No. 12 UCI Baseball (31-9, 18-2) clinched their series against Cal Poly (28-13, 15-5) in a 4-0 shutout win at Baggett Stadium in San Luis Obispo, Calif. on April 26.
The victory marked their second straight Big West series win after sweeping the University of Hawai’i at Manoa with back-to-back complete-game shutouts from UCI sophomore right-handed pitcher Trevor Hansen and redshirt sophomore left-handed pitcher Ryder Brooks.
Hansen took the mound again in San Luis Obispo and built on his shutout performance against Hawai’i, tossing eight scoreless innings. However, Cal Poly threatened early in the game, putting runners in scoring position in both the second and third innings.
Hansen started the third by walking Cal Poly senior first baseman Zach Daudet, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Hansen induced a groundout, securing the inning’s second out, but threw a wild pitch to put the Mustangs in scoring position.
Cal Poly had an offensive stronghold after Hansen sent another runner to first on a four-ball, with runners on first and third, and were ready to capitalize. Luckily, Hansen was bailed out by an impressive diving play on the third base line from redshirt sophomore third baseman James Castagnola that ended the inning and preserved the shutout.
Irvine’s offense was unproductive early on in the game, with two quiet outings. Three strikeouts in the second inning and two more strikeouts in the third stranded two runners and left UCI scoreless.
But when it mattered, the Irvine offense lit up — two timely hits off of Cal Poly sophomore left-handed pitcher Josh Volmerding during the fourth inning brought the score to 2-0.
Even while putting up a strong performance, pitching 11 strikeouts in the game, Volmerding began to lose control in the fourth and put sophomore center fielder Jacob McCombs on base via a hit by pitch. He regained his composure and struck out the next two batters, appearing on track to escape the inning.
But after a second hit batter, UCI senior catcher Blake Penso came through with a two-strike RBI single up the middle on two outs. Sophomore designated hitter Landon Gaz followed with a drive to left center for a two-run double, bringing the Anteaters’ lead to 3-0.
The ‘Eaters kept Cal Poly at bay through the end of the game. Castaganola brought in Irvine’s final run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, after a walk from senior right fielder Chase Call and a single to center field from junior first baseman Anthony Martinez. Senior right-handed pitcher Davis Butler came in for the last two outs of the eighth and induced a groundout to end the inning.
Butler returned in the ninth and recorded two quick outs before allowing a walk that put Cal Poly senior right fielder Dylan Kordic on base. Despite the walk, Butler finished the game strong with a four-pitch strikeout to seal the win.
The win brought Hansen’s record to 7-0 and kept the ‘Eaters in possession of first in the Big West standings. UCI swept the series in San Luis Obispo the next day with a 10-8 win and secured a spot in the Big West Tournament, set to begin on May 21.
Emilie Takahashi is a 2024-2025 Layout Editor. She can be reached at takahae1@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor