IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine and Seattle locked horns in a pitcher's duel Friday night between Elliot Surrey and Tarik Skubal, and the Anteaters came out on top, 4-0, for the big win to open the series.
Skubal's 115 pitches and Surrey's 118 pitches stole the show at Anteater Ballpark as the teams struggled to get anything going each with just two hits apiece through 7 ½.
UCI (12-6) finally got the bats working, but it took Skubal to leave for the action to start. The Redhawks (11-6) went to Grant Gunning from the bullpen walking the first hitter. A Keston Hiura bloop single opened the door for John Brontsema's hit-and-run poke through the right side to plate the game's first run. A Mitchell Holland bunt single / squeeze added some insurance, and Adam Alcantara's 2-run double calmed the nerves and extended the lead to 4-0 as the game entered the ninth.
Ben Ritchey relieved Surrey after an eight-inning, three-hit, five-strikeout performance to pitch a scoreless ninth for the team's fourth shutout of the season, 4-0.
Surrey improved to 2-1 while lowering his ERA to 3.12. Skubal on the other side picked up the no-decision and did so with eight strikeouts and allowed just four hits to lower his ERA further to 0.87
Gunning gave up four runs on four hits after entering the game with just one earned run allowed in the previous 10.2 innings.
Hiura's single extended his on-base streak to 34 games along with a seven-game hit streak. Brontsema continues to surge batting .441 with two hits and an RBI in his fourth straight game.
UCI jumps to 12-6 on the year and its fourth win in five Friday games. The series-opening win leads the squads to a Saturday matchup at 2:00 p.m. in Anteater Ballpark.
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