IRVINE, Calif. --- Another lengthy affair at Anteater Ballpark Saturday night ended in another tough loss for the Anteaters dropping the game, 8-6, and the series to the visiting CSUN Matadors.

EXTRA STRENGTH
The Anteaters (15-10, 5-3) got the offense started early again on Saturday. They loaded the bases in the second inning with just one out. A strikeout to Taishi Nakawake put it all on Connor McGuire who busted out of a slump in magnificent fashion tripling the other way to score everyone and put UCI ahead, 3-0.

After a big shutdown inning from Nick Pinto, the offense gave him more run support in the third with Dub Gleed mashing a double to deep left center to plate a couple more and grow the lead to 5-0.

TURNING THE TIDE
The 'Eaters were rolling into the fifth inning as Nick Pinto was keeping the Matadors in check, and did so to start the inning fielding a comebacker. On the play, Woody Hadeen collapsed with an injury backing up the play and was helping from the field leaving the game. CSUN (15-10, 4-4) would pounce with a baserunner and bringing him around to score and gain some momentum. Big defensive plays from Caden Kendle in left field, just entering the game, with a diving catch, and a pickoff to new second baseman Justin Torres squashed the rally.

The Anteaters would grab the momentum right back in the bottom of the inning with three singles including another two-out knock this time from Abraham Garcia-Pacheco to push the lead back to 6-1 after five innings.

THE EIGHTH INNING
The Anteaters were sailing along mostly to the credit of starter Nick PInto who allowed just one unearned run in seven innings. The normally-reliable bullpen unraveled for the 'Eaters in the eighth. Jaocb King entered and immediately surrendered a leadoff home run. A couple soft singles found holes, but King got a couple outs before giving the ball back to Gordon Ingebritson. For the first time this year, he was hit around giving up a triple to bring the runs home to start, then a single to cut the lead to 6-5 before getting the difficult Kai Moody to chop a ball to third base, but the defense cracked and threw a ball away extending the inning for Gabe Gonzalez whose sinking line drive was just out of the reach of Luke Spillane on the dive to tie the game up, 6-6.

FINAL SCORE / 12 INNINGS: CSUN 8, UC IRVINE 6
Not as many extra innings as Friday night's game were needed to decide it on Saturday. In the ninth, 10th, and 11th innings, there were chances to end the game with UCI leaving the bases loaded twice and CSUN once. The game was finally decided in the 12th inning as CSUN again got the bases loaded with one out. Michael Stanford, who pitched a high-wire act an inning before escaping a one-out, bases loaded jam, got his first out, but relinquished a two-run single to Nathan Barraza off the bench to put the Matadors on top for good.

A pair of brilliant pitching performances were not acknowledged in the decision. One from UCI starter Nick Pinto allowing a single unearned run in seven innings, but drew the no decision. CSUN's winning chances were held together by freshman Diego Gutierrez out of the bullpen allowing one hit over five innings to bridge the gap for the Matadors. Stanford would take the loss, his first of the year, while Chad Wilson scored CSUN's win on two scoreless innings of work.

The Anteaters had 10 hits including two-hit games from Dub Gleed, Abraham Garcia-Pacheco, and Ben Fitzgerald. Gleed drove in two while Fitzgerald scored twice, and Connor McGuire busted out for three RBIs now tied for second on the squad with 15 this year.

UCI baseball snapped a string of 15 consecutive Big West series unbeaten winning 13 and splitting two since 2019. The home series loss breaks a string of 10 straight home Big West series wins that dates back to 2018 where UCI had won nine and split once.

The finale Sunday will start at 1:00 p.m. with Ryan Wentz on the mound for the Matadors against UCI start Cameron Wheeler.

Postgame Thoughts from Head Coach Ben Orloff
"This loss feels pretty similar. This one we played from ahead, we didn't do enough things late in that game to play a complete game. We could have been better and it didn't have to end that way, could have gotten more than a 6-1 lead. We just didn't do enough to win."

"I think we did get off to a good start in the first couple innings and weren't really able to sustain it for the entirety of the game. That ninth inning we smoked two balls and had a chance, but we have to play a complete nine innings, or however long it takes to get a win."

"Going into Sunday, now you try to let each day have a history of its own. When you win on Saturday, you want to win again Sunday. When you lose Saturday, you show up Sunday, and you want to win so that's our mentality."