No. 13 UC Irvine Baseball (25-8, 13-2) defeated UC Davis (16-18, 5-10) 13-2 in the final match of a three-game series on April 13 at Dobbins Stadium in Davis, Calif.
The Anteaters won the opener but dropped the second game of the series.
UCI pounced early in the top of the first inning after sophomore designated hitter Jacob McCombs beat out a double play to score redshirt sophomore center fielder Frankie Carney, who singled to lead off the inning, giving the Anteaters a 1-0 lead.
The one run scored in the first would be enough for most of the game, as Irvine redshirt sophomore left-handed pitcher Ryder Brooks was lights out from the bump. He pitched 6.1 innings without giving up an earned run. Despite allowing a single and hitting a batter in the first, Brooks left both runners on base to preserve the lead.
In the top of the second, UCI continued to put pressure on the Aggies after two singles from senior catcher Blake Penso and junior left fielder Rowan Felsch who put runners on first and third with no outs. Redshirt senior second baseman Will Bermudez, who previously played for UC Davis before transferring to Irvine, brought in Penso with a sacrifice fly ball to extend the lead to 2-0. Brooks continued to dominate with a one-two-three inning that included two strikeouts.
The floodgates opened for UCI in the third after the bases were loaded following two singles and a hit by pitch. The Aggies swapped pitchers from right-handed freshman Matt Barnes II to right-handed sophomore Carter Speights in an attempt to escape the jam. However, Irvine redshirt sophomore third baseman James Castagnola brought in two runs with a single up the middle. A sacrifice fly from Penso brought in another, leaving a runner on base with two outs. Felsch made it a five-run inning by taking an inside pitch deep for a home run to right field that bounced off the scoreboard. UCI led 7-0 after three innings.
After the offensive explosion in the third, the Irvine bats cooled, unable to record a hit for the next three innings. It did not matter, as Brooks continued to dissect the Aggie offense. He faced some trouble in the sixth after loading the bases on two walks and a hit by pitch but managed to come out unscathed keeping Davis scoreless.
In the top of the seventh, McCombs legged out a triple to put a runner in scoring position with one out. Senior right fielder Chase Call scored him with a sacrifice fly to grow the Anteaters’ lead to 8-0.
After a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh, Brooks was pulled following a dominant start and was replaced by sophomore left-hander Ricky Ojeda. Ojeda showed slight control issues, hitting the first batter he faced and allowing a single to right field to load the bases with one out. A passed ball got by Penso behind the plate, scoring UC Davis’ first run of the game. The Aggies tried to score on another passed ball but the runner was tagged out at home to end the inning with Irvine still on top 8-1.
In the top of the eighth, a Felsch double and Bermudez RBI single gave the Anteaters another run. Carney singled to put runners on first and third. Junior shortstop Colin Yeaman, who had been quiet up to this point, extended his hitting streak to 19 games with an exclamation mark, homering to left field and bringing in three more runs. UCI led 12-1.
While the Aggies added a run on a home run by senior first baseman Jason Hanson, the Anteaters got that run back in the ninth after a Felsch sacrifice fly. Senior right-hander David Butler gave UCI the last three outs in a 13-2 blowout win.
Felsch and Yeaman led the team with three RBIs each, but it was Brooks on the mound who stole the show. He notched his fourth win of the season, allowing just four hits and no earned runs.
UC Irvine fell short against Loyola Marymount (19-7) on Tuesday at Anteater Stadium before beating Hawaii (24-10, 10-8) twice in a three-game conference series on April 17 and 18.
Jordan Hum is a Sports Staff Writer. He can be reached at jrhum@uci.edu.
Edited by Benjamin Flores and Jaheem Conley.