CARY, N.C. - The top-ranked UC San Diego baseball team scored a victory before the first pitch was ever thrown at the NCAA Division II National Championships in Cary, as sophomore pitcher Elias Tuma took home the NCAA Elite 88 Award at the pre-tournament banquet on Friday evening.

New this year, the Elite 88 Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site of each of the NCAA's 88 national championships. To qualify, student-athletes must be classified as a sophomore or above and have been participating in their sport for at least two years with their current institution.

In addition, a candidate must be an active member of the team, traveling and competing at the championship site.

Tuma, a right-hander from Fremont, Calif., is 1-0 in 20 relief appearances on the season. He owns a 3.51 ERA with 15 strikeouts and seven walks in 25.2 innings of work. 

He is a cognitive science major in John Muir College and maintains a 3.937 GPA.

The Tritons were scheduled to take the field first against No. 4 Georgia College & State on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. local time, but a thunderstorm pushed back first pitch to 7:20.