The UC Irvine Baseball team (3-3) fell short against the USC Trojans (6-0) in a 5-2 loss during the team’s home opener at Anteater Ballpark on Feb. 18.
Coming into the game, the Anteaters hoped to bounce back into the win column after losing to #16 Vanderbilt 9-8 on Feb. 16. However, they had to face an undefeated Trojan team in order to do so.
To begin the game, the ‘Eaters gave the ball to redshirt junior pitcher Finnegan Wall. After striking out sophomore infielder/outfielder Kevin Takeuchi on four pitches, Wall gave up the game’s first run on a wild pitch just two batters later.
After finishing the first inning down 1-0, UCI got on the board with their own sling of hits with redshirt senior infielder Will Bermudez scoring on a double play after being hit by a pitch to start the inning. After a few rocket singles and additional hit-by-pitches, USC’s starting pitcher — freshman right handed pitcher Andrew Johnson — ended the inning with a pop-out after loading the bases.
Wall seemed to find his groove after a shaky first inning, shutting down the Trojans in the second as quickly as possible with three straight strikeouts. Johnson also seemed to be eager to end his inning quickly, having three Anteater hitters come up, and three hitters leaving soon after with a mix of a flyout, stellar outfield defense, and a lineout to close the bottom of the second.
This pitching duel wouldn’t last long, as defense took the spotlight in the third inning. Senior outfielder Chase Call made Irvine’s defensive play of the game with a scene stealing diving catch in deep right field to record the inning’s second out. UCI tried to make the third inning one to remember, loading the bases on a hit and a walk, but failed to capitalize, leaving the score standing 1-1.
However, the ‘Eaters broke the tie in the fourth, when junior infielder Colin Yeaman hit an RBI double off the left-center wall to bring Irvine up 2-1.
That success only lasted one full inning, as the fifth inning was dominated by quick outs on both sides. But the sixth inning was the defining factor for the Trojans — and the pain of the Anteaters.
UCI redshirt sophomore pitcher Ryder Brooks pitched the top of the sixth but struggled, allowing three walks and a hit before exiting early with only one out and the bases loaded. Redshirt senior pitcher David Utagawa entered in relief, tasked with leaving the inning unscathed. On the first pitch of the at bat, USC junior infielder/right handed pitcher Ethan Hedges blasted a grand slam to left, which brought the score to 5-2, alongside cheering and roaring teammates.
From there, the game took on a life of its own, with USC freshman right handed pitcher Grant Govel dominating the late innings, keeping the Anteaters at bay from innings six through nine – finishing his night with a game-high six strikeouts and earning the win.
“Govel was electric for [USC] out of the bullpen, and he made it really tough for us offensively,” UCI head coach Ben Orloff said in a postgame interview with New University.
Regarding the loss, Orloff saw the game as “[needing] to be a two-to-one win, or [the team had to] generate some more offense.”
“We [have] got to get a lot better in a lot of areas,” However, this loss shouldn’t be disheartening, as later Orloff optimistically stated: “We’re four games in. We’re trying to get better, and we [have] got a long way to go from here, and today is a step in trying to get better.”
UCI bounced back into the win column on Feb. 21, beating Texas Tech 6-4 in the opener of their three game away series at Rip Griffin Park. A day later however, the Anteaters fell 12-15 in a rematch, before a deciding rubber match against Tech the following day on Feb. 23.
Benjamin Flores is the 2024-2025 Sports Editor. He can be reached at floresbt@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor and Logan Heine