Now more than halfway through conference play, UC San Diego baseball (18-21, 14-7 Big West) overcame an early 8-1 deficit to edge out UC Irvine (18-23, 9-12 Big West) 11-10 on Friday night. Following an intense seven-run fifth inning, the Tritons secured their first victory of the weekend to remain tied with the Cal Poly Mustangs at the top of the Big West.
UCI immediately jumped out to a quick lead against redshirt sophomore pitcher Steele Murdock with a three-run home run in the first inning. By the top of the fourth, UCI added a two-run home run, pushing the Anteaters to an overwhelming 8-1 lead.
“They just got ahead early, and our pitchers didn’t work the best today, and they know that,” senior designated hitter Delshaun Lanier said in a postgame interview with The UCSD Guardian. “We were quiet when we were scoring early, but we kept pushing. [We] kept trusting ourselves … and never looked back.”
In the bottom of the fourth, UCSD began to find its rhythm. Lanier doubled to left-center, bringing graduate student right fielder Nick Costello home. The Tritons continued their stride in the fifth inning. Senior third baseman J.C. Allen ignited a seven-run rally with UCSD’s first home run of the game. The rest of the Triton lineup followed suit — Lanier belted a two-RBI double, followed by sophomore pinch hitter Addison Klepsch’s single and an RBI sacrifice fly from junior shortstop Anthony Potestio. Junior center fielder Michael Crossland doubled, and Allen singled to drive him home, completing an incredible comeback that put UCSD ahead 9-8.
“Today was all about resilience and just sticking with what we were doing,” head coach Eric Newman said to The Guardian. “We’ve been tested a lot early on, and I think this is a testament to playing a tough schedule and testing ourselves against really good teams.”
In the bottom of the sixth, sophomore second baseman Thomas Maher singled to left-center to score Costello and advance the lead 10-8. UCI responded with a solo homer in the seventh to tighten the game 10-9 before the Anteaters scored again to tie 10-10 in the top of the eighth. UCSD fought back immediately; with two outs and runners on the corners, Crossland hit a shallow left-field single, driving Lanier home to take an 11-10 advantage in the bottom half of the inning.
“Every win at this point is huge; it doesn’t matter how they come,” Newman said. “It’s just about getting the next one and showing up each day ready to go to compete … and that was really good for our guys to see tonight.”
The ninth inning proved that UCSD’s defense could hold steady. Junior pitcher Nathan Huy forced a popup and a flyout to center to strand two Anteater runners and earn the save. The Tritons finished with 13 hits, led by Crossland’s 4-for-6 performance and Lanier’s four RBIs.
With only three conference series left, the Tritons maintain their drive after navigating a difficult midseason schedule.
“We’re in first place right now, so every win we get is very important,” Lanier said. “It’s just trusting ourselves … telling each other that every time and … keep going.”
The Tritons won the series on Saturday, putting up nine runs to the Anteaters’ four. They were unable to carry their momentum into Sunday, when a ninth-inning UCI rally relegated the Tritons to defeat. With the loss, UCSD dropped to second in the Big West standings, now trailing Cal Poly. The Tritons will get one day of rest before returning to Triton Ballpark for a nonconference game against Loyola Marymount on Tuesday.
