La Jolla, Calif. —  UC San Diego capitalized on errors in the opener and used a walk-off single in the nightcap to take two from The Master’s College Saturday, edging the Mustangs 3-2 and 4-3 in 10 innings.

The losses were the Mustangs’ first of the season as they saw their season-opening, five-game winning streak snapped while falling to 5-2.

A reliable defense has been a hallmark for much of the club’s success over the past two years, leading the nation in that category and giving up few unearned runs along the way.  However, Mustang errors cost the team greatly in the first game and contributed to another Triton run in the nightcap.

In the home half of the third inning of the opener, the Tritons parlayed two singles, a critical error, and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch into a couple of runs for a 2-0 lead.

An inning later, the Tritons used a double and two singles off hard-luck starter Brad Lohse (Chico, CA) to move ahead 3-0.

Lohse (1-1) gave up just one earned run in five innings of work, allowing seven hits and striking out four.

The Mustangs had their chances earlier to dent the scoreboard but stranded five runners through the first three innings, including two in each of the first two frames.

However, the frustration of not getting big hits with runners in scoring position came to an end in the fifth inning when with two swings of the bat, the Mustangs made it a one-run game.

With two outs, Nick Covello (Skillman, NJ) drew a walk and fellow senior Collin Nyenhuis cracked his second home run of the season, a blast over the left-field fence, pulling the Mustangs within 3-2.

The Mustangs had an opportunity to draw even in the seventh but an inning-ending lineout stranded runners at the corners.  The club left nine runners on base in the opener, including a final one in the ninth.

Meanwhile, the Tritons left 13 on the bases much in part to the clutch pitching of Lohse and starter-turned-reliever Jason Karkenny (Chatsworth, CA).  The righthander relieved Lohse in the sixth and tossed three scoreless frames.

The Mustangs were limited to just five hits in the opener by a trio of Triton hurlers and Nyenhuis had two of those.

Nyenhuis had two more hits in the nightcap and the first of those was a two-out, first-inning solo homer that gave the Mustangs their first lead of the twinbill.

With junior lefthander Conner Menez (Ormond Beach, FL) throwing the ball by Triton batters, that 1-0 advantage held up through the first three innings.  Making his second start of the season, Menez struck out six of the first 10 batters he faced.

However, in the fourth the Tritons finally got to Menez, scoring twice on an error, an infield single, and a wild pitch to move in front.

Menez (1-1) wound up going six innings, allowing one earned run, striking out eight, and scattering eight hits.

An inning after he left, the Tritons tacked another run onto their advantage, using a solo homer in the seventh to take a 3-1 lead.

With the Mustangs unable to muster much offense to that point, the Triton lead appeared safe.

That is, until the ninth when TMC rallied in dramatic fashion.  With one out, Max Maitland (Murrieta, CA) singled through the right side and moved to second base on a Covello single up the middle.  Then, Nyenhuis came through again, rapping a base hit to right field that plated Maitland with his third rbi of the day.

The clutch batting wasn’t done just yet.  With runners on the corners, sophomore transfer Jonah Jarrard (Rosemead, CA) stepped to the plate and lifted a fly ball to right field that scored Covello with the tying run.

Reliever Danny Lutz (Phoenix, AZ) responded by retiring the Tritons in order in the last of the ninth but he wasn’t so fortunate in the tenth.  He hit leadoff man Steven Coe and then watched him move to second base on a sacrifice.  An out later and after a walk, Jack Larsen ended the game with a single through the right side that scored Coe with the game-winner.

After a long day, Mustang coach Monte Brooks commented, “I liked the way we battled on the road in a hostile environment against a mature, experienced team.”

Hoping to make this losing streak short-lived, Brooks and his Mustangs return to action on Tuesday when they play at Claremont.