recognized were seniors J.C. Allen, Julian Cazares, Nathan Huy, Delshaun Lanier, Alex Leopard and Ryson Ujimori, graduate students Drake Bicknell, Nick Costello, Nic Gregson and Jake Villar and senior student manager Jacob Carlos. 
• The Tritons are set as the No. 3 seed in next week's Big West Championship, with Cal State Fullerton earning the final spot at No. 5 with Saturday's win.
• After hitting his first home run of the season the previous night, Cal Elvis recorded his first Division I strikeout on the mound—ringing up two in the contest.
• J.C. Allen recorded his seventh home run of the season in the contest.
• The Tritons used five pitchers in the contest, including Nathan Ries, Austin Bowker, Jake Villar, Cal Elvis and Julian Cazares.
• UC San Diego is now 14-5 in the all-time series with Cal State Fullerton and 2-1 this season. 

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will head to its first ever Big West postseason tournament as the No. 3 seed, taking on No. 2 seed Cal Poly on Thursday, May 21 at 6 p.m. The conference tournament will take place at Anteater Ballpark in Irvine, Calif. with live broadcasts on ESPN+ and live statistics 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 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.