Following a forgettable 15-5 loss to LMU on April 15, No. 13 UCI Baseball (26-9, 14-2) faced the University of Hawai’i (25-11, 10-9) and narrowly escaped with a 3-1 victory at Anteater Ballpark on April 17.
Redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Riley Kelly was set to open the three-game series for Irvine and was immediately greeted with a single to center before facing Hawai’i senior infielder Shunsuke Sakaino. Jumping on a first-pitch fastball, Sakaino pulled a ground ball to second base for a double play and a clean slate for Kelly.
Hawai’i sophomore utility player Itsuki Takemoto looked to get his bumpy season back on track in his start against Irvine; he has struggled as of late, allowing 12 earned runs in his last 17 innings pitched despite a strong start to his season. Takemoto hit a batter with two outs in the first, but induced a flyout to left field to complete a scoreless inning.
Almost identical to his first inning, Kelly allowed a leadoff single before a first-pitch swing sent a ground ball to third base, where redshirt sophomore infielder James Castagnola turned an around-the-horn double play for two more quick outs. A walk and a groundout sent the ‘Eaters back to the plate in a hurry, but they also went scoreless.
With both starters rolling through the top of the fourth, a low-scoring game became an increasing possibility. However, as Takemoto took the mound in the fourth, Irvine planned to start the scoring.
UCI senior outfielder Chase Call stepped into the box and was behind 1-2 in an instant. Trying to blow a fastball past him, Takemoto missed down the middle, and Call laced a double into the left field corner. A lineout to right center sent Call to third and pushed the infield in to prevent a ground ball from scoring a run — it didn’t work.
Senior catcher Blake Penso grounded a ball to a pulled-in first baseman, but Call was already flying to the plate. Hawai’i’s only option was to record the second out at first, and Irvine led 1-0.
Best-case situation for Irvine was a shutdown inning from Kelly, but the top of the fifth was when he started to unravel. He recorded a quick first out, but allowed a walk to set up junior outfielder Matthew Miura, who was already 2-for-2 on the night. On a 0-1 pitch, Miura pulled a double into the left center gap that scored the tying run and threatened for the lead. Kelly induced a popup to third, and that was the end of his outing.
Entering for Irvine was sophomore left-handed pitcher Ricky Ojeda, the team’s proclaimed Swiss Army knife out of the bullpen. In an interview with New University, UCI head coach Ben Orloff called Ojeda “tough.”
“He’s the guy we want when the money’s on the table,” Orloff said of Ojeda. “He did what he’s done for [a long time]. That’s why his stats are what they are.”
Ojeda’s ERA on the season was 2.12 in 35 innings pitched before entering the game.
Ojeda finished the top of the fifth scoreless, both ready and expected to go longer into the late innings. Until then, Irvine’s priority was to take the lead.
Takemoto had an easy bottom of the fifth despite allowing a hit, and Ojeda threw another scoreless inning in the meantime.
Heading to the bottom of the sixth, the ‘Eaters’ bottom of the order faced Takemoto in his final inning of the game. Irvine junior outfielder/first baseman Rowan Felsch walked and stole second with two outs, and Penso lined a ball into the right center gap that brought the crowd to its feet. It was caught right up against the wall, and the sixth ended still tied 1-1.
Seeing that runs came at a premium throughout the game, Ojeda took over the top of the seventh with two quick outs, only allowing a baserunner on a squeezed ball four by the home plate umpire before inducing an inning-ending groundout. For the second straight inning, Ojeda set up his offense to take a possible lead.
Hawai’i junior left-handed pitcher Cory Ronan took over on the mound in the bottom of the seventh in an attempt to continue Takemoto’s successful outing. However, after a flyout to right field, Irvine’s lineup flipped over and took consecutive walks to place runners on first and second.
With runners in scoring position for the second straight inning, UCI junior first baseman and left-handed batter Anthony Martinez stepped into the box with two outs against the left-hander Ronan, giving Hawai’i hope that a left-on-left advantage would get them out of the inning.
“Honestly, my whole life, I haven’t had too much trouble facing both sides. [I try] to keep the same approach,” Martinez told New University, in regards to his strategy going into his seventh inning at-bat. “Switching your approach kind of messes you up, so I just try to keep the same approach, same swing, and not think too much about it.”
Martinez’s mindset proved successful, as he grounded a sharp ground ball to the right side that squeezed between the second and first basemen, and allowed redshirt sophomore infielder Frankie Carney to round third and score the go-ahead run. Ronan struck out his next batter in three pitches, but a batter too late as Irvine took a 2-1 lead.
A triumphant seventh inning for Irvine gave Ojeda one more inning of work, but he was greeted by Takemoto, who, after throwing six innings, hit a leadoff double into the left field gap to put immediate stress on the ‘Eaters. Ojeda struck out senior outfielder Kamana Nahaku for the first out of the inning, but a stolen base and a walk put runners on first and third. On a pickoff move to third, freshman infielder Jarret Nielsen, who pinch ran for Takemoto, took off from third base and was tagged out by Penso at home for a huge second out.
Ojeda made a point to not waste the monumental gift from Hawai’i, striking out his next batter and unleashing a roar on his way back to the dugout. His night was done, and all the momentum went to the Anteaters with three outs left.
UCI tacked on a run in the bottom of the eighth, and junior right-handed pitcher Max Martin entered for the save. Martin allowed a hit but still worked a quick ninth inning to secure the win for Irvine in a satisfying series-opening win.
Irvine closed out the series with two victories, sweeping Hawai’i and outscoring the Rainbow Warriors 12-1 on the weekend.
Avery Rosas is a Sports Staff Writer. He can be reached at rosasaj1@uci.edu.
Edited by Benjamin Flores and Jacob Ramos