QTI Baylor Invitational Tournament Central
'EATERS PLAY FIVE:
UC Irvine (4-3) will play an exhibition game Tuesday (Feb. 28) and then travel to the QTI Baylor Invitational this weekend (Mar. 2-4). The Anteaters host Japan Railroad, an industrial league team, at Anteater Ballpark. The game will be free and open to the general public. UCI then takes on the Cardinals of Lamar and the 25th-ranked Baylor Bears at Baylor. The 'Eaters face each team Friday in a double-header and then take on Baylor again Saturday with tournament action closing against Lamar Sunday.
RELIEVERS PROVIDE AID: UC Irvine's relievers have had a strong start to the season and four of five relievers used last week held the opposition scoreless.
Kyle Hooper (Saugus/Saugus HS) pitched four shutout innings against Washington in relief of starter Matt Whitehouse (Diamond Bar/Damien HS) and struck out six Huskies, including the side in the ninth, while yielding two hits. Hooper is 1-0 and has eight shutout innings under his belt this season with eight strikeouts. The right-hander has walked just one while scattering three hits.
Right-hander Nick Hoover (Alta Loma/Riverside CC) picked up a win against Washington, pitching one inning of one-hit baseball. Hoover yielded a leadoff single and had to contend with an Anteater error before securing a pair of outs. After an intentional walk, the senior ended the inning by inducing a grounder to third. Hoover is 1-0 and has struck out three in three innings.
Jimmy Litchfield (La Habra/Sonora HS) made two appearances against the Huskies last weekend, totaling 3.1 innings. The southpaw struck out two and allowed a single in UCI's win Saturday and then returned to blank Washington Sunday by retiring six straight batters. Litchfield has six strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
Mitch Merten (Newport Beach/Servite HS) also logged a pair of appearances last week. The redshirt sophomore faced the minimum in the final two innings against the Rebels and then came out of the pen again Sunday against Washington. Picking up for starter Crosby Slaught (Santa Barbara/HS), Merten fanned one, struck out one and allowed three hits. Merten has one save in three appearances and three strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
PITCHERS STRIKE OUT EVEN DOZEN: The Anteater pitching staff posted a season-high 12 strikeouts apiece in the first two games against Washington. Matt Whitehouse and Kyle Hooper each posted six strikeouts in the series opener and the staff delivered again Saturday. Andrew Thurman (Orange/Orange Lutheran HS) matched Whitehouse with six strikeouts while Jimmy Litchfield added two. Nick Hoover fanned one and handed the ball off to Phillip Ferragamo (Orange/Canyon HS) who set down three. UCI's staff has reached 10 strikeouts or more in four of the seven games played.
ALREADY A THIRD OF THE WAY THERE: UCI's bats have already belted six triples, including three against Texas Southern. Jordan Fox paces the team with two while Connor Spencer, Tommy Reyes (Rancho Cucamonga/Bishop Amat HS) and Christian Ramirez (Santa Ana/Cypress College) each have one. The 2011 team totaled 18 triples last season.
HOT FOX IN BOX: Jordan Fox (Hacienda heights/Bishop Amat HS) continued producing for the Anteaters, hitting .500 (8 for 16) in four games last week. The first baseman went a season-high 3 for 4 against UNLV, including an RBI double to put UCI on the board. He then added two hits in each of the first two games against the Huskies before capping the weekend with an RBI to bring UCI to within a run. The senior is hitting .458 (11 for 24) with two triples and a double and is second on the team with five RBI.
SPENCER SINGS, THEN STINGS: Connor Spencer's (Trabuco Canyon/Tesoro HS) rendition of the national anthem prior to the Saturday contest sparked the Anteater offense and the freshman also delivered at the plate. The designated hitter went 2 for 4 and cleared the bases with a triple to center to give UCI a 7-4 lead in an eventual 8-4 win to tie the series. Spencer then added two hits and scored a run Sunday to increase his average to .375. Spencer is tied for third on the team with six hits and is also third with three runs batted in.
CRUMLICH SHINES IN LEADOFF: Senior D.J. Crumlich (Irvine/HS) is hitting .571 as the team's leadoff hitter. The shortstop who went 2 for 17 in the first four games as the No. 2 and 4 hitter, went 4 for 7 in the final two games against the Huskies hitting leadoff. Crumlich doubled and scored Saturday and then worked a walk before hitting a single to finish 2 for 4 with two runs scored. In the series finale, Crumlich reached base in four of five plate appearances, hitting a pair of singles and taking first on a pair of walks. Crumlich raised his batting average to .250 and has seven hits and four runs scored.
NO PRESSURE FOR COOPER IN COLLEGIATE DEBUT: Freshman Ryan Cooper (Yorba Linda/Esperanza HS) made his first appearances as an Anteater and hit .429 in three games last week. Cooper was brought in to pinch-hit against UNLV but failed to get on. However, the outfielder quickly rebounded Saturday hitting a two-out, pinch-hit RBI single up the middle to score Scott Gottschling (Orange/Villa Park HS) and tie the game at 4-4. Cooper then was given the start Sunday and promptly doubled in his first two at-bats, driving in one and scoring once. In three games, Cooper is batting .429 with two RBI on three hits.
PATIENCE PAYS OFF FOR PAULINO: Kris Paulino (Ladera Ranch/Tesoro HS) had a solid week for the team, sporting a .583 on-base percentage. Paulino, went 2 for 7 but worked five walks off the opposition, with two against the Rebels and three against the Huskies. Paulino is hitting .286 and is the team's base on balls leader at six.
ABOUT LAMAR: The Lamar Cardinals, members of the Southland Conference, are 2-4 on the season. The team is led by Seth Dornak, who boasts a .400 average over six games. Three players share the lead in hits with eight while outfielder Jeff Abt holds the team lead in RBI with six. The Cardinals are hitting .263 and the pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.47.
THE SERIES: The two teams will meet for the first time this Friday.
ABOUT BAYLOR: No. 25 Baylor (Baseball America) is 6-2 overall after beating TCU and Texas State before losing the series at UCLA. The Bears own a .300 batting average and are led by Lawton Langford, who is hitting 11 for 23 in six games. The sophomore is second on the team with 11 hits while Max Muncy, a junior infielder, is hitting .414 with a team-high 12 hits and nine RBI. Also with nine RBI is Josh Ludy, who is 9 for 27 (.333) in eight games.
The Bears' arms hold a team ERA of 3.09 and senior Trent Blank is 3-0. The right-hander has not allowed a run to score in 10.1 innings and is holding opposing teams to a .065 average.
THE SERIES: Baylor owns a 4-3 edge in the series records. The two teams last met in 2009 with the Bears winning 4-3 on their home field.
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