The No. 8 UC Irvine Baseball team (34-11, 20-4) dominated in an 8-4 bounce-back win against the UC San Diego Tritons (24-21, 13-11) at Anteater Ballpark on May 4. After a disappointing two-game stretch where UCSD upset the Anteaters 19-4 and 4-0 on May 2 and 3, respectively, UCI turned the tables to avoid the series sweep.
UC Irvine put redshirt sophomore left-handed pitcher Ryder Brooks on the mound. Brooks started off hot in the first inning, allowing no runs or hits.
In the bottom of the first, UCSD redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Steele Murdock gave up two runs. Irvine redshirt senior second baseman Will Bermudez walked on a 3-2 count and scored on a wild pitch. Junior first baseman Anthony Martinez brought home junior shortstop Colin Yeaman on a runner batted in double. Murdock regained his composure and closed out the inning, but the first frame closed with the Anteaters up 2-0.
The action-packed start continued in the second inning, with UC San Diego storming back to equalize the game at 2. Freshman second baseman Thomas Maher hit a two-run RBI single into center field, with junior third baseman J.C. Allen and graduate student catcher Emiliano Gonzalez scoring for the Tritons. UCI ended the UCSD hot streak with a diving catch from Bermudez.
Irvine came out ready to respond in the bottom of the second. Junior left fielder Rowan Felsch led off the inning with a double to right-center field. Felsch then scored on an RBI double from redshirt sophomore right fielder Frankie Carney — the inning ended with Irvine in the lead 3-2.
Both pitchers locked in during the third, with only one hit allowed between the two. In the top of the fourth inning, Brooks built off of his dominant third inning and struck out the three UCSD batters in the frame.
On the other hand, the Triton defense continued their rough day. After advancing to second base, Felsch scored off an error from Yeaman’s single. Martinez continued to hit and connected with an RBI single to bring Yeaman home. UCSD got out of the inning courtesy of a flyout to deep right field by sophomore center fielder Jacob McCombs.
After recording a strikeout to begin his next frame, Brooks gave up a home run to deep left-center field off the bat of sophomore center fielder Michael Crossland. UCI went to sophomore left-handed pitcher Ricky Ojeda in relief, who closed out the top of the fifth strong for the ‘Eaters.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Irvine hitters continued to make solid contact. Sophomore designated hitter Alonso Reyes started the inning strong, connecting on a single down the left field line. Redshirt sophomore third baseman James Castagnola was walked, and senior catcher Blake Penso advanced the runners with a bunt. UCSD made a pitching change and brought in senior left-handed pitcher Sam Hasegawa. Felsch hit a sacrifice fly to bring Reyes home, upping the Anteater lead to 6-3. Bermudez stepped up to bat and hit a two run home run, extending the lead to 8-3.
The high-paced action continued in the top of the sixth inning, with UCSD redshirt senior left fielder Cooper Thacker hitting a solo home run into left field. Ojeda shook it off, closing the inning and striking out Maher. The UCSD defense recovered from the fifth inning, only allowing a single hit in the period.
In the seventh inning, both defenses clamped down. The Tritons subbed in sophomore right-handed pitcher Devon King, but both teams allowed zero hits and kept the score at 8-4.
UC Irvine subbed in senior right-handed pitcher David Butler at the top of the eighth. A wild pitch advanced Gonzalez to second base, but Butler closed the inning strong, striking out Allen and fouling out Thacker. In the bottom of the eighth, UCSD brought in junior left-handed pitcher Julian Cazares. Cazares only gave up one hit to Martinez, who continued his hitting streak by going 4-for-4.
In the top of the ninth inning, Irvine trotted out junior right-handed pitcher Max Martin to close the game. Martin gave up a single, but remained poised and struck out the next two Triton hitters to end the game 8-4 in favor of UC Irvine.
After the game, Martinez talked about the mentality the team brought after falling in the first two games against UCSD.
“We haven’t had too much adversity this whole year. So getting our a** kicked twice sucked and was a real wake up call,” Martinez said in an interview with New University. “We wanted to come out and show how competitive we are.”
Martinez also discussed his individual performance and what he looked for while batting.
“Swinging at good pitches, that’s what I did today,” Martinez said. “I found some holes and had success.”
With this win, the UC Irvine Baseball team clinched a top-three seed in the Big West tournament, bypassing the first round and remaining at the top of the Big West standings. The Anteaters inched out a non-conference victory against California Baptist in Riverside, Calif. on May 6, defeating the Lancers 9-8. UCI will look to build on their winning streak in a conference series against Cal State Bakersfield in Bakersfield, Calif. starting on May 9.
Jaden Hunter is a Sports Staff Writer. He can be reached at jadenh2@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor