The UC Irvine Baseball (18-23, 9-12) team took a devastating 11-10 loss to the UC San Diego Tritons (18-21, 14-7) in the first game of a weekend series at the Triton Ballpark in La Jolla, Calif. on April 24.
The top of the first started with UCSD’s redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Steele Murdock facing off with Irvine’s lead off man, junior center fielder Tommy Farmer who reached base after being hit by a pitch.
With one out — a strikeout from sophomore left fielder Daniel Polasek — redshirt junior right fielder Frankie Carney singled down the left field line to get on base alongside Farmer who advanced to second.
In the sixth spot of the lineup with a 1-0 count, the Anteaters’ redshirt junior first baseman Alonso Reyes blasted a homer into the right side to give the Anteaters an early 3-0 over the Tritons.
The ‘Eaters managed to get one more runner on in the top of the first as junior designated hitter Landon Gaz reached first base on a fielding error by UCSD’s junior first baseman Gabe Camacho. A fly out from Irvine’s junior second baseman Noah Alvarez closed out the top of the first for the third out.
On the mound for the Anteaters was junior right-handed pitcher Trevor Hansen who cruised through the bottom of the first as he faced the top of the Triton’s lineup. Hansen only gave up a single to UCSD’s junior center fielder Michael Crossland before recording two strikeouts.
The Anteaters continued with their offensive momentum going into the second as sophomore catcher Efren Ortega led off with a single to left field followed with a walk from junior shortstop Zach Fjelstad.
Returning to the top of the Anteaters’ order, Polasek singled to center field with one out to load the bases up for Carney. Remaining disciplined in his at-bat, Carney walked for an RBI to score Ortega to extend the lead, 4-0.
UCI’s lead grew 5-0 as redshirt junior third baseman Auggie Gutierrez hit a bouncing grounder to a charging Camacho who made the out at first to Murdock, but not without bringing Fjelstad in to score. Murdock managed to get out of the loaded-bases jam with minimal damage as Reyes hit a grounder to Camacho who flipped the ball to Murdock for the third out.
The Tritons retaliated against the Anteaters’ momentum in the bottom of the second as Hansen opened up with a walk to senior left fielder Alex Leopard. Capitalizing off two wild pitches, Leopard found himself in scoring position on third.
UCSD’s senior designated hitter Delshaun Lanier chopped a single to Gutierrez who could not make the play in time for the out at first — Leopard scoring in the process. The inning closed out with UCSD trailing 5-1.
In the top of the fourth inning, Carney came in hot with a well-hit triple to right field. Gutierrez followed in suit with an RBI double to left field to bring Carney home for the 6-1 lead. In his third at-bat, Reyes homered once again against Murdock to widen the gap, 8-1, before the inning ended.
Slowly chipping away at the lead, the Tritons managed to bring in another run off an RBI double from Lanier before the fourth inning came to an end.
The real trouble ensued in the bottom of the fifth inning for the ‘Eaters as the Tritons’ offense exploded against the Anteaters’ pitching.
After recording a leadoff strikeout, Hansen immediately gave up a homer to senior third baseman J.C. Allen to make the score 8-3.
The Tritons applied pressure as the bases were loaded off a hit by pitch to Leopard, a double to sophomore catcher Trevian Martinez and a four-pitch walk to graduate right fielder Nick Costello.
A call to the bullpen brought junior left-handed pitcher Ricky Ojeda on to limit any damage, yet another RBI double from Lanier inched the Tritons closer, 8-5.
The Tritons’ sophomore pinch hitter Addison Klepsch — who hit for redshirt junior second baseman Ryson Ujimori — singled to bring Costello home with UCSD still trailing, 8-6.
As the top of the Tritons’ lineup returned to the plate, junior shortstop Anthony Potestio hit a sacrifice fly to bring Lanier in to score. With Klepsch still on base, Crossland doubled to Polasek to tie the game 8-8. After walking Camacho, Ojeda gave up a single to Allen which scored Crossland for the Tritons’ first lead of the game, 9-8.
Ojeda’s rough outing came to an end as redshirt freshman left-handed pitcher Dane Grant came in to relieve and close out the fifth inning.
As the bottom of the sixth came around, the Tritons extended their lead as Costello reached base on a hit by pitch from Grant before he was relieved by the Anteaters’ sophomore right-handed pitcher Tyler Foster.
As Foster struck out Lanier, a bad throw down from Ortega allowed Costello to reach third base before he was brought in to score by sophomore second baseman Thomas Maher. The inning soon ended, but not without UCSD extending their lead, 10-8.
The ‘Eaters refused to back down as Gaz opened up the seventh inning with a home run to shorten the gap, 10-9.
Taking their time to equalize the score, Polasek doubled in the following inning against the Tritons’ senior left-handed pitcher Julian Cazares before Carney followed with a single.
On the first pitch he saw, Gutierrez squeezed a bunt to Cazares who made the easy out at third, but brought Polasek in for the tying run, 10-10.
Despite Irvine’s efforts to keep the score tied to possibly take the lead, the Tritons’ got the best of redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Danny Suarez who relieved Foster. With two outs and two runners on base, Crossland singled to left for the go-ahead run against the ‘Eaters which ultimately decided the game.
Suarez minimized the damage to one run, but the ‘Eaters left two runners stranded in the top of the ninth as Farmer flew out for the final out of the game.
Although the ‘Eaters outhit the Tritons 14-13, UCSD took the gripping series opener, 11-10.
The Anteaters went on to drop the second game of the series, 9-4, but then bounced back 9-7 to avoid the series sweep on April 26. The ‘Eaters will head back to Irvine to face No. 21 University of Southern California at the Anteater Ballpark on April 28.
Gissel Delgado is a Sports Staff Writer. She can be reached at gissead1@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor and Geneses Navarro.
