IRVINE, Calif. --- Trenton Denholm and the UC Irvine Anteaters shut down the Rice Owls Friday night with a 10-1 win in the home opener at Anteater Ballpark.

Duel on the Diamond
Things began full of pitching as starters Trenton Denholm and Roel Garcia had the game scoreless through two innings. Both pitchers combined to strike out five hitters, and Garcia weathered a pair of hit batsmen to set the tone.

Offense Engaged
The Anteaters (2-3) found their bats in the third inning as Rice (0-4) went to the bullpen for righty Alex DeLeon. Taishi Nakawake got things going with a looping double for his first career hit which led to RBI singles by Jake Palmer, Taishi Nakawake, and Adrian Damla to suddenly make it a 3-0 UCI lead.

The runs kept steadily flowing after that starting with Griffin Mazur's RBI double in the fifth for a 4-0 lead. UCI doubled their advantage in the sixth on another looping RBI hit from Damla, and then the big blow came from Mike Peabody who got under and ball and lifted it around the left field foul pole for a two-run shot and the 8-0 Anteater lead.

Denholm Dealing
All the while, Denholm did not miss a beat as the offense heated up around him. He did walk the leadoff hitting in the fourth, and then hit Aaron Beaulaurier in the hands with one out in the sixth, but that was it. His pitch count rose to 99 pitches by the time his night ended in the seventh inning, but he did it all without allowing a hit leaving with a no-hitter intact and a 10-0 lead.

Hitting the Wall
The Anteater bullpen was called upon to try and keep the no-hitter going as Dylan Riddle stepped in. He allowed a walk to start it, but got the next two hitters out. He was nearly through his eighth inning, but Beaulaurier returned to double in the gap and end the no-hitter after 7.2 innings. The Owls later ended the shutout on a wild pitch to the next hitter.

Final Score: UC Irvine 10, Rice 1
The offense and pitching had equal hands in the victory. Denholm continued to cook Rice as he built off his five no-hit innings against them in 2019 and added seven no-hit innings in 2020. Riddle allowed the double, and Jacob King made his Anteater Ballpark debut giving up a bloop double, but the trio ended up with a two-hitter, the program's first two-hitter since March of 2019 at Missouri State.

The offense was highlighted by Peabody's blast, the second of his career and first in Anteater Ballpark. He scored twice along with Jake Palmer, and each had two-RBI nights joined by Damla. Five Anteaters registered multiple hits toward their 12-hit total.

Beaulaurier was the extent of the Rice offense as the only Owl to reach base twice. Eric Benitez had a hit and Justin Dunlap scored a run after each came off the bench. DeLeon drew the loss after allowing six run in 3.2 innings, and each bullpen arm, Garrett Zaskoda and Mathew Santos, each allowed a pair of runs in their appearances.

Words from Trenton
"Getting back to fastball command and height, being able to stay down in the zone. My changeup was decent, the curveball was not very good, so I think just attacking fastballs with good location.

This is definitely up there with one of my best performances. I actually threw a no-hitter in high school so that's another that's up there for sure.

I mean I just love pitching at home. Last week, giving up two bombs in a much smaller where the ball flies so I think pitching here at home makes it easier to go right at guys and good luck getting it over someone's head here."

On To The Next
UC Irvine and Rice continue their series on Saturday, February 22, with another 6:00 p.m. start time between starters Peter Van Loon and Blake Brogdon.