On Tuesday, UC San Diego baseball (16-19, 12-6 Big West) dropped 9-1 against rival San Diego State (21-18, 7-5 Mountain West) at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Coming off a series loss to UC Santa Barbara over the weekend, the Tritons sought to even their record against a battered Aztec team that was also looking to bounce back from a recent defeat. Unfortunately, UCSD’s bats remained cold, and the Tritons were unable to pull themselves out of their third straight loss.
At the top of the first inning, junior shortstop Anthony Potestio reached base on his fifth hit-by-pitch of the season, but was left stranded after a flyout, strikeout, and groundout. During the bottom half-inning, freshman pitcher Evan Seneres took the mound. From the get-go, SDSU’s offense proved to be too much for Seneres. After striking out the first batter, he allowed a walk and two singles, giving the Aztecs an early 2-0 lead by the end of the first inning.
Over the course of the next three innings, the Tritons went three up, three down. Although UCSD is second in the Big West in walks, nearly every at-bat looked undisciplined, with six of the nine batters striking out in four pitches or fewer. The Aztecs, on the other hand, cashed in four runs — including two home runs — in that same span. UCSD trailed 6-0 after four innings, and SDSU forced Seneres out of the game after just two.
Senior left fielder Alex Leopard, who has batted .276 on the year, began the top of the fifth inning with a single to right-center field. Following Leopard, senior designated hitter Delshaun Lanier hit a single to shallow center field, putting two on and nobody out for UCSD. Despite the momentum, Leopard and Lanier were left stranded after the next three batters were, once again, retired in under four pitches. Sophomore pitcher Nathan Ries managed to hold the Aztecs to a scoreless fifth inning, giving UCSD the much-needed opportunity to scale the 6-0 deficit.
Despite Ries’ strong fifth-inning effort, UCSD provided two uninspiring innings, going down 1-2-3 in both the sixth and seventh. SDSU, meanwhile, hit its third home run of the game to extend its lead to 7-0.
With time running out, the Tritons managed to get runners on first and third as the top of the lineup came up to bat. Potestio took his second hit-by-pitch of the game to load the bases for junior center fielder Michael Crossland. A ball swung deep to right-center field landed inside the field of play, eliminating Crossland but scoring freshman pinch runner Raphael Dunne and putting the Tritons on the board in the eighth. However, the late-game run was all UCSD managed, giving up a 9-1 defeat to the Aztecs.
The Tritons will have the opportunity to even the score on May 5 when they host the Aztecs at Triton Ballpark. Following a pair of losses and a victory against Cal Poly at home on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, UCSD will travel to USD to face the Toreros on Tuesday.
