This past weekend, the UC San Diego Tritons took on the Sonoma State Seawolves in a non-conference clash that acted as the regular season opener for both squads.

Game 1

Both teams were held scoreless through the first two innings of Saturday’s game. Junior starting pitcher Ray Young was staked to a 2-0 lead after a pair of sacrifice flies from fellow juniors Hunter Woodruff and Ray Estrada in the 3rd and 4th innings. After 4 solid innings, Young needed help from David Gomez to finish the 5th after recording the first two outs of the inning. Before Gomez picked off a runner to end the 5th, Sonoma State scored three runs to take the lead. In the bottom of the 7th, junior Joey Flores was called upon to pinch hit with one out and a runner on. He smacked a two strike double to tie the game and force extra innings. After junior Alex Uy polished off two scoreless innings in the top of the 8th, Estrada poked a single to left field which was mishandled by the outfielder, allowing Woodruff to score the winning run.

Game 1: Tritons 4 - Seawolves 3 (8)

Game 2

The Tritons got on the board early in the first inning with a RBI sacrifice fly off the bat of junior Jacob Springman. After a quick first inning, starter Ray Estrada allowed two runs in the second to squander the early advantage. But UCSD came right back and retook the lead with RBIs from Hunter Woodruff, Springman, and senior Seamus Beyerle. Estrada would face the minimum over the next three innings as the offense added two more runs from senior Ezekiel Haenelt to establish a 6-2 lead after five innings. Junior, Matthew Hosino authored two scoreless innings in relief to secure the game and the series for the Tritons.

Game 2: Tritons 6 - Seawolves 2

Game 3

The Tritons came out a bit sluggish in the final game of the series. Freshman Austin Uresti allowed two runs in the first two innings before exiting the game. Freshman Kenta Okada drove in the only run of the game for UCSD with a single in the 2nd inning. Sonoma State pushed across three runs in the 4th inning off of Alec Wilson to build their lead. Jacob Springman gave up two more runs in the 6th. Ezekiel Haenelt held the Seawolves in check for the final inning, but the offense was unable to draw closer against Sonoma’s pitching.

Game 3: Seawolves 7 - Tritons 1