UC Irvine Baseball (23-25, 12-14) beat UC Riverside (14-34, 9-17) at Riverside Sports Complex 15-3 on May 9. After getting no runs in the first two innings, the Anteaters came in hot at the top of the third inning and kept the momentum going until the end of the game
In the top of the first inning, UCI got freshman hitter and infielder Lucas Schermer to first base after the player singled to left field before they had their third out, preventing them from scoring. UCR sophomore outfielder David Gibbs hit a double and then advanced and scored the first run of the game when sophomore outfielder Isaiah Hernandez singled. With two men on base, Highlander senior left-handed pitcher Jaxon Byrd and junior infielder Manoah Chapman struck out, concluding the first inning 1-0.
The second inning went similarly, with UCI scoring zero and UCR scoring another run. Highlander graduate student Andrew Rivas scored their second run, advancing the score 2-0 in the last play of the second inning.
In the top of the third inning, the Anteaters came back strong, scoring a total of five times. UCI Junior infielder Zach Fjelstad singled to shortstop, and scored Irvine’s first run of the game when redshirt junior Frankie Carney hit a double down the left field line. The rest of the scores in the top of the inning were unearned, on account of a fielding error made by Riverside’s shortstop. UCI sophomore outfielder Daniel Polasek, Schermer, Carney and sophomore catcher Efren Ortega scored before the first half of the inning was wrapped up when Fjeldstad popped up to shortstop. In the bottom of the third, UCI didn’t allow UCR to score, leaving Chapman on base when the third out finished the inning.
In the fourth inning, there were zero runs because of the determined fielding from both teams, leaving the score at 5-2.
In the top of the fifth, UCI redshirt senior Zach Crandall singled up the middle before redshirt junior Auggie Gutierrez hit a home run to left field, scoring two runs. Riverside scored their final run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Highlander junior utility Jarren Sanderson walked before making it home when Byrd doubled down the right field line. By the end of the fifth inning, the score was 7-3.
Neither team advanced in the sixth inning, but the seventh inning guaranteed the win for the ‘Eaters.
In the top of the seventh, Fjeldstad and Gutierrez scored in the same play when Polasek reached first base on an error. UCI junior first baseman Landon Gaz reached on a fielder’s choice and scored when Schermer walked. Redshirt junior first baseman Alonso Reyes was hit by a pitch, getting Polasek home with an unearned run. Carney scored when Ortega singled to right field, and Schermer scored when Crandall was hit by a pitch. Gutierrez doubled down the right field line, getting both Ortega and Reyes to home before the top half of the inning concluded. UC Riverside did not score in the bottom half of the inning, and neither team scored in the last two innings, concluding the game with a score of 15-3.
UC Irvine played UC Riverside again at Riverside Sports Complex on May 10, losing 5-3.
Milo Cramer is a Sports Intern for the spring 2026 quarter. They can be reached at mncramer@uci.edu.