The UC Irvine Men’s Baseball team (17-10, 4-7) had a tough outing as they fell to CSU Long Beach (20-9, 8-3) 9-0 at Anteater Ballpark on Friday, April 7.
The Long Beach bats came out hot with redshirt sophomore utility player Rocco Peppi hitting a double to left field, bringing in sophomore infielder Eddie Saldivar for the first run of the game. Peppi then made his way home on another double from redshirt sophomore utility player Jack Hammond, supplying the RBI.
The bats stayed hot for the Dirtbags as they scored four runs in the second inning. A two-run RBI homer from junior catcher Connor Burns proved the most fatal.
UCI redshirt sophomore pitcher David Vizcaino managed to keep his composure despite the rocky start. He pitched three straight scoreless innings for the ‘Eaters before being relieved in the fifth inning by graduate pitcher Andre Antone.
On the other side of the mound, CSULB graduate pitcher Nico Zeglin only let up five hits in seven innings pitched. UCI junior catcher Thomas McCaffrey had the Dirtbag ace’s number, getting three hits on the night — the most out of any Anteater on the day.
The highlight of the night for the ‘Eaters came in the relief pitching. Freshman pitchers Michael Pirrello and Elliot Joslin retired their sides without conceding a run in one inning each. Joslin recorded two strikeouts in the ninth inning to give the ‘Eaters one more chance at a comeback.
The Anteaters failed to record a multi-hit inning, which proved fatal because they were held scoreless. The team looks to bounce back on Saturday, April 8 at 1 p.m. at Anteater Ballpark as they look to avoid the series sweep.
Miguel Rodriguez is a Sports Staff Writer. He can be reached at miguer9@uci.edu.
