FRESNO, Calif. --- The 2020 season opened with a pitching duel at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium Friday night as the Anteaters fell, 3-1, to Fresno State.
Starting Strong
Friday night starters
Trenton Denholm and Jaime Arias were both in the zone early Friday night allowing just one infield single between the pair through the first three innings. Together, they retired 14 straight hitters after a
Jake Palmer's single to start the game and a hit batsman on the Fresno State side.
Middle Inning Fireworks
The fourth inning began with a single by
Nathan Church, the first of his career in his collegiate debut, and quickly stealing second to set up
Mike Peabody whose opposite-field single would plate Church and make it a 1-0, UC Irvine (0-1) lead.
Fresno State (1-0) did less manufacturing as Nate Thimjon started the inning with a solo home run to quickly ties things at 1-1. The fifth inning was nearly over before a two-out single bringing Jeff Jamison to the plate as he launched a home run of his own giving the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead.
Late Opportunities
The final frames were the 'Eaters looking to get back even with the Bulldogs. After being quieted in the sixth and seventh, UCI got runners to second and third in the eighth, but a
Riley Kasper strikeout ended the threat.
The ninth inning began with
Mike Peabody strutting around the bases from a walk, wild pitch, and a balk standing at third base with one out. A strikeout and flyout ended the game as a 3-1 defeat.
Final Score: Fresno State 3, UC Irvine 1
The offense was at a premium with just nine hits between the two teams and three of the four from Fresno State coming around to score. Palmer at the leadoff spot was only player with a 2-hit game. Church, Peabody, and pinch-hitter
Konnor Zickefoose accounted for the other three.
Anteater starter
Trenton Denholm was the hard-luck loser allowing three earned runs on three hits, two walks, and six strikeouts over 5.2 innings. Bulldog starter Jaime Arias scored the win from six, three-hit innings.
Welcome to the Club
A lot of firsts came down in the season opener.
Josh Ibarra tossed the final 1.1 innings of the game retiring all four hitters he faced with one strikeout in the mix.
Dylan Riddle completed the pitching line, his 51st career appearance, going a scoreless inning with one hit.
In the starting lineup were three new Anteaters.
Riley Kasper and
Taishi Nakawake made their Anteater debuts after transferring from junior college and lined up in the middle infield.
Nathan Church was the lone starting freshman playing right field, and he produced his first career hit, stolen base, and run.
Two more Anteaters made their debuts off the bench.
Jake Cosgrove entered as a pinch-runner after redshirting last season. He finished the game as the third baseman.
Connor McGuire came in as a shortstop in the ninth inning, but is still waiting for his first career at-bat.
What Else Happened
UCI began their 42nd season as a program Friday night, it now stands 24-17-1 in season openers --- UCI is now 11-8 all-time on Valentine's Day, 2-3 when the season opens on Valentine's Day --- Today was the 50th Anniversary of UC Irvine Baseball's first ever game back in 1970 when they swept a doubleheader at UC Riverside ---
Trenton Denholm failed to record six innings, something he only did twice in 2019 in his first two starts of the season (4 IP vs. Washington, 5 IP at Rice) --- Head Coach
Ben Orloff is now 0-2 all-time in season openers
Up Next
Game two of the series comes Saturday, February 15, with first pitch at 2:05 p.m. Junior
Peter Van Loon gets the start for UCI making his program debut. The game will not be available to watch, and is only available on the radio online at kuci.org
