On Tuesday evening, UC San Diego baseball (20-24, 11-9 Big West) beat crosstown rival San Diego State (19-25, 13-5 Mountain West) 8-4. With strong pitching and key offensive plays, the Tritons sit third in the Big West standings as they head into the final stretch of their conference season.
With a packed crowd filling the stands of Triton Ballpark, sophomore pitcher Nathan Ries took the mound, allowing no Aztec hits in three innings. In the bottom of the second, UCSD took advantage of the Aztecs’ defensive errors. Senior center fielder Alex Leopard was hit by a pitch right before senior designated hitter Delshaun Lanier singled to far right field, putting the two on base. Freshman shortstop Shane Cannon then hit a ground ball to the pitcher, who attempted to throw Leopard out but overthrew the bag, allowing both runners to score and give the Tritons a 2-0 lead.
In the third inning, sophomore left fielder Addison Klepsch walked before junior first baseman Gabe Camacho drove him in. Lanier singled to bring Camacho home, extending the Tritons’ lead to 4-0. The team maintained this momentum in the fourth inning, putting two runners on base after walks by Klepsch and freshman right fielder Nathaniel Widelski. Camacho then hit a three-run home run, increasing the Tritons’ advantage to 7-0.
“We bring energy no matter what because every game matters, even if it’s not a conference,” freshman pitcher Connor Etnire said in a postgame interview with The UCSD Guardian. “I think we always try to have fun.”
Etnire relieved Ries in the fourth inning. The pair kept the Aztecs scoreless through six innings.
“It definitely makes everything a lot easier when the offense puts up runs,” Etnire said. “It lets me kinda relax a little bit; I can give up some hits and runs, and it’ll be no big deal. And I love to see other freshmen get in some hits and runs; that’s awesome.”
In the top of the seventh, SDSU found its footing, scoring three runs. However, the Tritons’ steady defense and strong pitching kept them ahead 8-3. In the eighth, the Aztecs hit a solo home run, but SDSU’s late-game scoring wasn’t enough as the Triton defense held on for the 8-4 victory.
“Guys were really into the at-bats, played really clean baseball, and our pitching was really good,” head coach Eric Newman said in a postgame interview. “And then the two big hits from Camacho, the triple RBI, and then the three-run homer — those are two big moments for our team right there to just get settled into the game and feel like you kind of have control of it.”
Though this matchup was outside of conference play, the Tritons performed notably better than during their 9-1 loss to the Aztecs on April 14. Camacho emphasized the importance of intensity during midweek games just as much as a weekend series.
“We use these games to get us ready for these conference weekends,” Camacho said. “We come in here with the mentality that we want to win every single game. We’re not really taking any game off, so just come in here treating this kinda like a Friday night and going out trying to win.”
After beating the Aztecs, the Tritons won their series against Cal State Bakersfield over the weekend. UCSD split the first two games, and the Tritons dominated the Roadrunners to win the Sunday game 15-2 and punch their ticket to the Big West Championship.
