UC Irvine Hosts San Diego, Cal State Northridge on ESPN3
April 08, 2014 | Baseball
Irvine, CA / Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark
Apr. 8
Game 32 - 6:30 PM
vs. San Diego
(R) Mitch Merten vs. (R) CJ Burdick
Live stats
Internet Only- Mark Roberts/Tim Becwar
Tickets
Apr. 11
Game 33 - 6:30 PM
vs. CS Northridge
Live stats
ESPN3 - Sam Farber/ Jose Tolentino
Internet Only - Mark Roberts/Tim Becwar
Tickets
Apr. 12
Game 34 –1:00 PM
vs. CS Northridge
Live stats
Internet Only - Mark Roberts/Tim Becwar
Tickets
Apr. 13
Game 35 - 1:00 PM
vs. CS Northridge
Live stats
KUCI 88.9 FM - Mark Roberts/Tim Becwar
Tickets
QUICK HITS
- UCI will host seven of the next games at Anteater Ballpark and begins a four-game homestand against San Diego Tuesday.
- Friday's series opener against Cal State Northridge will be aired on ESPN3 with Sam Farber and Jose Tolentino calling the action.
- The Anteaters are currently fourth in the Big West in batting at .278 and remains second in ERA at 2.52.
- There have been only 21 stolen base attempts against the Anteaters and Jerry McClanahan has caught seven baserunners stealing to sit fifth in the Big West.
- Through the first six Big West games, Kris Paulino and Justin Castro led the team with a .444 average with Mikey Duarte in third at .400.
- Connor Spencer tops the team in hits with 10 while Paulino and McClanahan have a team-leading six RBI apiece in Big West-only games.
- Overall, the Anteaters have walked just 66 batters and is fifth in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings at 2.11.
'73, '74 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS TO BE RECOGNIZED SATURDAY
- UC Irvine Athletics is recognizing the 1973 and 1974 Division II national championship teams in a ceremony prior to first pitch Saturday.
- The 1973 team won 44 games, winning 7 of 8 post-season games en route to capturing the program's first national title, beating Ithaca twice to capture the crown.
- Terry Stupy was voted the 1973 World Series MVP.
- The '74 squad set a school record 48 wins, posting a 48-8 mark and setting a program-best 32 game win streak.
- The Anteaters beat New Orleans twice in a three-game series to repeat at national champs.
- Jeff Malinoff came away with MVP honors and was a three-time All-American at UCI.
CAREER-HIGHS FOR CASTRO, SPENCER
- Justin Castro and Connor Spencer both posted personal-bests Sunday against Hawaii.
- Castro drove in three runs on three hits while Spencer recorded four RBI on two hits.
- In three games last week, Castro batted .667, logging four hits and his third double of the year.
- Spencer also had four hits, scored twice and has now reached safely in 29 consecutive games.
- Spencer remains the team leading in batting at .359 and owns a team-best 42 hits to go along with six doubles and 22 RBI.
PAULINO PACES 'EATERS TO 3-1 WEEK
- Kris Paulino led the team in four games last week with five runs batted in and tied for first with six hits.
- The outfielder had a hit in each of the games and homered twice in the series against Hawaii to go along with two doubles, giving him a .933 slugging percentage.
- With the effort, Paulino is now batting .250 and is third on the team with 18 RBI and tied for first with four home runs.
MERTEN FACES OFF AGAINST TOREROS
- Right-hander Mitch Merten will make the start Tuesday against San Diego.
- Merten has not registered a decision and has pitched 7.1 innings.
- He has struck out three and walked five while giving up four earned runs.
MORALES KEEPS STREAK ALIVE
- Andrew Morales notched his third straight shutout stint and extended his scoreless inning streak to 25.1 innings.
- The right-hander struck out four in 7.1 innings against UH while giving up seven hits.
- The win lifted Morales to 6-0 on the year and he is tied for second in the Big West in wins and sits behind Cal Poly's Casey Bloomquist (7).
MOORE MOVES TO FOURTH-PLACE TIE
- Sam Moore recorded two saves last week and now has 13 on the year.
- Moore is the national leader with Baylor's Josh Michalec and San Diego State's Michael Cederoth sitting in second with 11.
- Moore pitched two innings of hitless relief Saturday against Hawaii and then entered the game Sunday in a bases-loaded situation with the tying run on deck. He gave up a two-run single before striking out the final batter in the inning.
- Moore is 0-1 with a 1.29 ERA. He has pitched 28 innings and struck out 27 while holding the opposition to a .147 batting average.
THIRD STRAIGHT QUALITY START FOR SURREY
- Elliot Surrey recorded his third straight start of at least six innings and holding teams to two runs or less.
- The lefty dealt seven innings and held the Rainbow Warriors to two runs on four hits while striking out five.
- Surrey faced one over the minimum through the first three innings before giving up two runs in the fourth. He went on to hold Hawaii to one hit in the final 3.2 frames of his stint to improve to 4-2.
- Surrey has a 2.56 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 45.2 innings.
BROCK BREAKS STREAK
- Evan Brock snapped a two-game losing streak with the win in the series finale Sunday.
- The right-hander was solid through the first five innings, holding the 'Bows to four hits and induced three double-play grounders to halt any UH rallies.
- The senior stumbled in the sixth, giving up his first home run of the year, a grand slam and left the game after 5.2 innings.
- Brock is 5-2 with a 3.61 ERA and has struck out 31 in 47.1 innings.
- Brock's five wins place him in a four-way tie for fourth in the Big West.
BRONTSEMA FALLS JUST SHORT OF CYCLE
- John Brontsema nearly hit for the cycle last week, batting .400 with four hits, including a double and a triple.
- The freshman infielder recorded back-to-back multiple-hit games, going 2 for 3 against Pepperdine and 2 for 4 in the series opener against Hawaii.
- Brontsema scored twice against the Waves, hitting a single and a double to go along with a walk and then singled twice and tripled in the series opener Friday.
ABOUT THE TOREROS
- San Diego is 22-9 and boasts an 8-3 road record.
- The Toreros went 4-0 last week with a midweek win over San Diego State and a sweep of Gonzaga.
- The team is led by Connor Joe, who is batting .394 with 50 hits and 30 RBI.
- USD is batting .335 while its pitching staff holds a 3.26 earned run average.
- Scheduled to pitch is CJ Burdick. Burdick is 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA and has fanned 19 in 23 innings while walking nine. Opposing teams are hitting .201 against him.
- UCI leads the series 50-44-1 after the two teams split the home-and-home series last year.
ABOUT THE MATADORS
- Cal State Northridge is 13-18 overall and 2-4 in the Big West.
- The Matadors are led by Nick Blaser, who is batting .378 and is tied for first with 17 RBI.
- CSUN is hitting .253 as a team while the pitching staff owns a 3.51 ERA.
- John Salas leads the team with a 4-1 mark on the mound while Brycen Rutherford boasts the team's top ERA at 1.84 and is 2-2 in seven starts.
- UCI holds a 34-29 series lead with the Anteaters winning two of three games last year.
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