SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The University of California, Riverside (UCR) Highlanders traveled south to San Diego to face the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Tritons in the first in a series of three conference games taking place over the weekend.

The Highlanders jumped on the board first after Andrez Melendrez was walked with bases loaded in the top of the second inning, putting UC Riverside into an early 1-0 lead. 

Unfortunately, it would be the only Highlander run to cross the plate, as UCR offense struggled to answer back against a few big multi-run opportunities that the Tritons capitalized on. 

It was a two-RBI double in the fifth inning that put UCSD up 2-1, but it was the three-run homerun that followed that cemented their advantage at 5-1. 

They tacked on two runs in the sixth inning as well with a two-RBI single, for a final score of 7-1 in favor of the Tritons. 

Game two of the Big West series takes place at 2 PM on April 30 in San Diego.