The UCI Men’s Baseball team secured a walk-off win, 6-5, in the bottom of the sixth inning at the Anteater Ballpark against the UCI alumni on Saturday, Jan. 28.
For the first time since 2019, the UCI baseball program was able to host their annual Alumni Game. The Alumni Game is a staple of most baseball programs countrywide, and here at UCI it is no different. Known as a day of family fun and bonding, the Alumni Game is an amazing experience for current UCI players to meet the generations that have paved the way for them.
Alumni and current players were met with sketches at the entrance for the new proposal of upgrades to the Anteater Ballpark. The new ballpark would incorporate a double-decker seating arrangement, doubling the capacity of the stadium. The renovation would also include new dugouts, team rooms and a renovated locker room. The addition of a new baseball weight room proved to be the favorite addition for current players. This proposal shows the trajectory of the UC Irvine baseball program as they seek to win the Big West and host a regional tournament each year.
The game also carried special significance as current UCI head coach Ben Orloff was one of the seven new inductees to the UC Irvine sports Hall of Fame. Orloff is the current UCI leader in games played, at-bats, hits and runs scored, not to mention he is the all-time NCAA leader in sacrifice hits. After the national anthem, both alumni and current players lined the foul lines as alumni and Associate Director of Development at UCI Bryce Stowell ‘08 led attendees in a huge standing ovation for Orloff.
The Alumni game isn’t usually a nail-biting affair, however, Saturday’s game proved quite the contrary.
Due to a lack of pitchers, this year’s Alumni Game was only scheduled for six innings.
Redshirt senior pitcher Michael Stanford was on the bump for UCI. The alumni came out swinging, starting the game with three doubles and turning them into three first inning runs. Alumni catcher Edgar Ruvalcaba ‘17 blasted one of those doubles off the wall in left center field, sending the alumni dugout into a frenzy and sending an early message that the alums were not there to be a tune-up game for UCI.
Current Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Calvin Faucher ‘17 got the start for the alumni and made a statement by punching out the first batter he faced. Faucher only gave up one hit to sophomore infielder Dub Gleed, but that one hit was a hard hit line drive to the right center field gap that rolled all the way to the wall for a first inning triple.
During the bottom of the third, UCI sophomore catcher Blake Penso came to the plate and delivered a line drive over the left center field wall for a monstrous home run that silenced the rowdy alumni team, tying the game up at 3-3.
UCI freshman pitcher Ryan Guidi came into the game to start the third inning and was tasked with not allowing the game to get out of hand. Guidi did just that as the freshman showed immense toughness, battling against the likes of current Los Angeles Dodgers player Brandon Lewis ‘19 and current Boston Red Sox player Christian Koss ‘19. Guidi went a strong two and two-thirds innings before handing the ball off to redshirt junior pitcher Cameron Wheeler, who finished the game for the ‘Eaters.
With the score tied up at five going into the bottom of the sixth inning, UCI junior infielder Jo Oyama would come to the plate and deliver a huge one out triple. This was the speedy second baseman’s second triple. Oyama set the table for Gleed who came up next and delivered a chopper down the line and into left field, netting a 6-5 walkoff win for UCI.
The day was capped off with a handshake line between the current team and the alumni, showing the strong culture UCI baseball has and the bonds that have and continue to be created.
The ‘Eaters will kick off the regular season on Friday, Feb. 17 versus Tulane at 6 p.m. at Anteater Ballpark.
Zeke Bellino is a Sports Intern for the winter 2023 quarter. He can be reached at zbellino@uci.edu.