UCSD faced off against GCU in a double header meeting on Friday evening. In Game 1, veteran Yousef Koutnik started on the mound for UCSD. In the first four innings, he battled and only gave up one earned run to a high-powered GCU lineup. Consistent offensive pressure paired with a few errors by UCSD allowed Grand Canyon to scrape across a few more runs in the fifth. The Tritons struggled at the plate all game long. Although they only struck out three times and did a decent job of putting balls in play, the GCU defense held strong and kept the bases clear. The Tritons were unable to score a run in 7 innings. Final score, 5-0 in favor of GCU.

Shane Aldas made his return in Game 2 following last week’s no-hitter by handing Grand Canyon their first loss of the season. He continued his dominance on the mound by carving up hitters for 7 full innings. Aldas allowed 3 hits and struck out 7 while posting his second complete game shutout of the season. He has not allowed a run during conference play. At the plate, the Tritons managed to build some run support for Shane. Following Nick Walsh’s leadoff hit in the 3rd, Seamus Beyerle contributed with an RBI sac-fly to open the scoring. Walsh would come through once more in the bottom of the 6th with a huge 2-out, line drive shot that plated 2. Hunter Woodruff also had a multi-hit game for the Tritons. Final Score: 4-0 UCSD.

Game 3 was played on Saturday morning. Ray Young and Christian Powell combined efforts to pitch 7 innings for the Tritons. They were able to avoid big innings and keep their team within striking distance, but GCU was stubborn at the plate. Down early, the Tritons were forced to play catch up. Miguel Moreno went 3 for 3 with 2 doubles, an RBI, and a stolen base. Jared Vitug also had a multi-hit game going 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI, and a stolen base of his own. UCSD managed to score 5 runs, but GCU prevented a comeback by scoring in 6 of the 7 innings of play. Final Score: 9-5 GCU