Road Trip Heads to Stanford for Four Games

Friday, March 12

Stanford, Calif.

2:05 PM

UC Irvine

Stanford

Road Trip Heads to Stanford for Four Games

March 09, 2021 | Baseball

Game Notes

By: Alex Croteau

This Week in Anteater Baseball

UC Irvine Anteaters (5-4)
at Stanford Cardinal (7-1)
Klein Field at the Sunken Diamond (4,000) - Stanford, Calif.

Game Notes

Friday, March 12 - 2:05 PM
RHP Trenton Denholm (0-0, 2.89) vs. RHP Branden Beck (1-0, 6.35)
Video: Pac-12 Live Stream
Stanford Radio: KZSU
Live Stats

Saturday, March 13 - Doubleheader Game 1 - 1:05 PM
LHP Nick Pinto (0-1, 5.84) vs. LHP Quinn Mathews (1-0, 1.59)
Video: Pac-12 Live Stream
Stanford Radio: KZSU
Live Stats

Saturday, March 13 - Doubleheader Game 2 - 5:05 PM
TBD vs. TBD
Video: Pac-12 Live Stream
Live Stats

Sunday, March 14 - 1:05 PM
TBD vs. TBD
Video: Pac-12 Live Stream
Stanford Radio: KZSU
Live Stats

Broadcast Information

Video
Stanford Pac-12 Live Stream - Pac-12.com will live stream all four games on the weekend.

Radio
KUCI 88.9 FM with Mark Roberts - There will be no KUCI broadcast during the Stanford series. Stanford student radio KZSU will broadcast games on Friday and Sunday as well as Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader.

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

40 - UCI takes on its third Pac-12 opponent this season already with a 4-2 record against Washington and UCLA. Overall, the program has a 94-76 record against the conference since 2002. Under head coach Ben Orloff, the team is 13-8 against Pac-12 programs. This weekend's trip to Stanford will be the first meeting of the programs in 40 years (1981). Stanford won all four meetings between them from 1972-1981 including three at Stanford.

12 - The Anteaters will play a four-game weekend series vs. Stanford, right in the middle of 12 straight road games. It also marks the first of 11 four-game weekend series through the rest of 2021 with Saturday doubleheaders scheduled for each. The academic institutions match up the same week Finals begin for the Anteaters.

#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

UCI dropped its second straight series losing two of three at UC Riverside. It maintained a winning record at 5-4 and finished the weekend with its first road win. Head Coach Ben Orloff also took home his 50th career win Sunday evening.

UCI enters the weekend trip to Stanford 94-76 against the Pac-12 since 2002. Under head coach Ben Orloff, his teams are 13-8 against the Pac-12 under his coaching.

UCI and Stanford meet for the first time in 40 years. Stanford won all four meetings between the two from 1972-1981, three times coming at Stanford. The last matchup came March 25, 1981 in Irvine with the Cardinal victorious, 10-2. Three of the four previous meetings came at Stanford

Offense was the theme in Riverside with the 'Eaters hitting .291 as a team with 12 and 14 hits in each end of Sunday's doubleheader. The 'Eaters scored 27 runs, more than the 25 runs over the first six games of 2021. The 'Eaters mashed nine doubles, two triples, and its first home run of the season doubling their total triples and more than doubling the doubles total.

On the basepaths, UCI continued to be successful swiping eight of nine stolen base attempts. On the season, the 'Eaters have stolen 14 bases in 20 attempts ranking them 47th nationally, and already topping the stolen base total from 16 games of 2020 (10).

Leading the way on offense was Nathan Church driving home six on the weekend including four in Game 2 on Sunday. He had five hits, three for extra bases, while scoring four times and stealing two more bases to add to his team high of five. He has continued his on-base streak now at 14 games spanning every game of his career.

Luke Spillane broke out with six hits including two doubles in Sunday's Game 2 and adding two RBI and a stolen base, and now holds the team lead batting .333. Jake Palmer busted out of his slump hitting .444 and scoring four times, and has built streak of six games with a hit and 14 on base. He doubled twice, reached four times through walks and hit by pitch, stole two bases, and did not strikeout out of the leadoff spot. Taishi Nakawake continues to shine getting a hit and RBI in each game in the series.

Newcomers had plus weekends starting with Justin Torres popping the team's first home run of 2021 and the first of his Division I career. He scored a run in each game, and has reached base in each of his last five games. Woody Hadeen scored three times in Sunday's win and added a stolen base. Dillon Tatum put up his first career hit and RBI in Sunday's win as well. Thomas McCaffrey made his debut Sunday in Game 1 starting at catcher and going 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Pitching took a hit allowing 28 runs and a .358 average. The staff does have double-digit strikeout performances in six of nine games, and the team has yet to lose (4-0) when striking out 11 or more.

Michael Frias continues to dominate allowing one baserunner in 2.2 innings with two strikeouts. He has stranded all five runners he's inherited, and allowed a .118 opponent batting average on the year. Josh Ibarra bounced back after giving up the game-winning hit Saturday by firing 3.1 shutout innings of relief with six strikeouts and earning the win. Trenton Denholm had his best outing of 2021 allowing one earned run in 5.1 innings without a walk and a team-high eight strikeouts in 2021. Two 'Eaters made their season debuts with Andre Antone striking his first two batters out in two scoreless innings. Michael Stanford made his UCI debut allowing two runs in an inning, but getting two strikeouts and recording a hold.

In the national rankings, UCI stands in the top 50 in sacrifice bunts (2nd), triples (15th), hit by pitch (15th), double plays (25th), and stolen bases (47th). UCI is atop the Big West in double plays, triples, and sacrifice bunts. Individual Anteaters that show up nationally are Jacob King, 13th with his six outings, Jake Palmer, 10th with three sacrifice bunts and 138th striking out once every 10.7 at-bats, and Michael Frias, 74th with a 0.77 WHIP and 43rd allowing 3.48 hits per nine innings which tops the Big West.

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 eight times. In those series, the 'Eaters have won 3 of 4 three times, lost 3 of 4 three times, and split two series. None have finished in a sweep of wins or losses.

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

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 Friday, March 6 - "We have to stay away from the big inning. Anybody can look at the box score and see that we got walked-off on and lost in the bottom of the 9th, but you give up 4 in the third, and that's a big difference in the game."

"We were not good at all offensively. We got 5 in the fourth and that was a good answer, but a lot of that was self-inflicted. We've got to get it going, take better at-bats, guys that are in there have to hit better, and we've got to find other guys to put in there and get us hits."

"Trenton was better. It's good to see him healthy and out there longer. He threw the ball well in spurts. They got some hits and took good at-bats in spurts, too. It's good to see him healthy and continue to get stretched out."

Ben Postgame Sunday, March 7 - "Riverside can play offensive. We saw that this weekend with all the hits, too many free passes, not enough good defense, and crooked-number innings. I'm proud of how we battled, and we're glad the weekend is over."

"We did better at the plate. We ran the bases better and got some big hits like Spillane who had a big day. Torres hit a big home run in that first game that made them use all the relievers they like which allowed us to score more runs off their others in Game 2. That inning last game played a big factor the second game."

"Frias was good again yesterday. In Game 2 today, Ibarra was huge with 3+ innings. King threw the ball really good at the end, but Ibarra doing what he did put us in position to not only finish the game but win it."

"It's good for us to get on the road and get a doubleheader and deal with hotels and travel. I thought we were a bit lethargic yesterday having to sit around in a hotel, so I think it's good to get used to it. Hopefully we can play better next weekend because of it."

STANFORD CARDINAL
Stanford got its 2021 season underway a week after UC Irvine, but it's starting strong at 7-1 after two four-game weekends that split between sites against Santa Clara and San Francisco.
1981 was the last time these two schools met. Prior to that, the pair had only met in single games starting in 1972 and again in 1975 and 1977 with all three at Stanford going in the favor of the Cardinal. The 1981 matchup was back in Irvine, however the series falls heavily to Stanford winning all four all-time meetings. The series reprise will be four games in the first weekend series of the matchup

In 2020, the Cardinal started slow at 5-11 which included a series loss to Cal State Fullerton, series win over Grand Canyon, and a midweek victory over Michigan. Head Coach David Esquer is in his fourth season with the program posting a pair of 40-plus wins seasons and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 and 2019.

The Cardinal were picked to finish fifth in the Pac-12. So far, they've packed a powerful offensive punch ranking atop the Pac-12 in stolen bases (19) and home runs (14) along with a top-50 scoring offense with 7.9 runs per game. Brock Jones is coming off National Player of the Week honors going 8-for-18 with three home runs among six extra-base hits. The offense as a whole is hitting .289 with Christian Robinson and Vincent Martinez hitting over .400 and big numbers from Jones (15 RBIs, 10 runs) and Tim Tawa (6 runs).

The pitching comes in with an ERA of nearly 6.00, but some bright spots like starters Brendan Beck (14 Ks in 11.1 IP) and Quinn Mathews (1.59 ERA). Zach Grech in the closer role has been dominant with 12 strikeouts and no walks along with three saves. The defense has been a positive with six errors in eight games ranking Stanford top 50 nationally in fielding.