Broadcast Information
 
Video
Bigwest.TV with Mark Roberts. All home games will be broadcasted over Bigwest.TV and ucirvinesports.com. Games at UCLA Friday and Sunday will be live streamed via UCLA and the Pac-12 Network
 
Radio
KUCI 88.9 FM with Mark Roberts. All games also available live on the internet at kuci.org and ucirvinesports.com.
 
Game Updates
All UC Irvine baseball games can be followed via live stats with links found on ucirvinesports.com and the UCI Athletics app. Each game is also live tweeted at @UCIbsb

Around The Horn

93 - The sweep over the weekend of Washington gives UCI a record of 93-74 against Pac-12 opponents since 2002. UCI has won 13 of their last 20 series against Pac-12 schools. The 'Eaters meet up with UCLA this weekend for a three-game series for just the second time, the other coming in 2016 when they also split locations. UCI won the opener at UCLA before dropping the final two

8th - UCI takes on UCLA this week who began the season No. 2 and fell to 8th for this matchup. UCI is receiving votes in some polls and even ranked according to the 11.7 Podcast which also as UCI No. 2 among mid-majors. All-time, UCI has 82 wins against ranked foes, 21 against Pac-12 programs, 6-4 against teams that are No. 8, and is 5-13 against ranked UCLA teams

#19 - The Anteaters lost a massive member of their family when former head coach Mike Gillespie passed away on July 29 at the age of 80. He spent 46 years as a head coach, 31 years on the Division I level where he won 1,156 games and a national title in 1998, and is the all-time winningest coach in UCI history with 393 victories and has his #19 retired as the only one recognized by the program which hangs on the RF wall
 
The Anteaters opened 2021 with a sweep of Pac-12 power Washington. It's provided first season-opening win for head coach Ben Orloff in his three seasons. Since 2002, the 'Eaters have won 14 of 26 weekend series against Pac-12 schools including 13 of the last 20 and 3 of 4 since head coach Ben Orloff took over. The sweep marks the third time since 2002 UCI has done so against a Pac-12 school joining home sweeps of No. 8 Washington in 2005 and Washington State in 2019.

UC Irvine added Washington midweek after Fresno State had to cancel their trip. The addition of UW makes four weekend series against Pac-12 schools on UCI's season joining UCLA this coming week, Stanford in mid-march, and Oregon State on April. Since 2002, the 'Eaters hold a record 93-74 against Pac-12 programs. Against Washington, each team has won four series, but UCI holds the 17-14 all-time record.

Anteater pitching ran the show with a 2.33 ERA. Anteater starters allowed one run over 12 innings. Peter Van Loon stretched his shutout streak to 11.1 innings winning his third straight start. Nick Pinto did not receive a decision in his first weekend start, but shut out UW with five strikeouts. Trenton Denholm was lifted with an injury after one inning.

The bullpen went over and above led by a pair of saves by Josh Ibarra, wins for John Vergara and Jacob King, and an impressive long-relief performance by Michael Frias shutting down a tough situation he fell into and posting career highs of seven strikeouts and five innings. Gordon Ingebritson allowed just one unearned run in a pair of appearances. Sixth-year lefty Dylan Riddle added to his active lead in games pitched tossing 0.2 scoreless innings to his 58th appearance.

Anteater hitting was timely as neither team reached 10 hits in any game in the series. UCI hit .261 compared to Washington's .208. Adrian Damla led all 'Eaters with five hits and .455 average adding an RBI on a go-ahead sacrifice fly in Monday's eighth inning. Connor McGuire led with three RBI all on Saturday from an eighth-inning double and ninth-inning two-run triple sparking a comeback victory. Mike Peabody scored four runs to lead all Anteater along with a pair of doubles. Jake Cosgrove was great with three hits, two runs, and an RBI starting all three games at second base. Taishi Nakawake joined Damla as the only two 'Eaters with a hit in every game adding an RBI. Jacob Castro punched a two-run single putting UCI over the top in Sunday's win.

Nathan Church continues to hit with at least one in all eight of his career starts. He also drove in two, and finished the series off with three walks and three stolen bases, the most by an Anteater player in a game since 2012. The team stole six bases in that game on eight attempts, most since 2008. The team also added six sacrifice hits including four on Sunday and two as safety squeezes, one being successful.

Anteater debuts came from Woody Hadeen who added his first career hit, RBI, and stolen base Monday, Dillon Tatum, who walked in three plate appearances as Monday's starting catcher, and hitters Caden Kendle and Justin Torres who each pinch-hit on Saturday.

UC Irvine took the lead first in every game over the series. Saturday, they gave it up only to storm back and erase a 4-1 deficit entering the eighth. Sunday, the 'Eaters led throughout holding on to a one-run lead late. Monday, the 1-0 lead disintegrated only to see another strong eighth inning give UCI the win.

Fans and 'Eater Nation will also have an adjustment with the season starting with no fans in the stands or on campus due to guidelines set out by the California Department of Public Health along with the county, UC system, and UC Irvine Health.

The program is upping their coverage of games working hard to provide a live video stream of all home games with Mark Roberts on the play-by-play simulcast on the usual KUCI 88.9 FM radio broadcasts. Live tweet updates and live stats will also continue to keep fans tuned in to all Anteater games to give the experience of being at the game all season. Anteater Ballpark and the Athletics Complex, which includes the Mesa Parking Structure, are closed to the public. The issue spectators in attendance will be revisited as the season progresses.

The 2021 schedule is something coach Orloff takes a lot of pride in keeping it together to have the 'Eaters still able to schedule 56 games while making all precautions. The team will not leave California nor will they get onto a plane while taking on elite programs like UCLA, Oregon State, Fresno State, and Stanford who matches up with the 'Eaters for the first time in 40 years.

The 2021 season represents one significant anniversary as it marks the 20th season of Anteater Ballpark. January 25, 2001 was the date of the groundbreaking of the new ballpark and the return of the program. While the 20th anniversary of that date passed last month, the 2021 season marks the 20th season UCI baseball is played on its grounds. Since its erection in 2002, the 'Eaters hold a record of 348-183.

Thoughts from Head Coach Ben Orloff

On the 2020 cancelation - "I can remember the day the announcement came out and having to address the team. We were getting conflicting reports that week, but when it finally came out that the season got canceled and you have to tell the team, you see the hurt in guys' faces who may have played their last game at Irvine or last game ever."

On the UCI 2021 roster - "You just know over the course of the season, somebody is going to be unavailable or a group will need to be shut down, it's just inevitable. We will need lots of players with all the challenges, and we have the smallest roster in the Big West putting out 38. This year is also unique in the sense that there's so many guys that normally would not be here either because of the draft or graduation."

On games without spectators in 2021 -  "For the fans, I hope they continue to follow us. We're really excited about the schedule that we have. No midweeks, we still have 10 Pac-12 games, all the sacrifice that the kids have made to get to this point, we're looking forward to being one of those teams with players that are going to be a lot better from February to April."

On the 2021 Schedule - "We came out with a 56-game schedule, which, in a pandemic, has taken a lot of work and rework. We're not leaving the state and not getting on an airplane. Our league deciding to do four-game weekends is something I wanted a lot. Throughout this, I've wanted to play the most games and the most innings, and that's what we got. 56 games has a big significance because it could get canceled like we've seen with other sports. I think that's important for me, for our kids, and for the team. The quality of opponents is still really good. Especially during the pandemic, I'm really proud of the schedule that we have. We're looking forward to a lot of baseball. We're excited for the challenge, and we all want and love to play. I don't think we can have enough games or innings. Let's play."

On practicing in the fall and prior to the season - "In the fall, we had 18 days with small groups. We played no inter-squad games, just eight 4-to-5 person pods. It was very skill-based, not much team stuff. In January, we were in small groups until we pulled the tarp off the field on January 28. That was the first time the whole team has been on the same field together, before that we had to try and get creative. Since the 30th, we've been as a team having normal-ish practices. We've played eight inter-squads, and they have been telling for the stuff we haven't practiced and game-type stuff that comes up. We still have a lot of ground to cover before opening day, and once we get playing, keep learning and trying to get better."

On leadership roles - "It's been really hard these past months because we've only been a team for two weeks, but you see some of the older players really trying to help some of the new guys get stuff. Position players like Palmer and Peabody are trying to help the new guys get it, and Denholm on the pitching side. It's been much needed because of how little we've been on the field. In a year like this, the smart teams that know what they're supposed to do and can handle the situations even with a lack of practice time, those are the teams that do well. The teams that get better once the season starts, you'll look up in April and they'll have a better record than the other guys."

On the rotation - "The first weekend will be how we planned to finish last year – Denholm-Van Loon-Pinto. They've been the best guys, especially Van Loon has taken the biggest jump forward. He's a lot more physical, his stuff has ticked up a bit. He had an arm injury that ended his sophomore year at junior college so he's just kind of continued to distance himself from that. He's been really good, and probably on the whole team has taken the biggest improvement from last year."

On bullpen depth - "It Takes All Of Us - I joke with our guys about that NFL slogan, but we're going to need that depth once we get to four-game weekends. The guys at the end of the game will be the same in John Vergara and Josh Ibarra. One of the guys that's emerged that will pitch a lot is Jacob King. He's developed a slider that's made him a lot better and will be one of the best guys out of the bullpen and pitch a lot. Gordon Ingebritson is in the mix, Troy Wentworth is improved, Michael Frias has looked good the last few weeks after missing the fall. Andre Antone is now a pitcher-only. He went through Tommy John in high school right when he was starting to get good, but still never got to focus on pitching being a two-way guy. Now, that's all he's focusing on, and he's thrown the ball decent. In terms of pitching, what's different about the schedule is no Tuesday games so I think the lack of opportunity that some guys might get in the first three weeks of the season will be there."

Ben Postgame Saturday, February 20 - "It's great to win, especially like that on opening day. There's not a lot of times in the course of the season where you come from behind, you beat the other team's closer, you walk-off, you have the excitement; that was pretty special."

"McGuire took a huge at-bat. He's been swinging the bat really well since we've been back. Sheck was good for us last year. He was the only left-hander left for us on the bench, but we knew he was going to get into the game at some point if we were chasing runs, and he made us look pretty good."

"Sheck gets dogpiled, but Frias is the hero. For Frias to do what he did, to give us a chance to win tonight and a chance the next two nights, this game could have been crippling for the entire weekend if it not for the bullpen."

Ben Postgame Sunday, February 21 - "Van Loon has been great. That sixth inning he got a little tired, that's the longest he's gone. Ever since we've come back from our break, he's been the one guy on the roster that's made the biggest strides from where he was at last year to now. That's really saying something because he was off to a great start last year. He was really good today and we're going to see a lot of that throughout the year."

"McGuire made a big-time play in a big-time spot. He and Taishi can do that. There's not many places in the country that has a better defensive left side of the infield than us."

"Ibarra and Vergara were doing that last year. First outing of the year is always tough. Vergara was really good in the seventh, then a long inning sitting down, and then we don't want to start an inning walk-hit batter-hit batter. But when we've got the lead with those two guys after six, the game will be over."

"Cosgrove has been doing this for a couple weeks now, ever since we've been back. He's very competitive, he works hard, he wants to perform and succeed. There's no fear. It's good to see him play well. We need him, and he's been huge these last two days and why we've won."

Ben Postgame Monday, February 22 - "Runs were at a premium all weekend for both sides. Peabody is one of the best runners on the team, experienced, third time we've seen Bloebaum on the mound. We had the right guys, right combination, and we executed well."

"Trying to manufacture and score runs, we want to be a complete offense that can win in a bunch of different ways. What we saw on video and from the last two days, we were trying to take advantage of some stuff on the bases."

"Peabody is a really dynamic player that can help us win a lot of different ways. When he's hitting the ball like his last at-bat against a tough left-on-left matchup is huge for that inning."

"Pinto was great. He pitched out of those two first inning jams and showed us something in the first. I've said it since that USC start, he's a Friday-night guy waiting to happen. He keeps getting better and is really good."

"Relievers sometimes have to have a short memory. We've put an emphasis on relievers about needing to go back-to-back days and multiple times on a weekend with the way our schedule is this year. Both Ibarra and Vergara yesterday after the game told Bibona they wanted to pitch again today, and we want them out there."
 
UCLA BRUINS
The 2021 Bruins had a rough start to their season dropping two of three to San Francisco at home as the unanimous No. 2 team in the country. The Dons took the opener, 6-2, on late runs, the Bruins evened the series jumping out with the first eight runs to win 8-2, and then losing an early lead to fall, 8-3, and drop them considerably in the rankings in some polls. The Bruins remain as high as No. 8 and got back in the win column Tuesday by downing LMU at home, 5-2.

In 2020, the Bruins were rolling at 13-2 before the shutdown including three wins vs. UCR and a loss to UCSB in Big West action. The 'Eaters have played UCLA tough splitting the last six meetings between them, however, UCLA won each midweek in 2019 as the nation's No. 1 team. All-time, UCI is 32-56-1 vs. UCLA and 5-13 when the Bruins are ranked like they will be this weekend. It will be the second weekend set in this series joining 2016 when UCLA won 2 of 3

The 2021 offense is led by top draft prospect Matt McLain who hit .455 over the weekend with the team's only home run and three RBIs. Jack Filby had three hits and three runs while Mikey Perez was lethal with a pair of doubles and three runs scored. Veteran Kevin Kendall had the team's two steals along with three hits and two RBIs

Pitching has always been their strength. Jesse Bergin stepped up with 6.2 one-hit innings on Saturday. Nick Nastrini struck out 11 in a losing quality start. Friday starter, Jared Karros had a tough luck loss allowing three runs in five innings, and yes the name rings a bell as the son of Bruin and Dodger legend, Eric Karros. He played briefly in the shortened 2020 season, and now is joined by his brother, with the bat. The rest of the staff sees players like Jake Saum, Michael Townsend, Daniel Colwell, and Golden Spikes Watch Lister Kyle Mora all make multiple appearances vs. San Francisco. Another prospect, Zach Pettway, is yet to be seen from this season, also.