Friday, April 9
Irvine, Calif.
3:00 PM
UC Irvine
vs
UC San Diego
'Eaters, Tritons Start Up First Big West Meeting
April 07, 2021 | Baseball
IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine baseball returns home where it's won its last seven Big West games for a four-game series against UC San Diego. UCI is coming off a split at CSUN as it hangs onto first place in the Big West by a game. UC San Diego continues its first season in Division I and the Big West rekindling a series with UCI that's been dormant for 36 years. The weekend will also feature fans in the stands for the first time in 2021 with limited numbers of UC Irvine player-guests and season ticket holders able to watch the series in Anteater Ballpark
Anteater Ballpark Ticket & Fan Information
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
200 - With five strikeouts, Trenton Denholm can become the 16th Anteater with 200 Ks in his career
5 - The 'Eaters have scored 5 runs in an inning 11 times this season, 8 times coming in Big West contests
11 - UCI has hit 11 triples ranking them 6th nationally. Nathan Church leads NCAA hitters with 5 triples this season
LEADING OFF
+ UC Irvine baseball remains atop the Big West with a 10-2 record following a series split at CSUN and Matador Field. The offensive ballpark was just that as UCI scored 50 runs on 51 hits in the four games. The two Anteater wins came via the 10-run rule posting 17-3 and 20-3 wins in seven innings. The pair of losses came on extra-inning walkoff HRs with CSUN winning 8-7 in 12 innings and 9-6 in 10 innings. Friday's opener was suspended due to darkness after 11 innings with the absence of lights at Matador Field. It resumed Saturday afternoon needing just one inning before the game was decided.
+ Luke Spillane secured Big West Field Player of the Week, a third straight week an 'Eater has been honored following Nathan Church last week and Nick Pinto named top pitcher the week prior. Spillane pounded his first four career home runs in a pair of two-HR games in the team's wins and a grand slam as his first career homer. His home runs were coupled with 13 RBIs featuring two 6-RBI outputs in the wins. His eight runs scored tied for the team high, and he finished with a .381 average on the weekend.
+ Offense was at the forefront in the series at CSUN with 73 runs, 94 hits, and 11 home runs combined between the squads. The 'Eaters upped their average 10 points over the weekend and reached base in 46.2% of their plate appearances. The nine team home runs more than doubled the total to 17 on the year. The offense put out two 10-run innings over their two wins, a feat that had only happened 14 times in the previous 42 seasons and had never happened in the second inning which UCI did twice at CSUN. The 'Eaters forced a run rule twice, and now three times in its last five games. UCI hit 20 runs in a game for the second time in a week after 16 times in its history prior. Even the losses needed extra innings with the two ninth innings that were played the 'Eaters held the lead entering the bottom half of. UCI even erased a four-run deficit with a five-run ninth against stout closer Blake Schriever Friday leading to the first suspended game for UCI that was resumed the following day for the 12-inning result.
+ Pitching took a hit with a 5.14 ERA on the weekend. Michael Frias and Nick Pinto shone going five innings each in the 7-inning victories to earn wins. Peter Van Loon pitched into the sixth and struck out a team-high on the weekend, seven, in a return to form. Andre Antone and Gordon Ingebritson tossed two scoreless in Friday's game to keep the 'Eaters in it while Michael Stanford and Josh Ibarra posted scoreless outings as positives out of the bullpen in the Anteater wins Saturday and Sunday.
+ The home run barrage was notable with nine in total, the sixth 4-HR game as a team in program history Saturday, and three multi-HR games on the weekend. Spillane did it in consecutive days for the first time in program history. Mike Peabody added his first as he now leads active 'Eaters with six career home runs. Dillon Tatum regained the season lead with his fifth. Spillane, for good measure, hit a grand slam for his first career home run Saturday. Another first career home run was Connor McGuire to get UCI to 20 runs on Sunday. Nathan Church hit a very rare leadoff home run for the Anteaters in game two of the series.
+ Nationally, the 'Eaters are still top 10 in hit by pitch (2nd - 59), sacrifice bunts (4th - 24), and triples (6th - 11). Elsewhere, UCI vaulted into the top 50 in on-base percentage (30th), runs per game (31st), runs (32nd), and batting (38th) in addition to double played (39th), doubles (41st), hits (46th), shutouts (47th), and fielding (49th). UCI tops the conference in stats like double plays, HBP, runs, sac bunts, runs per game, and triples with a second-place ranking in walks, doubles, fielding, hits, OBP, and slugging.
+ Anteaters are nationally ranked led by the nation's triples leader, Nathan Church, with five, and snuck up to 18th with his 10 doubles and 28th with his 28 runs. He also near the top of the Big West with 62 total bases and 1.12 runs per game. Michael Frias is 25th in K-to-BB ratio, 33rd in wins, 36th in WHIP, and top 60 in ERA and walks per nine innings. He's right behind Peter Van Loon in strikeouts per nine innings with Van Loon 64th nationally and second in conference at 12.51. Mike Peabody is tied atop the Big West being hit by pitch 10 times and ranking 15th nationally.
+ Some notable streaks continue this weekend starting with Nathan Church's streaks hit 14 in a row with a hit, 13 with a run scored, and four with a double. He along with Luke Spillane (13) and Mike Peabody (18) have long on-base streaks. Spillane and Jacob Castro have personal bests with seven-game hit streaks. Taishi Nakawake returns to Anteater Ballpark with hits in his last nine games there.
+ Anteater career records are nearing for some student-athletes. Trenton Denholm made his 40th start at CSUN, the 14th Anteater pitcher with 40 starts. He stands five strikeouts from 200 in his career; he would become the 16th Anteater to do so all-time. His next win will be his 18th and enter the top-20 all-time. Adrian Damla played his 175th game over the weekend. He is the active leader in games along with hits (141), doubles (25), and RBIs (85). Mike Peabody was plunked for the 34th time; his next HBP will tie him for sixth all-time with Connor Spencer, Kris Paulino, and Casey Stevenson.
THIS WEEKEND
The 'Eaters return home where they've won seven consecutive Big West games dating back to 2019 following the sweep of Hawai'i. UCI is the first team with 10 Big West wins this season coming from two sweeps and a split in Big West series.
The Anteaters host UC San Diego who is making their debut in the Big West this year coming up from Division II. The 'Eaters and Tritons meet for the first time since 1985 which came in Irvine, a place UCI is 7-0 against the Tritons. This will be the first meeting in Anteater Ballpark. UCI has won all 11 meetings between the schools in history, seven coming at UCI. The teams met six times alone in 1970, and all 11 meetings have seen UCSD as a Division III program while UCI was Division II for the first 10.
Fans will be allowed into Anteater Ballpark for the first time this season. Limited tickets will be available to season ticket holders and UC Irvine player-guests. Fans can check out how things will work at Anteater Ballpark for spectators on the information page on ucirvinesports.com
UC Irvine baseball is approaching 1,300 career wins as a program with 1,299 as the weekend begins. The program is also approaching 1,000 all-time losses with 997 to begin the weekend.
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.
Anteater baseball alum and grounds crew member, Edgar Ruvalcaba, completed his last day as part of UC Irvine and the grounds crew last week. He will join up with former Anteater head groundskeeper, Scott Lupold, on the crew at USC.
PROGRAMMING NOTES
Spectators will return to Anteater Ballpark for the first time in 13 months this weekend. 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.
Live streams of all home games are available this season, and beginning April 23, will be upgraded to an ESPN3 production. 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 356-183.
Thoughts from Head Coach Ben Orloff
Ben Postgame Friday, April 2 - "The ninth inning was great in terms of us stringing at-bats together off a guy that's been a closer in this league for a long time. He's got a tough cutter that's beat us before. It was good to see after how that game had went, we were able to play until the game was over."
"Gordon and Andre were key. That game was 6-2 and it felt like 20-2. What those two guys specifically did to give us a chance to come back, they're the unsung heroes in this."
"What I'm going to tell the team: Win. I think we all know the situation that the game's going to be when it starts. We'll have to figure out the pitching situation, we obviously know who's not available, but everybody realizes we just need to score and get a zero and play a new game."
Ben Postgame Saturday, April 3 - "It's tough to get walked-off on, but even in that first game, we earned the right to even be in that position late in that game so that happens. I'm really proud of how fast we moved on. It's tough to get walked-off on, and then for us to respond 40 minutes later. I felt like the offense in that first inning we were locked in and that set the stage for that game. We'd like to have the bottom of the first inning back, but outside of that it was a pretty good performance."
"We didn't help Pinto on the first play of the game on defense. But that's two weeks in a row he's struggled to get out of the first, but once he's done that he's pitched much better. I don't know if it's a concentration factor, focus, feeling your way through, I don't know what it is, but he pitched good the rest of the way. For him to go five, we're really happy for that."
"Peabody and Spillane have been great for us the whole year and it's great to see them have big days. All those balls were hit hard. Peabody hits one a long way in the first and then opposite field line drive with two strikes. Spillane got two balls elevated and hit them far. Those guys have been in the middle of our offensive success, and hopefully there's more tomorrow."
"It's another Sunday where we have a lot of guys available. Different from other Sundays where we've only needed one game, but with this game only being seven innings and the guys that threw Friday getting today off, we're in a good start and we've got good numbers of guys and quality for tomorrow. We like where we're at for tomorrow."
Ben Postgame Sunday, April 4 - "Today was kind of a repeat of yesterday. You lose on a walk-off two times and two 10-run rules. It shows the margin between winning and losing in this league is small, and some of these games where it's about depth on the mound. We were in a good position today to pitch in numbers of guys and guys we had available. We didn't walk anybody in this game and they walked a lot. That speaks to the depth on the mound for us."
"It's good to see Coach Serrano and spend time together around the games. We haven't gotten that opportunity at the moment with no recruiting so it's good to see him and talk to him and see him across the other dugout, but I don't think it's much more than that."
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 - "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 SAN DIEGO TRITONS
UC San Diego is in its first year as a Division I program and Big West member after 20 years in Division II. The Tritons were success reaching 13 NCAA Division II tournaments, five DII College World Series, and were runners-up twice including in 2017 when J.T. Bloodworth was an assistant for them. UCSD was successful before that in Division III reaching five NCAA Tournaments.
The 2021 Tritons took some time to warm up seven of its first eight to local rivals, San Diego State and USD, but then split with Santa Clara and began conference play with a bang taking three of four at Cal Poly. After a battle with LBSU where they lost three of four, the Tritons are 7-13 and 4-4 against the Big West with the first meeting against UCI in 36 years
The Tritons and Anteaters met 10 times back in the 1970s when UCI was Division II and UCSD was Division III. UCI won all 10 games including the six at home, and then in 1985, the Division I Anteaters hosted UCSD for an 11-1 victory in the last time these two squared off.
With the bats, UCSD hits .244 as a team, score 5.5 runs a game, and have drawn 90 walks. Jackson Kritsch and Ryan McNally are each hovering around .300 with 12 runs scored, and Blake Baumgartner, despite 14 hits in 20 games, leads the team with 13 runs, 13 RBIs, and four doubles. He's also hit two home runs as UCSD has left the yard 16 times from 11 different players. One familiar face will be Marc Filia, brother of Anteater alum Mikey, who has made seven starts.
Pitching is led by their trio of seniors in Cameron Leonard (2-2, 5.06), Brandon Weed (1-2, 9.12), and Noah Conlon (1-1, 5.79). Weed leads all with 21 strikeouts while Leonard won with a quality start at CP and then tossed seven innings vs. LBSU. Izaak Martinez tops the bullpen with a win, save, and just one run in 13.2 innings to go with 15 strikeouts. The defense has struggled so far with 34 errors, but has thrown out 13 base stealers to top the conference.
Anteater Ballpark Ticket & Fan Information
| UC Irvine Anteaters (16-9, Big West 10-2) vs. UC San Diego Tritons (7-13, Big West 4-4) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | April 9-11, 2021 | ||||||||
| Location | Irvine, Calif. - Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark - Limited spectators allowed for all games | ||||||||
| Times | Friday - 3:00 PM Bigwest.TV |
Saturday Game 1 - 12:00 PM (DH) Bigwest.TV |
Saturday Game 2 - 40 mins following Bigwest.TV |
Sunday - 1:00 PM Bigwest.TV |
|||||
| Live Stream | |||||||||
| Radio | KUCI 88.9 FM | Both games of the doubleheader will be internet only on kuci.org | KUCI 88.9 FM | ||||||
| Live Stats | UC Irvine Athletics | UC Irvine Athletics | UC Irvine Athletics | UC Irvine Athletics | |||||
| Game Notes | UC Irvine Baseball | ||||||||
| Social Media |  @UCIbsb  @UCIbsb  UC Irvine Baseball #RipEm #TogetherWeZot |
||||||||
| Probable Rotation | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Irvine | vs. | UC San Diego | ||||||
| Pitcher | Year | Stats | Day | Pitcher | Year | Stats | ||
| Trenton Denholm | Jr. | RHP | (2-1, 3.82) | Friday | Cameron Leonard | Sr. | RHP | (2-2, 5.06) |
| Nick Pinto | Fr. | LHP | (3-1, 3.52) | Sat. G1 | Noah Conlon (or Nic Gregson) | Sr. | RHP | (1-1, 5.79) |
| Michael Frias | RS-So. | RHP | (4-0, 1.95) | Sat. G2 | Nic Gregson (or Noah Conlon) | Fr. | RHP | (0-3, 5.63) |
| Peter Van Loon | Jr. | RHP | (1-1, 6.59) | Sunday | Brandon Weed | Sr. | RHP | (1-2, 9.12) |
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
200 - With five strikeouts, Trenton Denholm can become the 16th Anteater with 200 Ks in his career
5 - The 'Eaters have scored 5 runs in an inning 11 times this season, 8 times coming in Big West contests
11 - UCI has hit 11 triples ranking them 6th nationally. Nathan Church leads NCAA hitters with 5 triples this season
LEADING OFF
+ UC Irvine baseball remains atop the Big West with a 10-2 record following a series split at CSUN and Matador Field. The offensive ballpark was just that as UCI scored 50 runs on 51 hits in the four games. The two Anteater wins came via the 10-run rule posting 17-3 and 20-3 wins in seven innings. The pair of losses came on extra-inning walkoff HRs with CSUN winning 8-7 in 12 innings and 9-6 in 10 innings. Friday's opener was suspended due to darkness after 11 innings with the absence of lights at Matador Field. It resumed Saturday afternoon needing just one inning before the game was decided.
+ Luke Spillane secured Big West Field Player of the Week, a third straight week an 'Eater has been honored following Nathan Church last week and Nick Pinto named top pitcher the week prior. Spillane pounded his first four career home runs in a pair of two-HR games in the team's wins and a grand slam as his first career homer. His home runs were coupled with 13 RBIs featuring two 6-RBI outputs in the wins. His eight runs scored tied for the team high, and he finished with a .381 average on the weekend.
+ Offense was at the forefront in the series at CSUN with 73 runs, 94 hits, and 11 home runs combined between the squads. The 'Eaters upped their average 10 points over the weekend and reached base in 46.2% of their plate appearances. The nine team home runs more than doubled the total to 17 on the year. The offense put out two 10-run innings over their two wins, a feat that had only happened 14 times in the previous 42 seasons and had never happened in the second inning which UCI did twice at CSUN. The 'Eaters forced a run rule twice, and now three times in its last five games. UCI hit 20 runs in a game for the second time in a week after 16 times in its history prior. Even the losses needed extra innings with the two ninth innings that were played the 'Eaters held the lead entering the bottom half of. UCI even erased a four-run deficit with a five-run ninth against stout closer Blake Schriever Friday leading to the first suspended game for UCI that was resumed the following day for the 12-inning result.
+ Pitching took a hit with a 5.14 ERA on the weekend. Michael Frias and Nick Pinto shone going five innings each in the 7-inning victories to earn wins. Peter Van Loon pitched into the sixth and struck out a team-high on the weekend, seven, in a return to form. Andre Antone and Gordon Ingebritson tossed two scoreless in Friday's game to keep the 'Eaters in it while Michael Stanford and Josh Ibarra posted scoreless outings as positives out of the bullpen in the Anteater wins Saturday and Sunday.
+ The home run barrage was notable with nine in total, the sixth 4-HR game as a team in program history Saturday, and three multi-HR games on the weekend. Spillane did it in consecutive days for the first time in program history. Mike Peabody added his first as he now leads active 'Eaters with six career home runs. Dillon Tatum regained the season lead with his fifth. Spillane, for good measure, hit a grand slam for his first career home run Saturday. Another first career home run was Connor McGuire to get UCI to 20 runs on Sunday. Nathan Church hit a very rare leadoff home run for the Anteaters in game two of the series.
+ Nationally, the 'Eaters are still top 10 in hit by pitch (2nd - 59), sacrifice bunts (4th - 24), and triples (6th - 11). Elsewhere, UCI vaulted into the top 50 in on-base percentage (30th), runs per game (31st), runs (32nd), and batting (38th) in addition to double played (39th), doubles (41st), hits (46th), shutouts (47th), and fielding (49th). UCI tops the conference in stats like double plays, HBP, runs, sac bunts, runs per game, and triples with a second-place ranking in walks, doubles, fielding, hits, OBP, and slugging.
+ Anteaters are nationally ranked led by the nation's triples leader, Nathan Church, with five, and snuck up to 18th with his 10 doubles and 28th with his 28 runs. He also near the top of the Big West with 62 total bases and 1.12 runs per game. Michael Frias is 25th in K-to-BB ratio, 33rd in wins, 36th in WHIP, and top 60 in ERA and walks per nine innings. He's right behind Peter Van Loon in strikeouts per nine innings with Van Loon 64th nationally and second in conference at 12.51. Mike Peabody is tied atop the Big West being hit by pitch 10 times and ranking 15th nationally.
+ Some notable streaks continue this weekend starting with Nathan Church's streaks hit 14 in a row with a hit, 13 with a run scored, and four with a double. He along with Luke Spillane (13) and Mike Peabody (18) have long on-base streaks. Spillane and Jacob Castro have personal bests with seven-game hit streaks. Taishi Nakawake returns to Anteater Ballpark with hits in his last nine games there.
+ Anteater career records are nearing for some student-athletes. Trenton Denholm made his 40th start at CSUN, the 14th Anteater pitcher with 40 starts. He stands five strikeouts from 200 in his career; he would become the 16th Anteater to do so all-time. His next win will be his 18th and enter the top-20 all-time. Adrian Damla played his 175th game over the weekend. He is the active leader in games along with hits (141), doubles (25), and RBIs (85). Mike Peabody was plunked for the 34th time; his next HBP will tie him for sixth all-time with Connor Spencer, Kris Paulino, and Casey Stevenson.
THIS WEEKEND
The 'Eaters return home where they've won seven consecutive Big West games dating back to 2019 following the sweep of Hawai'i. UCI is the first team with 10 Big West wins this season coming from two sweeps and a split in Big West series.
The Anteaters host UC San Diego who is making their debut in the Big West this year coming up from Division II. The 'Eaters and Tritons meet for the first time since 1985 which came in Irvine, a place UCI is 7-0 against the Tritons. This will be the first meeting in Anteater Ballpark. UCI has won all 11 meetings between the schools in history, seven coming at UCI. The teams met six times alone in 1970, and all 11 meetings have seen UCSD as a Division III program while UCI was Division II for the first 10.
Fans will be allowed into Anteater Ballpark for the first time this season. Limited tickets will be available to season ticket holders and UC Irvine player-guests. Fans can check out how things will work at Anteater Ballpark for spectators on the information page on ucirvinesports.com
UC Irvine baseball is approaching 1,300 career wins as a program with 1,299 as the weekend begins. The program is also approaching 1,000 all-time losses with 997 to begin the weekend.
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.
Anteater baseball alum and grounds crew member, Edgar Ruvalcaba, completed his last day as part of UC Irvine and the grounds crew last week. He will join up with former Anteater head groundskeeper, Scott Lupold, on the crew at USC.
PROGRAMMING NOTES
Spectators will return to Anteater Ballpark for the first time in 13 months this weekend. 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.
Live streams of all home games are available this season, and beginning April 23, will be upgraded to an ESPN3 production. 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 356-183.
Thoughts from Head Coach Ben Orloff
Ben Postgame Friday, April 2 - "The ninth inning was great in terms of us stringing at-bats together off a guy that's been a closer in this league for a long time. He's got a tough cutter that's beat us before. It was good to see after how that game had went, we were able to play until the game was over."
"Gordon and Andre were key. That game was 6-2 and it felt like 20-2. What those two guys specifically did to give us a chance to come back, they're the unsung heroes in this."
"What I'm going to tell the team: Win. I think we all know the situation that the game's going to be when it starts. We'll have to figure out the pitching situation, we obviously know who's not available, but everybody realizes we just need to score and get a zero and play a new game."
Ben Postgame Saturday, April 3 - "It's tough to get walked-off on, but even in that first game, we earned the right to even be in that position late in that game so that happens. I'm really proud of how fast we moved on. It's tough to get walked-off on, and then for us to respond 40 minutes later. I felt like the offense in that first inning we were locked in and that set the stage for that game. We'd like to have the bottom of the first inning back, but outside of that it was a pretty good performance."
"We didn't help Pinto on the first play of the game on defense. But that's two weeks in a row he's struggled to get out of the first, but once he's done that he's pitched much better. I don't know if it's a concentration factor, focus, feeling your way through, I don't know what it is, but he pitched good the rest of the way. For him to go five, we're really happy for that."
"Peabody and Spillane have been great for us the whole year and it's great to see them have big days. All those balls were hit hard. Peabody hits one a long way in the first and then opposite field line drive with two strikes. Spillane got two balls elevated and hit them far. Those guys have been in the middle of our offensive success, and hopefully there's more tomorrow."
"It's another Sunday where we have a lot of guys available. Different from other Sundays where we've only needed one game, but with this game only being seven innings and the guys that threw Friday getting today off, we're in a good start and we've got good numbers of guys and quality for tomorrow. We like where we're at for tomorrow."
Ben Postgame Sunday, April 4 - "Today was kind of a repeat of yesterday. You lose on a walk-off two times and two 10-run rules. It shows the margin between winning and losing in this league is small, and some of these games where it's about depth on the mound. We were in a good position today to pitch in numbers of guys and guys we had available. We didn't walk anybody in this game and they walked a lot. That speaks to the depth on the mound for us."
"It's good to see Coach Serrano and spend time together around the games. We haven't gotten that opportunity at the moment with no recruiting so it's good to see him and talk to him and see him across the other dugout, but I don't think it's much more than that."
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 - "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 SAN DIEGO TRITONS
UC San Diego is in its first year as a Division I program and Big West member after 20 years in Division II. The Tritons were success reaching 13 NCAA Division II tournaments, five DII College World Series, and were runners-up twice including in 2017 when J.T. Bloodworth was an assistant for them. UCSD was successful before that in Division III reaching five NCAA Tournaments.
The 2021 Tritons took some time to warm up seven of its first eight to local rivals, San Diego State and USD, but then split with Santa Clara and began conference play with a bang taking three of four at Cal Poly. After a battle with LBSU where they lost three of four, the Tritons are 7-13 and 4-4 against the Big West with the first meeting against UCI in 36 years
The Tritons and Anteaters met 10 times back in the 1970s when UCI was Division II and UCSD was Division III. UCI won all 10 games including the six at home, and then in 1985, the Division I Anteaters hosted UCSD for an 11-1 victory in the last time these two squared off.
With the bats, UCSD hits .244 as a team, score 5.5 runs a game, and have drawn 90 walks. Jackson Kritsch and Ryan McNally are each hovering around .300 with 12 runs scored, and Blake Baumgartner, despite 14 hits in 20 games, leads the team with 13 runs, 13 RBIs, and four doubles. He's also hit two home runs as UCSD has left the yard 16 times from 11 different players. One familiar face will be Marc Filia, brother of Anteater alum Mikey, who has made seven starts.
Pitching is led by their trio of seniors in Cameron Leonard (2-2, 5.06), Brandon Weed (1-2, 9.12), and Noah Conlon (1-1, 5.79). Weed leads all with 21 strikeouts while Leonard won with a quality start at CP and then tossed seven innings vs. LBSU. Izaak Martinez tops the bullpen with a win, save, and just one run in 13.2 innings to go with 15 strikeouts. The defense has struggled so far with 34 errors, but has thrown out 13 base stealers to top the conference.
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/ BaseballLAND’ON one over the fence 👊
Monday, March 23
UCI Athletics 2026 Hall of Fame Ceremony - Keston Hiura
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UCI Baseball | 2026 Season Preview
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