Baseball Begins Big West at UC Davis

Friday, March 19

Davis, Calif.

2:30 PM

UC Irvine

UC Davis

Photo by: Matt Brown

Baseball Begins Big West at UC Davis

March 17, 2021 | Baseball

Game Notes

By: Alex Croteau

UC IRVINE ANTEATERS (6-7, 0-0) AT UC DAVIS AGGIES (5-9, 0-0)
March 19-21, 2021 // Phil Swimley Field at Dobbins Stadium - Davis, Calif.

Game Notes

Friday, March 19 - 2:30 PM
RHP Trenton Denholm (0-1, 4.30) vs. RHP Jake Spillane (1-1, 4.43)
Bigwest.TV Live Stream
Live Stats

Saturday, March 20
Game 1 - 12:00 PM
LHP Nick Pinto (0-1, 4.42) vs. LHP Zach Carrell (1-0, 2.50)
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Live Stats

Game 2 - 3:00 PM
RHP Michael Frias (2-0, 1.76) vs. RHP Nolan Meredith (1-2, 6.46)
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Live Stats

Sunday, March 21 - 1:00 PM
RHP Peter Van Loon (1-1, 4.97) vs. TBD
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Live Stats

Around The Horn
34 - Head Coach Ben Orloff is the youngest coach on the West Coast, 1 of 10 coaches in the nation under the age of 34
1 - The 'Eater defense averages 1 double play per game, leading the Big West and 12th in the NCAA turning 13
40 - UCI begins conference play with the first of 10 four-game weekend series adding up to 40 Big West games
9 - 2021 has featured 9 Anteaters making their collegiate debut, and seven games have featured a debut

LEADING OFF
+ The Anteaters defeated Stanford for the first time despite dropping three of four over the weekend. UCI is now 5-5 against the Pac-12 this season, 95-78 vs. the conference since 2002, and 14-11 under head coach Ben Orloff
+ Michael Frias continues to shine on the mound earning the win in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader. The third-year pitcher made his first weekend start no-hitting Stanford for five innings. He leads the team with a 1.76 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 15.1 IP
+ The long ball made an appearance after just one for UCI in its first nine contests. Third-year Sam Ireland and JC transfer Dillon Tatum each slugged their first career HRs for UCI as the 'Eaters contributed to the six home runs over the weekend
+ Off the bench, the 'Eaters had some standout performances. Bullpen arms Tanner Brooks, Dylan Riddle, and Jacob King each tossed at least two scoreless innings on the weekend. Thomas McCaffrey started a Sunday rally with a pinch-hit RBI double. He reached in three of the four games on the weekend and produced doubles for each of his hits
+ Key Anteaters were missing from the lineup against Stanford with Jake Palmer, Peter Van Loon, and John Vergara all on the mend. Mike Peabody joined them until surfacing Sunday as the DH and contributing two hits including a double

THIS WEEKEND
Big West play begins with a trip to UC Davis. The 'Eaters swept the Aggies in the last meeting at home in 2019 and have won seven of the last 10 meetings. UC Davis did take two of three in the last series at Dobbins Stadium back in 2018. The Aggies come into the weekend 5-9 after splitting four games at home with Pepperdine.
UC Irvine has begun Big West play against each Big West school except UC Davis until 2021. UCI has won 10 of 16 Big West opening series and won the opener of that series 11 times. The Anteaters are 5-4 in series when they open Big West play on the road including 2019 and their trip to Hawai'i. UCI is coming off a 17-7 second-place finish in the conference back in 2019.
For every Big West series this season, UCI's opponent will play UC Santa Barbara the following week. UC Irvine's opponent the next week will always be fresh off a series against Long Beach State.

A LOOK BACK
UCI and Stanford faced off for the first time in 40 years. The 'Eaters took home Game Two of a Saturday doubleheader, 5-1, but dropped three of the other four games. The series was the first four-game weekend series since 2018 for UCI who expects to play 10 more during conference play.

In the national rankings, UCI stands second in sacrifice bunts (15), 12th averaging a double play per game, 27th in hit by pitch (22), and 46th with four triples. Among Big West schools, the 'Eaters rank second in fielding at .970 and with 23 doubles

Michael Frias leads the nationally-ranked Anteaters standing 11th in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings (2.35) and 16th in WHIP (0.59), both tops in the Big West. He enters with streaks of 12.2 innings without a run allowed and 11.1 consecutive hitless frames led by his five no-hit innings in his win Saturday over Stanford, and will get a chance to extend those streaks as the starter for Game 2 Saturday.

The Anteater offense were led by Justin Torres and Luke Spillane against Stanford with four hits each. Spillane also had the team's two stolen bases, and is the Anteater batting leader at .306 to this point. A third of the Anteater hits went for doubles including a pair by Thomas McCaffrey, one that drove in a run as a pinch-hitter. Nathan Church had three more RBIs to give him a team-high 11 on the year. His streak of reaching base in the first 15 games of his career ended Saturday.

Pitching fared well outside a few home run innings allowing 4.5 runs a game. Nick Pinto put up a quality start getting a no-decision on one run over six innings and the team-high five strikeouts on the weekend.

More Anteater debuts came about this weekend at Stanford. Tanner Brooks had a successful debut allowing one baserunner in his two outings lasting 2.2 innings with four strikeouts. Cameron Wheeler came in and shutdown a bases-loaded situation to get his only hitter making his first appearance in his third year. Abraham Garcia-Pacheco entered as a pinch-hitter Friday unsuccessful in two at-bats. Sam Ireland made his 2021 debut with a bang smashing his first career home run and scoring a run in all three games he played

This weekend will be a four-game series featuring a Saturday doubleheader. Of the final 12 weekend series, 11 will be four-gamers with Saturday doubleheaders. In the program's history, UCI has played four-game weekend series nine times. In those series, the 'Eaters have won 3 of 4 three times, lost 3 of 4 four times, and split two series.

Since 2002, UCI baseball has been involved in 25 doubleheaders including this past weekend at UC Riverside. UCI has split 13 of those doubleheaders including four of the last five. The 'Eaters have swept doubleheaders eight times and been swept three times. A majority of the doubleheaders have been on the road with UCI winning sweeping four times, being swept three times, and splitting nine. The Anteaters have been more successful in the second game of a doubleheader at 17-8 while going 13-12 in Game 1.

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

Ben Postgame Friday, March 12 - "That's a Friday night game. Their guy threw the ball well, you get limited opportunities, and if you don't take advantage of those opportunities, you end up on the short side of 4-1."

"We've talked about the depth we have this year and the need to play multiple guys. We have some guys banged up so it's a good opportunity for a lot of guys. You see McCaffrey whose been awesome ever since we've started playing him, and that was awesome to see out of Tanner Brooks. We think he can be good, he's shown some flashes of it, and to see him do that has been encouraging."

"We talked about it after UCLA - if we play well, we can play with and beat anyone in the country. This is a good Stanford team, if we play well, I like our chances. We're excited and glad we've got three more opportunities."

Ben Postgame Saturday, March 13 - "Pinto and Frias were both great. Pinto keeps making strides, and he looks like the guy that I've said could be a Friday night starter. He gave another one of those starts today. Frias has arguably been our best pitcher. He starts today and goes five, and he did an unbelievable job for us."

"The story of the day is how we pitched. For 17 of the 18 innings, we really kind of had our way. Offensively, Ireland hit that home run and gave us a bit of a jolt. Tatum got that three-run inning started with a home run. This place plays offensive, and both those guys really haven't had a lot of opportunities to play. For them to get a chance to play and hit a home run, it's easy for the guys to excited and its a good sign."

"This win doesn't have any additional significance other than winning against an historical, great program. A lot of the guys on this Cardinal team, the seniors, are something like 91-24, so it's a good team. It feels good to beat a good team and do it on the road, and we hope for a good performance tomorrow."

"Sunday will be a lot more of what we saw today. I think its kind of the strength of our team, the pitching depth and the defense. That was on full display today and it will have to be again tomorrow. I think we're really going to be able to make up some ground this year because of those two things. I think our pitchers 8 through 12 and our ability to play defense is at a high level, and I'm hoping it's on display tomorrow."

Ben Postgame Sunday, March 14 - "That what our team does, we play hard for nine innings. A couple times being down big like we were today and once in the Riverside series, I feel like we competed for nine innings. The frustration is the inability to get stops in those first three innings. It feels like a blowout, and then you look up at the end of the game and its 8-6."

"When we play good, we can beat anybody. Offensively, we have to start stringing together more at-bats and scoring more runs. We can't pitch and play defense at a high enough level if we don't score. It was good to see Tanner Brooks pitch good twice, looked like he could be a guy. Wheeler got into a game for the first time, McCaffrey had a good weekend, Tatum hit a home run, so those were some of the bright spots to be encouraged about. We're not interested in playing it tight, we've got to play better, and I think the pieces are here."

"That's part of why we schedule how we schedule, to test ourselves before league starts. Now it's 0-0 and we'll be on a bus to play UC Davis who had some good results against Pepperdine, so 0-0 and here we go, on to the Big West Conference."

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."

UC DAVIS AGGIES
UC Davis is 5-9 to start out 2021 recently splitting a four-game series with Pepperdine. They've also played series against Washington State, losing three of four, Cal Baptist in which they were swept, and their lone series win against Portland. This series will end the stretch of 18 straight home games to start their 2021 season.

In 2020, the Aggies were doing well at 9-7winning series against Utah, North Dakota State, and Mount St. Mary's with a series loss to LMU. For UC Davis, they have played eight straight series at home and 27 of their last 30 games at Dobbins Field going 13-14 in those games.

Big West play begins this week premiering its new look with 11 schools and 10 four-game weekend series. The Aggies were picked to finish eighth in the preseason coaches poll. UC Davis reached its lone NCAA Tournament in its inaugural Big West year in 2008. The program has finished sixth or lower in every season outside of the 2012 fifth-place finish, and only once have they finished higher than the 'Eaters in 2017.

The Aggies lose a key hitter in 2019 Big West Field Player of the year in Tanner Murray. Making up for his loss are Michael Campagna and Jalen Smith both hitting near .350. Smith tops the team with 18 hits, 15 runs, and Big West-leading eight stolen bases. Cooper Morrison joins them with two HRs each and Kyler Arenado paces the squad with 11 RBIs on a team with a collective .245 batting average and scoring 4.3 runs a game.

The pitching has taken a hit with a 5.12 ERA. Starter Zach Carrell has shone with a 2.50 ERA in four starts and a team high 18 strikeouts. Luke Spillane's brother, Jake, has also made four starts with one win and a 4.43 ERA. Others have been notable out of the pen with Tim Wieser (3.18 in 5 games), Nathan Peng (11 K, 2 saves, 9 IP), and Kaden Riccomini (1 save, 3.46) likely to throw.