The UC Irvine Baseball team (28-13, 10-8) defeated the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (14-25, 5-16), 11-7, at Hardt Field on Sunday, April 30.
UCI junior infielder Jo Oyama started off the game with a base hit into left field, advancing additional bases after a walk from freshman first baseman Anthony Martinez and a sprint while sophomore infielder Dub Gleed was at bat. Standing at third base, a catching error enabled Oyama to score a run. This was soon followed by junior catcher Thomas McCaffrey, who hit a double to left center field and scored another run for the Anteaters, 2-0.
At the bottom of the first, graduate student infielder Riley Kasper of CSU Bakersfield hit a single up into center field. Strong ‘Eater defense took out the next two hitters, but Kasper cunningly used these plays to advance base. A blast to the center by sophomore first baseman Kobe Silva allowed Kasper to put one on the board for the Roadrunners. Senior outfielder/first baseman AJ Miller followed by quickly hitting a single into right field, landing both runners at the corners with two outs. For the third hit in a row, CSU Bakersfield’s senior catcher James Bell hit a single into center field, granting Silva the chance to score and tying up the game to end the inning at 2-2.
Although the offense was active to start the next inning, the Anteaters were unable to score any runs. At the bottom of the second, Roadrunners in the dugout hyped up their teammates on field as a walk to first, followed by a double down the left side by junior infielder Nick Salas, landed runners on second and third. A hit from Kasper down the right side allowed both runners to score for CSU Bakersfield, 4-2.
The Roadrunners were not done yet. Sophomore infielder Matthew Kurata hit a single to right field, allowing Kasper to get to third with no outs on the board. With Miller up at bat, a hard hit into right field presented another run with cheers from Bakersfield’s crowd. Bell followed with a hit towards the shortstop. Hesitation from Gleed enabled him to get to first. Next up, junior outfielder Kyler Stancato’s ball was hit deep into left field, creating enough time for another Bakersfield run to end the inning, 6-2.
First up at base to start the third inning, UCI junior outfielder Caden Kendle hit deep into left field for a home run, causing a massive uproar in the crowd. Martinez and Gleed followed up with singles, advancing bases after McCaffrey hit a bunt down the left side.
Tying up the game 6-6, sophomore outfielder Chase Call hit a three-run blast into center field, making it a two run inning. Anteater defense was quick to stop the Roadrunners from scoring any more runs at the bottom of the inning.
At the top of the fourth, a single hit by Martinez into right center field prompted Kendle to take off from first base to score another run for the Anteaters, 7-6. No runs were scored at the bottom of the inning, as Silva hit his own toe off a foul tip, causing him to limp to first base and marking the end of the inning.
Although no score was made at the top of the fifth, two singles followed by a bunt by Stancato allowed CSUB runners to advance bases. A hit to center field by sophomore infielder Cody Hendriks enabled Miller to score a run for Bakersfield, tying the game at the bottom of the inning, 7-7.
Despite offensive movement by both teams, there was a scoring drought up until the ninth inning. After two walks, Call’s bunt enabled players to advance bases. Redshirt junior outfielder Luke Spillane intentionally walked to first just after those plays, loading the bases for UC Irvine. Junior catcher Abraham Garcia-Pacheco pursued another walk for UCI, resulting in a go-ahead run for the ‘Eaters.
With bases still loaded, Oyama hit a double into right field, granting two more runs for the Anteaters, 10-7. Another hit by Kendle allowed enough time for the Anteaters to make another run, ending the inning and match with an ecstatic crowd, 11-7. Strong ‘Eater defense held off the Roadrunners from scoring any more runs, giving UCI the win.
This was UC Irvine’s third straight win out of three games played against CSU Bakersfield at Hardt Field in Bakersfield, California. Although their second match was a relatively low-scoring game, ending 6-1, the Anteaters won both of their previous matches by five runs, concluding the series with this show-stopping win.
Leila Amiri is a Sports Staff Writer. She can be reached at amiril@uci.edu.