UC San Diego baseball (13-13, 9-1 Big West) claimed a 10-9 victory to begin a three-game series against Hawai’i (15-12, 5-8 Big West) at Triton Ballpark on Thursday. Going into the game boasting an 8-1 conference record and a three-game win streak, the Tritons came back from a four-run sixth-inning deficit to clinch the series opener.
Neither team was able to score in the first three innings. Redshirt sophomore pitcher Steele Murdock’s pitches created easy flyout opportunities for the Tritons on defense. However, the Tritons were stymied by the Rainbow Warriors’ pitching, leading to consistent groundouts to Hawai’i’s infield.
The Rainbow Warriors took the reins in the top of the third. With the bases loaded, a Hawai’i groundout and double secured a 3-0 lead for the Rainbow Warriors. The Tritons swiftly retaliated with a double and two singles in the bottom half, allowing junior first baseman Gabe Camacho to score the first run for UCSD and close the third inning with a two-run deficit.
The Rainbow Warriors’ dominance peaked in the top of the sixth. The Tritons made a mid-inning pitching change to freshman pitcher Connor Etnire, who threw an unfortunate wild pitch that scored a Hawai’i baserunner. The Rainbow Warriors cemented a 5-1 lead on another single before the Tritons went to the plate.
The Tritons were on fire for the remainder of the sixth. With the bases loaded, they delivered and tipped the momentum in their favor. Senior designated hitter Delshaun Lanier sent a single to left-center field to tie the game, and a blazing double by junior shortstop Anthony Potestio contributed two more runs to UCSD’s explosive six-run inning. The bench roared as the Tritons took the lead 7-5.
“Early on, we had lots of opportunities to score,” head coach Eric Newman said in a postgame interview with The UCSD Guardian. “I like the at-bats that we were taking … And it was like a sputter of our offense in that one inning. We just kept stringing them together, putting them back to back to back.”
However, Hawai’i matched UCSD’s efforts in the seventh inning, scoring with a single to shallow left field. The Rainbow Warriors snatched back the lead by scoring three more runs in the eighth to take a 9-7 lead.
With two early UCSD flyouts, a Triton win seemed increasingly out of reach. However, an RBI double from junior center fielder Michael Crossland made it a one-run game. As two runners sat on base, with the game on the line, senior third baseman J.C. Allen stepped up to the plate and hit a two-run double, closing out the eighth inning with a 10-9 lead.
The Tritons’ defensive efforts in the ninth sealed the game, allowing them to clinch a 10-9 victory over the Rainbow Warriors.
“I felt really good about our offense tonight,” Allen said. “We’ve been having really good team games … like just doing whatever it takes to get on base, have a good at-bat, and just, honestly, get a win.”
The Tritons dropped the next game on Friday as the bats struggled to get going in a 6-3 loss. UCSD rebounded on Saturday to take the series with an emphatic 8-0 win; three Tritons homered, and the pitchers held the Rainbow Warriors to only four hits. UCSD will be back in action on Friday in Goleta to begin a three-game series against UC Santa Barbara.
