For UC San Diego, this baseball season is all about the journey.

At 10-2, the Tritons are atop the Big West standings entering tonight’s opener of a three-game series against Hawaii at Les Murakami Stadium. UH left-hander Harry Gustin’s first pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.

In the third of a four-year transitional period from Division II to Division I, the Tritons are not eligible to play in the NCAA’s postseason tournament until 2025. But similar to an amateur leading the Masters, the Tritons view the competition as the prize.

“It’s a privilege,” Newman said. “I tell our guys all the time: ‘Nobody expected us to be in this position early, and there’s still a lot of season to play. However, the opportunity to be here in this situation, we’ve put in the work.’ For me, I’m grateful we’re in this spot and this opportunity to play meaningful games against the University of Hawaii.”

Despite the postseason restriction, UCSD attracts baseball talent because of its location (LaJolla, Calif.) and academic reputation (ranked as the sixth-best public university in the world by U.S. News &World Report in 2022). The Tritons are fully funded to offer the financial equivalent of 11.7 scholarships, the NCAA limit for Division I baseball teams. Before the transition, the Tritons offered up to the financial equivalent of 3.0 scholarships.

The Tritons’ roster was constructed by recruiting mostly high school seniors. Jalen Smith, a senior infielder who began his career at UC Davis, is one of the few transfers. Smith was hitting .310, mixing power and speed, before suffering a broken hamate. Although he was used as a pinch runner on Monday, he is not expected to be fully healed for another three weeks.

“When Jalen was in our lineup, we were as good as anybody in the country at one time,” Newman said, referencing the Tritons’ 13-5 record when Smith plays.

The Tritons’ lineup was so deep second baseman Michael Fuhrman, who leads with five home runs, was in the seventh spot. “We’re a little thinner, but we still feel confident with our guys and where we’re at,” Newman said.

Newman said third baseman Matt Halbach, who is hitting .323 with five triples, is “probably our best pure hitter. He’s a big, strong kid. He has a ton of power.” Newman said Halbach has hit “quite a few balls” with an exit speed exceeding 100 mph.

Patrick Hackworth, who joined as a walk-on and redshirted last season, is hitting .323.

“We’re not a traditional West Coast offense,” Newman said. “We don’t have a ton of bunt attempts, we don’t steal a lot. But when we do steal, we’re pretty successful at it. … We try to get one through nine to go, ‘Hey, our job on offense is to get as many total bases as we can and score some runs.’ Some games that will be a lot of extra-base hits. Other games, it’ll be get on base and get timely singles.”

The Tritons are averaging 7.9 runs in Big West games.

Right-handed pitcher Michael Mitchell, a fifth-year Triton, will make his seventh start tonight. He is 2-0 with a 2.02 ERA.

Ryan Forcucci, a weekend starter last year, can be used as a reliever tonight or starter tomorrow. Forcucci’s fastball averages 92 to 95 mph. “His slider might be one of the best in the conference,” Newman said.

Izaak Martinez, who is 5-0 with a save, is considered the Tritons’ best late-inning pitcher. He averages 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings.