IRVINE, Calif. --- Another tight contest for UC Irvine baseball saw them on the winning end of a 4-3 ballgame Friday night in Anteater Ballpark dropping Grand Canyon in the series opener.

WORKING FROM BEHIND
The game was hardly a minute old and the Anteaters (3-2) were already in the hole. Grand Canyon's (2-3) first two hitters wasted no time against Anteater starter Michael Frias each doubling into left center to put them up, 1-0, in the first inning. Frias did well to quash any more damage including a one-out strikeout.

UCI had minimal action in their offensive innings, meanwhile GCU added to their advantage in the fifth inning. The same culprits as the first inning were at it again. Elijah Buries kept a rally alive with an infield single to load the bases, and then Jacob Wilson with another double brought home two more runs on a lazy looping ball right on the left field line making it 3-0 Lopes.

THE FIFTH INNING
UCI's favorite inning this year emerged as the big one in this game. A leadoff walk began the frame, and quickly UCI was in business thanks to a low throw from third baseman Juan Colato on Connor McGuire's groundball to put the first two on. Luke Spillane tested the defense with a bunt attempt, and just beat out pitcher NIck Hull's throw after he looked to get the lead runner first to load the bases.

The runs slowly came across starting with Taishi Nakawake's long sacrifice fly to center field. Woody Hadeen then battled and wriggled a grounder through the right side to score another run and close the deficit to 3-2. Nathan Church hit a high chopper toward first base that no one on the Lopes defense could do anything with scoring Spillane to tie the game at 3-3.

With the game tied, Hull was chased from the game for left-hander Eli Ankeney. The first batter he faced was Thomas McCaffrey who proceeded to lay down a textbook safety squeeze with Buries charging and flipping a glove-hand toss to home plate, but Hadeen slide under and by the tag for UCI's first lead at 4-3.

GORDON TO THE RESCUE
The 'Eaters grabbed the lead just in time for Frias to become the pitcher of record giving way to Andre Antone. GCU mounted a threat needing UCI to call upon Gordon Ingebritson with runners on second and third and one out. He quickly slung a strikeout and popped up the third out to preserve the one-run lead.

Ingebritson sparkled on the mound finishing the game out for the final 3.2 innings and not allowing a single baserunner to pick up the save and the Anteater victory.

FINAL SCORE: UC IRVINE 4, GRAND CANYON 3
The win put the 'Eaters over .500 at 3-2 on the year pushing Frias to 2-0 after he struck out eight over five innings. Five of those strikeouts were looking with two more added from Ingebritson. UCI pitching struck out 12 Lopes hitters after they had only been punched out 24 times in the first four games. Ingebritson's save was the second of his Anteater career.

"I felt really good coming in, just trying to stay loose the entire time," noted a cool and collected redshirt senior out of the bullpen. "Whenever I come into a game, I just want to do my part. In the end, the coaches will make the decision, but they felt that I could keep going tonight and that was the story."

Offensively, UCI stuck to the one inning for runs scoring all four and producing three of their six hits. Hadeen was the only Anteater with a multi-hit game, and he and three other 'Eaters had an RBI each.

GCU had eight hits, three each from Buries and Wilson at the top of the order, with four hits counting as doubles. Hull drew the loss allowing three earned runs of the four.

The series continues Saturday with another 6:00 p.m. start. Nick Pinto takes the mound for UCI against GCU's Carter Young.

Thoughts from Head Coach Ben Orloff
"It's really hard to win on a Friday night, especially with how Hull was throwing the ball. This felt like the game where you have to have one inning, catch them, and hold them to win."

"The big story, besides Gordon Ingebritson being amazing, was our ability to leave and strand them on the bases. Runner on second nobody out in the first inning they don't score. After they scored two in the fifth and had second and third one out through the heart of the order and they don't score again with Gordon stranding second and third. If we don't get all of those, we're in no position to win."

"Frias doesn't get rattled. He made big pitches when big pitches were needed. We struck these guys out 12 times when they only had 24 strikeouts coming into the game and return a lot of players from a team that hit .290. But he made big pitches, and to be a really frontline weekend starter you've got to be able to stay in there and minimize and that's what he did and he gave us a chance."

"That fifth inning was good team offense. How can we win when we're not getting hits. I think that inning was typical like starting the inning winning a three-two count for a walk, we get down a bunt and they don't make the play on the bunt. We get really good at-bats with runners in scoring position for the sac fly, Woody with a two-strike hit and a good aggressive first-to-third by Spillane, an infield hit, safety squeeze, and that's four runs. That's how yo've got to play when you're not gettiing hits, and that was good to see."