In a Sunday doubleheader with the UCLA Bruins, the Tritons lost their first game but came back to salvage the second game to split the series. In the first game, the Tritons came out firing on offense with four runs in the first inning highlighted by key hits by senior Matthew Demarest and sophomore Jordan Kassem. The Tritons offense then sputtered for the rest of the game only scoring once over the next six innings despite a 2 for 3 game from junior Amandip Bangar. The Tritons pitched well led by efforts by junior Kevin Nieh and sophomore Andrew Campos but got knocked around in the sixth inning fueled by defensive errors and walks. The Tritons ended up falling to the Bruins with a final score of 8-5.
The second game got off to a similar start with five runs in the first inning but this time the Tritons held onto their lead with key pitching from senior Andrew Hinkle and junior Shane Aldas. The Tritons offense went on to score 12 runs behind good offensive days from freshman Luke Andrachek, freshman Jared Vitug, and senior Patrick Levin. Junior Yousef Koutnik and senior Shane Sudsbury came in to close out the game with strong outings on the mound and the Tritons defeated the Bruins to a final score of 13-5. The Tritons travel to USC this upcoming weekend with a game on Sunday. Hope to see you out there!