RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- UC Irvine's bats caught fire for 11 runs in the first two innings to take the series opener over UC Riverside, 11-4, at Riverside Sports Complex.

First Inning Flames
The 'Eaters (36-16, 16-6) hit the ground running to start the game with a walk from Jake Palmer and Christian Koss single. Brandon Lewis rolled a double play ball, but SS Nathan Webb fumbled the grounder and only recorded the out on Lewis to put runners on second and third. UCI would take advantage and knocked seven straight hits to score seven runs and knock out UCR starter Shamus Lyons after registering two outs in the first

Aftershock
The big first inning was followed by another four-run outburst in the second. Mike Peabody and Konnor Zickefoose each singled home runs, and then after the Highlanders (19-35, 7-15) got two outs, Palmer broke it up with a shot up the middle scoring two more giving UCI an 11-0 edge in the second inning

Pitching Takes Over
The Anteater bats slowed down thanks in large part to Trevor Bateson who settled in after a rocky second inning. In relief, he would throw 113 pitches and hold UCI to one hit in his final four innings to hold UCI at bay. Andre Pallante on the other side shutout the Highlanders before allowing their first run in the fifth on a double, wild pitch, and groundout. UCR added two more in the sixth to make it an 11-3 game, but could not make up the entirety of the 11-run deficit

Final Score: UC Irvine 11, UC Riverside 4
Palmer led the offensive charge with three hits, three RBI, a run scored, and four times on base. Adrian Damla, Konnor Zickefoose, and Mike Peabody each had two hits with Damla and Zickefoose driving in a pair each and Peabody scoring twice. Sam Ireland had the only extra-base hit with a double as UCI's offense got a run from all nine starters, a hit from eight, and an RBI from seven

Pitchers of Record
Pallante served up his ninth quality start of the year allowing three earned with one walk and six strikeouts over six innings to win his 10th game for a second straight season. The win was the 26th of his career tying him for sixth in program history alongside Glenn Swanson. Picking up the save with three innings of work was Kaz Akamatsu, the first of his career, allowing a single run on two hits over three innings which included an eighth inning where he struck out the side of Dean Miller, Yeager Taylor, and Connor Cannon. Shamus Lyons drew his seventh loss after seven earned runs in 0.2 innings. Bateson did allowing four earned runs in five innings, but battled through 113 pitches in 6.1 innings of relief

Next Up
The 'Eaters rose to 36-16 on the season and 16-6 in conference, its fourth season with 16+ conference wins. It remains in a tie for second place with Cal Poly as the programs sit two games behind UC Santa Barbara with two games left and a share of a Big West title still on the table. The series continues with game two on Friday, May 24, starting at 6:00 p.m. Trenton Denholm will toe the rubber for UCI against an undetermined UCR starter