The No. 13 UC Irvine Baseball team (27-9, 15-2) won their series in a 4-0 game against RV University of Hawai’i at Manoa (25-12, 10-10) at Anteater Ballpark on April 18.
UCI sophomore right-handed pitcher Trevor Hansen completed the game with an outstanding three-hit shutout. Throwing 120 pitches, Hansen ended his first collegiate complete game and lowered his ERA to 2.78.
“I had everything working,” Hansen said in a postgame interview with New University. “In the seventh inning, [assistant coach Daniel Bibona] came up to me and told me that this is my game. We’re going to go as long as they can’t hit me. It felt amazing.”
This was Hansen’s first start since an April 12 loss to UC Davis, where he went into the eighth inning, striking out eight on 99 pitches but allowing six hits in the 3-7 defeat.
Setting the tone for the game, Hansen put up a clean first inning with two groundouts and a flyout through the top of the Hawai’i lineup. In the second, Hansen induced two flyouts to left field.
He lost focus briefly, walking Hawai’i’s sixth batter — senior left fielder Kamana Nahaku — in a battle that got to a full count. However, he quickly regained composure to finish off the inning with a swinging strikeout.
The ‘Eaters supported Hansen with a strong offense, taking a 2-0 lead by the end of the second inning. The rally started after a pitching change that began the Rainbow Warriors’ cycle through their bullpen.
UCI redshirt sophomore third baseman James Castagnola ignited the offense with a single up the middle off Hawai’i senior right-handed pitcher Charlie Adamson. Castagnola passed the baton to UCI senior right fielder Chase Call. Call advanced to second on a hard-hit single and a throwing error, putting Castagnola into scoring position with no outs. UCI senior catcher Blake Penso cashed in and sent the two runners home with a double to left center.
Despite two flyouts, two walks and a groundout that filled the bases, the Anteaters’ rally ended with a flyout to left field.
Staying sharp at the top of the third, Hansen dragged Hawai’i junior third baseman Draven Nushida to a full count before striking him out swinging. Hansen then got Hawai’i freshman catcher David Vergel de Dios to chase a pitch up in the zone for his second strikeout of the inning.
Hawai’i junior center fielder Matthew Miura was the first to break through Hansen’s pitching with a single up the middle. However, Hansen wouldn’t allow any Hawai’i players to reach second the entire game.
Hansen kept his focus through the sixth inning, inducing a groundout and a swinging strikeout. Hawai’i senior first baseman Ben Zeigler-Namoa also turned up empty on the second strikeout of the inning. However, he reached first on an error by UCI junior first baseman Anthony Martinez, putting pressure back on UCI’s defense.
With Hawai’i still alive at the plate, UCI redshirt senior second baseman Will Bermudez delivered. He sealed the inning with a masterful backhand play behind second, flipping it to UCI junior shortstop Colin Yeaman, who covered the base.
“[Hansen’s] pitching a great game. We’re just trying to be the best we can be in our defense,” Bermudez said in a postgame interview with New University. “Before that pitch, [Yeaman] and I were talking. If a ball is up the middle, he’ll get to second. So I’m happy we made that play.”
To close out the sixth, the ‘Eaters rallied for two more runs, extending their lead to 4-0. Bermudez also carried momentum into the Anteaters’ offense with a single on an 0-2 count, pushing a runner to second before advancing to third on a sacrificial flyout.
UCI Baseball’s head coach Ben Orloff gave Bermudez the green light to go on anything in the dirt, and that’s exactly what happened. A pitch got away from Hawai’i’s Vergel de Dios. Although not getting far past the plate, Bermudez scored on the passed ball without hesitation, bringing in the ‘Eaters final run of the game.
“Just getting that green light ahead, you’re looking for something. It’s kind of like a teacher giving you an answer before the test,” Bermudez said. “So it was pretty easy for me, and [Coach Orloff] helped me a lot.”
Continuing to dominate, Hansen completed the game with a strikeout looking — his 10th strikeout of the night. It marked the first complete-game shutout by an Anteater since 2021. With his performance, Hansen became the 34th UCI pitcher to achieve the feat.
The game followed the team’s six-game winning streak against Hawai’i, including a 3-1 win the night before. They finished off the series at home with another complete game shutout by UCI redshirt sophomore left-handed pitcher Ryder Brooks in a 5-0 win April 19. No. 13 UCI will next play No. 10 UCLA at Anteater Ballpark on April 22.
Emilie Takahashi is a 2024-2025 Layout Editor. She can be reached at takahae1@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor and Mia Noergaard