STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific baseball team heads to Southern California for its first road series of the season, taking on UC San Diego this weekend at Triton Ballpark, beginning with the series opener at 6 pm on Friday.
 
The Tigers (2-10) are coming off a 9-8 extra-innings loss at Fresno State on Tuesday where the team hit three home runs for the first time in a game this season.
 
The Tritons (9-3) enter the series on a five-game winning streak after sweeping a four-game home series last weekend. UC San Diego has played the majority of its contests within the confines of its home ballpark, holding a 9-2 record with sweeps over San Jose State and Stephen F. Austin and wins over Missouri and Loyola Marymount.
 
In the modern era, the Tigers have never faced the Tritons, which marks the first-ever meeting in La Jolla between the two programs and current coaching staffs.
 
At the start of the 2024 season, the Tritons had three scholar-athletes named to the 2024 All-Big West Preseason Coaches' Team. Ryan Forcucci, Matt Halbach and Izaak Martinez were all recognized by the Big West coaches with preseason honors. After earning UC San Diego's first Big West trophy in 2023, the Tritons were picked to finish third in the 2024 Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll with 78 points.
 
Forcucci is among the top draft prospects in the nation, ranking No. 46 on D1 Baseball's list of the top 200 college prospects and No. 55 in the MLB's similar rankings. In 2023, Forcucci led the team with 68 strikeouts which ranked 12th in the Big West. Forcucci made 14 appearances and nine starts, holding opponents to a .206 batting average which was third among all Big West pitchers.
 
Halbach finished his sophomore season with a .306 batting average, good enough for third on the team and tallied 63 total hits which ranked 14th in the Big West. Halbach started 51 of the Tritons' 52 games—the most on the team—and recorded 15 doubles and five home runs, while leading the conference with five triples. His 41 runs scored tied for 16th in the conference and his .500 slugging percentage ranked 19th in the Big West.
 
Martinez collected nine saves last season, which ranked second in the Big West and his six wins ranked seventh, finishing with a 6-1 record. His 2.84 earned run average ranked fifth in the conference and Martinez held opponents to a .213 batting average, which also ranked fifth overall. Martinez led the team with 24 appearances, collecting 63 strikeouts in 57.0 innings pitched.
 
This year, Michael Crossland leads the Tritons with a .386 batting average (17-for-44) alongside six extra-base hits, a team-high 18 runs and seven RBIs. Benjamin Rosengard leads the UC San Diego with a pair of home runs and 12 RBIs.
 
The Tigers' offense is paced by sophomore Jack Metcho, who bats .333 (14-for-42) with a team-high ten runs. Metcho has reached base safely in every game this season for Pacific and has a team-best four stolen bases.
 
Sophomore Kaden Petersen has supplied the power with a team-high two home runs and six RBIs to accompany a .282 batting average. Senior Chase Graves has shown great patience at the plate in his leadoff role, taking a team-high 16 walks and owning a team-leading .455 on-base percentage. His 16 walks rank first in the West Coast Conference and tied for ninth in the country as of Thursday.
 
On the mound, junior Jakob Guardado has been steady for Pacific, leading the starting rotation with a 4.20 earned run average in three starts and 15.0 innings of work. Junior Jarryd Wood has quieted opponents' bats in relief, sporting a 1.04 ERA in three appearances and 8.2 innings.
 
Series Information
Pacific at UC San Diego – Friday, March 8 at 6 pm
Pacific at UC San Diego – Saturday, March 9 at 2 pm
Pacific at UC San Diego – Sunday, March 10 at 1 pm
 
For the latest on Pacific Baseball including updates and schedule information, please follow us on Twitter (@PacificBaseball), Instagram (@PacificBaseball) and Facebook (@PacificBaseball).
 
#PacificProud