Â
| Â Probable Tuesday Starters |
| UC Irvine |
vs. |
UCLA |
| Pitcher |
Year |
|
Stats |
Day |
Pitcher |
Year |
|
Stats |
| David Vizcaino |
RS-Fr. |
RHP |
(2-0, 0.00) |
Tuesday |
Kelly Austin |
RS-So. |
RHP |
(1-0, 10.61)Â |
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| Â Probable Weekend Rotation |
| UC Irvine |
vs. |
Long Beach State |
| Pitcher |
Year |
|
Stats |
Day |
Pitcher |
Year |
|
Stats |
| Nick Pinto |
RS-So. |
LHP |
(1-3, 3.32) |
Friday |
Luis Ramirez |
Jr. |
RHP |
(2-1, 2.14) |
| Michael Frias |
RS-Sr. |
RHP |
(5-1, 5.57) |
Saturday |
Marques Johnson |
Grad. |
RHP |
(0-1, 4.18) |
| Cameron Wheeler |
RS-So. |
RHP |
(2-4, 5.68) |
Sunday |
Juaron Watts-Brown |
Fr. |
RHP |
(1-4, 5.36) |
Around The Horn
6 -Â The Anteaters have
6 wins against ranked UCLA squads, 5 when they're ranked top-15. All-time, UCI has 86 wins over ranked programs, 42 on the road, and 24 times defeating Pac-12 ranked teams
7th -Â To this point in the season, UC Irvine boasts the
7th-toughest non-conference schedule with an RPI of 71 and four Quadrant 1 wins coming at Oregon State, at Louisiana, and two vs. GCU
9th -Â The
9th Anteater made his Major League debut in 2022 in Andre Pallante for the St. Louis Cardinals, and added his first K the next game. He joins Keston Hiura as 'Eaters on MLB Opening Day rosters
20 -Â The 'Eaters have hit 31 HRs this season with
20 coming in April alone. It's included three 2-HR games, all 5 of
Justin Torres' HRs, and all career HRs of
Caden Kendle,
Dub Gleed, and
Myles Smith
 Â
LEADING OFFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
+ UC Irvine is fresh off an very offensive trip where the team hit .304 and averaged nine runs a game. The teams bashed 19 home runs between them with UCI providing nine and tying single-game record with five on Saturday.
+ The offensive onslaught began with
Thomas McCaffrey who hit .583 with three home runs and eight RBIs. It was enough to earn him his first Big West Field Player of the Week honor joining
Dub Gleed as UCI honorees this year.
+ Other notable performances came from
Myles Smith who popped his first career home run to the opposite field,
Justin Torres with his fifth HR of the month, four RBIs, and extended his on-base streak to 26 games, and
Woody Hadeen swiping his 12th base, second in the Big West.
+ Anteater defense was stellar without an error on the weekend. McCaffrey behind the plate also threw out his fourth baserunner of the season and did not allow a passed ball or wild pitch. UCI pitching fell victim to the offensive park allowing a 9.00 ERA including an 11-run frame in Friday's loss, the first double-digit inning since 2002.
+ The 'Eaters are among the national leaders in sacrifice bunts (10th), triples (17th), fewest allowed per game (31st), hit by pitch (34th), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (36th). UCI tops the Big West in HBP and triples and top two in runs per game, ERA, sac bunts, and WHIP. National leaders start with
Gordon Ingebritson who is third in walks per 9 innings, fifth in WHIP and K-to-BB ratio, and 14th in ERA at 1.59 that leads the Big West.
Taishi Nakawake has 11 sac bunts to rank third nationally.
Nick Pinto and
Michael Frias rank third and fourth in the Big West in Ks and top two in looking
LAST WEEK
+ UCI went 1-2 without a midweek game and traveling to Kansas State dropping the weekend series in their final non-conference series.
+ The Anteaters were upended in the series opener by an 11-run seventh inning to lose. Saturday's response was a season-high 16 runs and 16 hits including five home runs that tie a program single-game record.
THIS WEEK AT UCLA, LONG BEACH STATE
+ UCI takes on the Pac-12 again with a Tuesday visit to UCLA. UCI is 3-2 against the conference with two home wins over Arizona State and one at No. 13 Oregon State
+ Tuesday's matchup will be the fourth game against a ranked squad with UCI going 1-2 vs. No. 13 Oregon State
+ The weekend sees the seven-game road trip end at Long Beach State. The Black & Blue Rivalry squads come in having played 137 times, most in UCI history against one opponent.
OPENING DAY
+ Keston Hiura of the Milwaukee Brewers returns for his fourth season as utility infielder and designated hitter
+ Andre Pallante made his MLB debut Sunday, April 10, allowing one run in one inning in St. Louis for the Cardinals as the ninth Anteater to reach the Major Leagues, and picked up his first strikeout in his next outing.
+ Pallante is 1 of 8 players from the 2019 MLB Draft class to make a 2022 Opening Day roster. Hiura was the first player from the 2017 MLB Draft class to reach the majors.
#13 UCLA BRUINS
UCLA is right where it normally is among the top 25 and leaders of the Pac-12 sitting in a tie for third at 11-7 and overall touting a 27-12 record. The Bruins were National Champions in 2013, and have made the postseason in 13 of the last 17 seasons with 24 tournament appearances in all.
The Bruins have fared well winning most weekend series except against Stanford and their crosstown rivals, USC. Plenty of Big West flavor peppers their schedule going 5-1 in weekends vs. CSUN and UC Riverside and winning all four midweek matchups against Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, and UC Santa Barbara.
The Anteaters and Bruins meet up for the 93rd time on Tuesday and 49th time at UCLA. The Bruins hold a 58-33-1 all-time series lead, and are ranked for the 23rd time. UCI is 6-16 against a ranked Bruins squad beating them once last year at No. 8. UCI has beaten them five times as a top-15 squad, and are just 2-8 in road games against ranked Bruins.
The offense hits .268 as a club with top bats Cody Schrier (.313, 7 HR, 25 RBI) and Michael Curialle (.295, 7 HR, 25 RBI). They have 59 steals in 67 attempts helped by 201 walks drawn this season. A familiar face is in the other dugout in
Jake Palmer hitting .294 and playing first base primarily after hitting .307 in 145 games as an Anteater for four seasons.
Pitching is always quality for former UCI head coach John Savage's side. Their 3.33 team ERA includes 11 pitchers with ERA under 4.00. They strike out more over one batter an inning and don't issue free passes with 3.4 strikeouts to every walk.
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LONG BEACH STATE DIRTBAGS
Long Beach State has had a head-scratching 2022 season. They started red-hot winning a series at defending champions No. 3 Mississippi State to open the year and followed that up with a series win vs. No. 15 Gonzaga. The rest has been a struggle losing 6 of their 8 other series to put them 15-23 now and 5-10 in the Big West they were picked to win preseason.
The Dirtbags were just on the outside looking in in 2021 even with a schedule limited by COVID restrictions. Every Big West school takes on LBSU before matching up with UCI. LBSU is coming off a road trip to UCSB where they were swept, and have lost nine straight that includes three at Oregon State. Their last win saw them score 28 runs at Cal Poly April 9.
UCI and LBSU have played 137 games against each other, the longest-standing matchup in UCI program history, and the Anteaters have the edge with a 74-62-1 record over the Dirtbags and a 35-32 mark at Long Beach.
The offense touts a .264 average scoring just about five runs a game. Rocco Peppi (.326, 4 HR, 16 RBI) and Chase Luttrell (.312, 7 HR, 29 RBI) run the show with Tanner Carlson among the Big West hitting leaders at .380. The bats have struck out 354 times ranking second in the Big West and LBSU is among the bottom three of the conference in on-base percentage.
Pitching is where the Dirtbags make their bread with a 4.49 team ERA and four shutouts to lead the Big West. Their numbers are level with the Anteaters in strikeouts and walks with a solid core of arms like Luis Ramirez (2-1, 2.14), Jack Noble (3-4, 4.38), and Juaron Watts-Brown (1-4, 5.36) among multiple potential starters. Devereaux Harrison is still dangerous as a preseason All-American despite numbers (4-1, 7.43, 23 IP, 20 K) that are a far cry from 2021.
