The UC Irvine Anteaters Baseball team (11-17, 3-6) lost to the No. 1 UC Los Angeles Bruins (26-2, 12-0) in a blowout 9-1 affair at Cicerone Field at the Anteater Ballpark on March 31. The loss comes after a non-conference series win over the Long Beach State Dirtbags.
The game began inauspiciously with UCI redshirt freshman left-handed pitcher Dane Grant giving up three earned runs and only getting a single batter out in five faced. The runs came as the results of a hit, a walk and two crucial hit by pitches — one of which was to UCLA junior infielder Roch Cholowsky. After Grant forced UCLA redshirt junior outfielder Payton Brennan to fly out, redshirt sophomore right-hander Tim Grack replaced Grant. Grack provided much-needed stability, striking out junior outfielder Will Gasparino and freshman infielder Dominic Cadiz to escape the first inning without letting another runner score. Grack pitched a total of 2.1 innings, giving up one hit and walking three batters before being pulled for sophomore right-hander Tyler Foster.
The Anteaters quickly looked to respond, having men on second and third with two outs as a result of a walk by redshirt junior first-baseman Alonso Reyes and a double down the right-field line by junior shortstop Zach Fjelstad in the bottom of the first. The rally ended when UCLA freshman right-handed starter Angel Cervantes coaxed a check swing popup from Anteater sophomore second-baseman Dylan Hillman.
UCI’s lineup came alive again in the bottom of the third inning, with redshirt junior infielder Frankie Carney shooting a double down the third base line. He later scored off of a single from Reyes, who was tagged out at second base. However, the rally ended when Fjelstad lined out to the infield.
Meanwhile, the Anteaters’ pitching continued to escape trouble, allowing only UCLA junior infielder Roman Martin to score between the third and sixth inning. Combined, Grack, Foster, freshman right-hander Hunter Manning and redshirt junior left-hander Ryder Brooks pitched a combined six innings, giving up only one earned run and six walks while striking out eight.
“You know [the pitching staff’s] stuff is always good,” UCI redshirt junior catcher Connor Dietsch told New University. “You got to tell them to trust their stuff … We have a lot of good talent on this team.”
The Anteaters’ streak of good pitching came to an end during the seventh inning, which saw eight UCLA batters come to the plate. The inning began with Brooks giving up a single before striking out freshman pinch-hitter Trey Gudoy. Following his 25th pitch, Irvine head coach Ben Orloff brought in fifth-year right-hander David Butler. Butler gave up three singles and a walk, including a devastating two RBI single from the bat of Cholowsky, who was previously 0-3 with a strikeout. Butler allowed the fourth run of the inning by means of a sacrifice fly from junior first-baseman Mulivai Levu, with junior center-fielder Dean West scoring.
One final run was conceded by the right-handed sophomore Peyton Rodgers by means of a hit-by-pitch, fielding error by Fjelstad, and a fielder’s choice which scored Brennan. At the bottom of the ninth, the score had suddenly become 9-1 in UCLA’s favor.
In contrast to UCLA’s offense, whose bats went a combined 11-38 with eight walks over the course of the game, the Anteaters’ bats were almost completely extinguished past the fifth inning — going a combined 1-15 with no walks and eight strikeouts. The lone hit, which came in the bottom of the ninth, was a single from Carney up the right side. Carney, as the Anteaters’ top performing batter, ended the day 3-4 with a strikeout and UCI’s lone run.
Carney, whose success raised his batting average to .298, cited his father for helping bring about key, but subtle, changes to his routine.
“I’m always competitive in the box but I haven’t been getting my backside going recently. I’m more so [relying on] my back knee,” Carney told New University. “[My father] pointed it out to me and I worked on some stuff and I kept my same swing today, just changed my lower half and the results came in.”
The game ended with Anteaters freshman right-handed pitcher Cade Castles and UCLA freshman right-handed pitcher Elai Iwanaga both throwing scoreless ninth innings, keeping the scoreline static as UCLA secured their 9-1 win over the Anteaters. For UCLA, Cervantes was assigned the win, going 2-0 on the season while Anteater starter Grant was assigned the loss, going 0-1.
As part of a three-game conference series, UCI’s next game is against the UC Davis Aggies (11-14, 5-7) at the Anteater Ballpark on April 2.
Stanley Shi is a Sports Intern for the spring 2026 quarter. He can be reached at szshi@uci.edu.
Edited by Benjamin Flores and Geneses Navarro.
