UCSD opened up the series with a win on Friday, but had to bounce back from a loss on Saturday to take the final game and the series on Sunday.

“We overcame adversity, and that was kind of good to see. It was fun to see our guys compete,” UCSD head coach Eric Newman said.

The series win is another positive step to begin the season for the Tritons, who went 2–1 in their exhibition games this preseason.

“It’s definitely a great win for the team. We’ve been working so hard all fall and coming into this new year,” senior first-baseman Richard Seigel said. “To get this [series] win over a team who is ranked ahead of us, that was just huge.”

GAME 1 – UCSD 6, Colorado Mesa 2

Junior Mya Romero doubled for three RBI, putting UCSD up 4–0 at the start of the game.

UCSD picked another two runs in the bottom of the third as Brown doubled. With Brown on third and Sepulveda on second, junior Dyanna Imoto singled to left field to score two runners.

Evola came up big for Western Oregon again in the fifth inning, scoring two runners on a double to right field, but UCSD sophomore right-hander Kayla Hensel did well to limit the Wolves offense.

The Triton starter went six innings, allowing just five hits and recording four strikeouts en route. Edwards brought in to finish, giving up just one hit in the seventh.

GAME 2 – UCSD 2, Colorado Mesa 5

The second game of the series was primarily a pitching duel, and was closely contended until late in the game. For the Tritons, sophomore starter Dan Kolodin battled through early adversity and kept his team close, going four innings while only giving up one unearned run. Colorado Mesa was carried behind the strength of their starter, Matt Williams, who pitched six innings, only surrendering two runs and striking out seven.

Justin Rahn again played solidly, pitching two scoreless relief innings and also homering in the sixth to give his team the temporary lead. Rahn finished the series 8-for-14 overall for an impressive start to his season.

The Tritons let the game slip away in the eighth, as Colorado Mesa second baseman Braden Box tripled to score a run and a perfect RBI squeeze bunt was laid down by outfielder Austin Kaiser. Tritons pitcher Scott Zeman balked in the third run of the inning, and that score held for Colorado Mesa, 5–2.

GAME 3 – UCSD 8, Colorado Mesa 4

The Tritons took the final game of the series Sunday behind an offensive outburst. UCSD struck first in the bottom of the fourth, scoring three runs and didn’t relent for the remainder, scoring in the next four innings.

Starting pitcher Trevor Scott went five innings, allowing two earned runs, but had plenty of support from his lineup, as the Tritons answered every run put on the board.

Freshman second-baseman Troy Cruz picked up his first collegiate hit on Sunday, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Junior third-baseman Garrett Tuck went 4-for-5 in the game, adding an RBI and a run scored. Seigel missed the cycle by a single, going 3-for-5 with a home run in the fifth inning and adding two runs scored.

The Tritons will now set their sights on another non-conference team, Grand Canyon University. “From what I hear, they have a lot of good players. They’re well coached, they’ll pitch well, [and] they’ll play good defense,” Newman said. “We’ll come out and try to have a good week of practice to prepare for that.”