No. 3 seed UC San Diego (24-26, 18-12 Big West) will travel to Irvine on Thursday to face No. 2 seed Cal Poly (33-21, 22-8 Big West) in the Big West baseball championship. Cal Poly split the regular season title with No. 1 seed UC Santa Barbara, both leading the conference with 22-8 records. The Tritons’ 18-12 conference record puts them at third in the Big West and firmly establishes their competitive stance. UCSD coming off a 2-1 series win last weekend against Cal State Fullerton to cap off the regular season, will aim to convert its strong conference performance into a thriving postseason run. 

Coming up on their second year of postseason eligibility, the Tritons have established that they can compete with top members of the conference. Last season, UCSD shut out UC Davis 23-0 and hit five home runs in a landslide 14-3 win against San Diego State. However, the Tritons fell short of a postseason berth, placing sixth in the Big West. This year, the Tritons hope to leverage an improved record and star players as they prepare for their first Division-I postseason appearance.

Senior first baseman J.C. Allen powers the Tritons with a .301 batting average and .882 OPS. UCSD also boasts power hitters like junior first baseman Gabe Camacho, who is tied for first in the conference with 16 home runs and holds a team-high .580 slugging percentage. 

With the Big West baseball championship set to begin on Wednesday, the Tritons will focus on earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Championship.