IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine baseball delivered another 4-0 home win for a second straight Friday in Anteater Ballpark as
Trenton Denholm returned to form to defeat UC San Diego.
PITCH PERFECT
Both sides took charge from the mound to start Friday's game dishing out zeroes through the first five innings. UC San Diego (7-14, 4-5) busted a one-out triple in the first inning, but UCI starter
Trenton Denholm held them at third base to escape the first scoreless. In the process, Denholm posted his 200th career strikeout making him the 16th Anteater pitcher to ever reach the mark.
The Anteaters (17-9, 11-2) scuffled with the bats early with just a hit by pitch through three innings and their first hit with two outs in the fourth. Triton starter Cameron Leonard sailed along matching Denholm as the pair allowed four total baserunners through five innings.
PLATING RUNS
The 'Eaters struck first stringing hits along to start the sixth on a leadoff single by
Connor McGuire and
Nathan Church doubling to put a pair in scoring position with no outs.
Mike Peabody would flip up a ball up the middle for an infield single to score McGuire. Church would score on the next hitter as Spillane grounded into a double play, but did enough for the 2-0 UCI lead.
UCI manufactured a couple more runs; first in the seventh inning as another infield single got things started, and a well-executed hit-and-run put runners on the corners for McGuire who dropped a safety squeeze to score
Woody Hadeen for a 3-0 UCI lead.
A final insurance run came in the eighth as a leadoff walk made its way to third base in the form of
Mike Peabody, and then
Jacob Castro produced UCI's second run-scoring double play for a 4-0 advantage.
FINAL SCORE: UC IRVINE 4, UC SAN DIEGO 0
In the first meeting of the programs in 36 years, UCI continued its reigning now the victors in all 12 meetings, all coming at home.
Trenton Denholm led the way pitching into the eighth inning scattering four hits with a walk and tying a team-high this season with nine strikeouts to move to 3-1.
Jacob King entered in the eighth and stranded a leadoff double, and he then worked a flawless ninth to pick up his second save while striking out three.
Leonard on the UCSD side pitched valiantly with a quality 6.2 innings without a walk and four strikeouts, but fell to 2-3. Izaak Martinez allowed just his second run of the season in relief. The Triton offense mustered four hits, two for extra bases. Jackson Kritsch was the only Triton to reach twice tripling in the first and later was hit by a pitch.
UCI scored four times on just two RBIs. Castro doubled twice as the team's only two-hit performance. Church extended all his streaks now with a hit in 15 straight, run scored in 14, and a fifth straight game with a double. Peabody and McGuire each registered a hit, run, and RBI in the win.
Taishi Nakawake extended his own streak of 10 straight games with a hit in Anteater Ballpark.
The day was significant for Anteater Ballpark as spectators were allowed in for the first time in 2021. Attendance was announced as 141 fans between UCI player-guests and season ticket holders. The win also marked win No. 1,300 in the history of the program.
DOUBLEHEADER SATURDAY
The programs play two starting at 12:00 p.m. Saturday at Cicerone Field.
Nick Pinto starts Game 1 for UCI with
Michael Frias starting the nightcap. UCSD will trot out Noah Conlon and Nic Gregson, but it is still to be determined which game each will start.
