IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine baseball returns for the second half of conference play in the Big West with Black and Blue rival Long Beach State coming to Anteater Ballpark. The 'Eaters are coming off a competitive series win over Pac-12 leader Oregon State. Long Beach State enters 10-10 in conference play on the rise after a home series split with UC Santa Barbara. This weekend will also feature fans in the stands for the weekend again with limited numbers of UC Irvine player-guests and season ticket holders able to watch the series in Anteater Ballpark. No tickets will be sold to the general public.
Anteater Ballpark Fan Information
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| Â Probable Rotation |
| UC Irvine |
vs. |
Long Beach State |
| Pitcher |
Year |
|
Stats |
Day |
Pitcher |
Year |
|
Stats |
| Trenton Denholm |
Jr. |
RHP |
(3-1, 3.52) |
Friday |
Johnathan Lavallee |
Jr. |
RHP |
(4-1, 1.86) |
| Nick Pinto |
Fr. |
LHP |
(4-2, 3.46) |
Sat. Game 1 |
Alfredo Ruiz |
So. |
LHP |
(1-0, 4.91) |
| Michael Frias |
RS-So. |
RHP |
(5-0, 3.09) |
Sat. Game 2 |
Luis Ramirez |
Fr. |
RHP |
(2-3, 4.46) |
| Peter Van Loon |
Jr. |
RHP |
(2-2, 5.40) |
Sunday |
Jack Noble |
So. |
RHP |
(2-2, 3.24) |
Around The Horn
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34Â - Head Coach
Ben Orloff turned
34 last week; he's the 10th-youngest head coach in Division I baseball
56Â - UCI has attempted
56 bunts leading the nation with 40 sacrifices, singling 10 times, and failing just 6 times
6Â - Castro, Damla, Peabody, Riddle, Vergara, and van den Helder mark the
6 graduates over the Winter Quarter
7-6Â - The Anteaters went
7-6 against Pac-12 schools this season. Coach Orloff is now 16-11 in his career vs. Pac-12
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LEADING OFF
+ UC Irvine baseball took part in a wildly competitive and entertaining series winning two of three at home against Oregon State. The 'Eaters led late Friday before the Beavers hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning. UCI battled to tie in the bottom of the ninth against a top-tier closer, but the Beavers came out on top in 11 innings, 7-5. Saturday was more of the same starting with a six-run first inning and UCI leading 9-4 after three innings. OSU battled again to tie it in the eighth, but UCI had the answer as
Dillon Tatum hit his second home run of the day, a walk-off, to even the series, 11-9. Sunday saw Oregon State jump out to the 5-0 lead that UCI quickly erased in the fourth inning. A tie game continued until the 12th inning as sub
Thomas McCaffrey played hero singling home the game-winner to drop the national power, 7-6, and win a pivotal non-conference series.
+ The Anteater walkoff victories in consecutive games mark the third time in program history that has happened. The 'Eaters walked off against UC Santa Barbara April 8-9 in 1998 and then again at the College World Series in 2007 defeating Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State on consecutive days. The 'Eaters in program history have recorded 84 walkoff victories with 15 now against Pac-12 schools.
Dillon Tatum's walkoff home run on Saturday was the first since Andrew Martinez did in 2015 and eighth walkoff home run in team history.
+ The series against Oregon State was as evenly-matched as could be with UCI outscoring the Beavers, 23-22, and each game decided in the final at-bat and two extra-inning contests. Both teams held a lead in each matchup as well. UCI now has nine come-from-behind wins in 2021 of their 24 victories including six at home and five in Big West games.
+ The Anteater offense was tough against an Oregon State pitching staff that entered the weekend with the nation's third-best ERA posting a 5.81 ERA against them. The team hit just .265, but took advantage of big innings the entire lineup led by
Jake Palmer who came into the weekend with two RBIs driving six home including his second career triple.
Nathan Church led the squad most everywhere else with six hits, two of the three doubles, his NCAA-leading seventh triple, and even an outfield assist. Palmer also leads the way with a 12-game hitting streak while
Taishi Nakawake started multiple rallies and scored a team-high five runs boosting his hitting streak at home to 16 games.
Dillon Tatum pounded his second 2-HR game of the year as he continues to lead the Big West in homers.
Thomas McCaffrey kept the catching position strong coming off the bench for his lone at-bat with a walk-off single in the 12th inning Sunday, and he has now reached base in all 12 games he's recorded an at-bat in in his career.
Mike Peabody added a crucial home run parking a ball of OSU's Bryant Salgado who had shutout opponents in 14 appearances.
+ Anteater pitching had bright spots starting with
Trenton Denholm who continues to shine at home allowing a run in seven innings Friday now with a 1.04 ERA in his last 13 home starts. The bullpen showed up in a big way dropping it's season ERA to 3.68.
Jacob King tossed three shutout innings Sunday coming back from a blown save Friday.
Gordon Ingebritson was featured in two decision ending with a win Sunday retiring all six hitters on 20 pitches.
Josh Ibarra left early with an injury, but was pivotal in three effective innings Sunday to keep the game close. Other great bullpen work saw scoreless outings from
Troy Wentworth,
Michael Stanford, and
Peter Van Loon who made his first career relief outing allowing two unearned runs.
Andre Antone was flawless in two outings including getting the final out Saturday for his first career win entering in a ninth-inning tie with the bases loaded and striking out Beaver offensive weapon Ryan Ober.
+ Nationally, the 'Eaters dropped seven sacrifice bunts over the weekend to take the national lead with 40 this season.
Connor McGuire alone had three sacrifice bunts giving him eight this year, 10th in the nation. The team has attempted 56 bunts this season missing just six times while putting down the 40 sacrifices along with 10 bunt singles.
Woody Hadeen and
Taishi Nakawake have three bunt singles each with one from McGuire, Church, Peabody, and
Jake Cosgrove.
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+ The 'Eaters are nationally ranked high in other categories including third in both hit by pitch (80) and triples (17). Elsewhere, UCI is top 50 in fielding percentage (13th), on-base percentage (20th), runs per game (25th), batting average (29th), hits (34th), walks allowed per nine innings (40th), ERA (44th), and shutouts (44th). Within the Big West Conference, UCI commands many of those categories as well leading all schools in batting (.294), fielding (.979(, hit by pitch (80), on-base percentage (.398), sacrifice bunts (40), runs per game (7.4), and triples (17). The 'Eaters rank second in stats like doubles (66), hits (361), home runs (25), runs (266), slugging percentage (.437), and WHIP (1.34).
+ Church leads the national charge for 'Eaters in the rankings continuing to sit atop the nation in triples while also excelling in doubles (18th), hits (23rd), runs per game (36th), hits per game (39th), and total bases (42nd).
Dillon Tatum rose to 21st in the nation in home runs.
Mike Peabody has been hit by pitch 14 times ranking 13th nationally, and ranks 65th in on-base percentage and 93rd in runs per game.
Jacob Castro stands 38th nationally in on-base percentage and 65th in batting. On the pitching side,
Michael Frias still sits 65th in wins and WHIP, and two relievers rank 24th (
Jacob King) and 64th (
Gordon Ingebritson) in games pitched this season.
+ Anteater career records are nearing for some student-athletes.
Trenton Denholm will make his 44th start sitting solely in 11th all-time. He's among the Anteater top 20 with 18 career wins and 212 strikeouts.
Adrian Damla now has 185 career games played jumping a pair of players last weekend now 18th all-time. He is the active leader in games along with hits (147), doubles (26), and RBIs (87).
Mike Peabody was plunked for the 38th time in his career. He's nearing the top of the list occupied by his head coach
Ben Orloff at 43 where he is 1 of 3 Anteaters with 40 HBP all-time.
Dillon Tatum's became the sixth Anteater with a 10-HR season over the weekend. He's approaching rarified air sitting three behind
Brandon Lewis and Cody Cipriano each with 14 in a season for the most in a UCI season.
Dylan Riddle's next appearance will make him the 15th Anteater with 70 career games pitched.
+ UCI finished non-conference against Oregon state finishing with an 8-8 record, 7-6 against Pac-12 programs. Under coach Orloff, UCI is 16-11 against the Pac-12, and have a 97-80 record against the conference since the program returned in 2002.
UC Irvine's Mike Peabody Surprised by His Success - Orange County Register
UC Irvine Baseball in First Place, but A Tough Road Lies Ahead - Orange County Register
THIS WEEKEND
The Anteaters and Beavers play a three-game series, just the fourth for UCI and first since early March. Oregon State makes its first trip to UCI ever, and first to a Big West school since 2021.
The programs have met just five times, one in the regular season coming in 1972, a UCI neutral-site win. UCI lost to OSU in a College World Series game in 2007, and most-recently won two of three at Corvallis as part of the 2014 NCAA Regional.
The Beavers come in ranked in some polls - 21st by the NCBWA and 22nd according to Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. UCI has 84 wins over ranked opponents in its history spanning 191 games. UCI is 37-34 against ranked programs at home, and 23-30-1 against ranked Pac-12 teams.
PROGRAMMING NOTES
Spectators returned to Anteater Ballpark for the first time in 13 months against UCSD. Full details on who can attend and protocols they must follow can be found on ucirvinesports.com. Limited tickets will be available to season ticket holders and UC Irvine player-guests only.
Live streams of all home games are available this season with ESPN3 broadcasts that started last weekend. Mark Roberts is on the play-by-play simulcast all year on the live stream and 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.
Big West announced ESPNU to broadcast UC Irvine's Saturday matchup at UC Santa Barbara on May 8. It will be only for Game 2 of the doubleheader moving that start time to 7:00 p.m. Game One will now be at 3:00 p.m. with Friday at 5:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
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. Since its erection in 2002, the 'Eaters hold a record of 363-186. The team won its first 11 games at home this year before Sunday's loss marking the fourth time in Anteater Ballpark the squad has begun the year 11-1 or better, and the second best start at home behind the 2011 squad's 16-0 start.
Thoughts from Head Coach Ben Orloff
Ben Postgame Friday, April 23 - "Had to have been a fun game to watch, there was a lot of excitement from start to finish. It's a tough one to lose. I think we did enough things to win and certainly did enough things to lose, and this game is a good example of all of the details that determine who wins and loses. We came up short in a couple of those and that's the difference in the game."
"I'd like to see a little more belief in our dugout when we have the lead late. You give up one in the 7th, one in the 8th, two in the 9th, it's hard to win like that. But the ability to continue to compete, deal with what happened and keep playing, I think that's what we've done and you know that was devastating when Melton put the ball over the fence. To come back and tie it up and have a chance to beat the all-time saves leader in the history of Oregon State."
"It's hard to remember the good things after a loss. I thought the play that Armstrong makes in the ninth, it was an unbelievable play and that's the one that sticks out to me the most."
Ben Postgame Saturday, April 24 - "Exciting game, hard to piece together right now after the exciting finish. Jump out to the early lead, I thought our at-bats were good and chased a really good starting pitcher in the first inning. Going up early and then more self-inflicted wounds to let them chip away."
"What this team has done well even yesterday is playing nine innings offensively. Evidence in that last inning when Spillane gets a two-out hit and Tatum hits the ball over the fence and is the big hero. Antone come into the game—two outs, bases loaded, Ober killed us yesterday, and makes a big pitch to give us a chance in the ninth."
"There's a lot of heroes, it's a really good win for us, and as exciting as it is, we need to turn the page tomorrow in a game that will be even more important."
Ben Postgame Sunday, April 25 - "That was exciting. Coming into the weekend for me, it felt like a Super Regional atmosphere. Oregon State coming in here playing as good as they are, what their pitching staff is, this had a Super Regional feel to me and three exciting games."
"Today, for us to go in that hole early, our bullpen comes in and goes 9.2 IP and gives up one run, McCaffrey comes off the bench and gets the big hit . There were a ton of heroes today, but I think it speaks to the depth of our team, the belief of our team that we're never out of it, we're going to play however long it takes, and we love it. This was a really good weekend for the Anteaters."
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 a smaller roster in the Big West with 38. This year is also unique in the sense that there's so many guys that normally would not be here either from the draft or graduation."
On games without spectators in 2021 -Â "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."
LONG BEACH STATE DIRTBAGS
Long Beach State is 12-11 with an even 10-10 Big West record after getting their season started in the middle of March. LBSU started losing three of four at Hawai'i, have won a series at UC San Diego, and have stayed level with home splits vs. CSUN, Cal Poly, and UC Santa Barbara playing each opponent the week before the went up against the Anteaters.
The 2020 Dirtbags were rolling to a 10-5 start and ranked playing almost exclusively at home taking down Xavier, Cal, and ranked programs Wake Forest and Mississippi State in series. Head Coach Eric Valenzuela took over in 2020 and will make his first appearance in this series.
The Black and Blue Rivalry Series, which spans every sport between UCI and LBSU, is the 'Eaters' most played series in program history having squared off 133 times and in every season since 1970 before the shortened 2020 season. UCI holds a 72-60-1 lead overall with a 37-28-1 home mark including a sweep of the Dirtbags at Anteater Ballpark back in 2019.
The LBSU hitters have a .271 mark entering the weekend averaging 5.8 runs a game while their 23 home runs in 23 games is among the conference's best. Connor Kokx paces the offense with team bests of a .369 average, 19 runs, eight steals, and has reached base 26 times by walk or HBP. He also has four of the HRs along with Jonathon Long and Calvin Estrada with all three producing 14 RBIs. Chase Luttrell is also a factor with a .306 average adding three HRs, 12 RBIs, and 17 runs scored with a deep roster seeing 15 players starting as many as five games.
Pitching is formidable with a 4.51 ERA behind the four at the front end of Johnathan Lavallee, Alfredo Ruiz, Luis Ramirez, and Jack Noble who each have around 2.5 strikeouts to every walk. Lavallee comes in strongest at 4-1 with a 1.86 ERA while his bullpen compliments the staff well led by closer Devereaux Harrison (1-1, 1.93, 8 saves), Ethan Clough, and Matt Fields
