LA JOLLA, Calif. - In the first of four battles between the top two teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, UC San Diego came out on top, defeating Sonoma State 11-6 Thursday night at Triton Ballpark.

Every Triton in the starting lineup scored at least one run. UCSD led 5-3 after four and a half innings and plated five runs in the bottom half of the fourth to put the game out of reach.

The Tritons out-hit the Seawolves 13-9 as four players had multiple hits. Scott Liske was 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI and also scored two runs. Designated hitter Nick La Face doubled, tripled, scored a run, drove in a pair of runs and stole a base.

On the mound, starter Ryan Goodbrand improved to 6-0 as he struck out a career-high eight batters in 5.2 innings of work. He topped his previous career-best of seven Ks, set in his last start on Mar. 30 at Cal State Stanislaus. Goodbrand allowed all six runs on nine hits.

Catcher Joel Thys and DH Devon Zenn each had two hits for the Seawolves, which included a triple for Zenn. Starting pitcher Thomas Lee lost his first game of the season, dropping to 5-1 after surrendering 10 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits over 4.1 innings. He struck out six.

Though Sonoma State made four errors in the field, only two of UCSD's 11 runs turned out to be unearned.

UCSD improved to 18-15 overall and 16-9 in the CCAA. Sonoma State fell to 18-11 overall and 16-5 in the league, still in first place. The Tritons remain tied with Chico State for second place in the CCAA as the Wildcats defeated Cal State San Bernardino 9-1 Thursday.

UCSD has now won 11 of its last 14 games. 

The two teams play a doubleheader Friday with game one slated for 3 p.m. at Triton Ballpark. The four-game series concludes Saturday with a single game at 11 a.m. All games will be covered by live video and live stats.

- UCSDtritons.com -