Â
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| Â Probable Tuesday Starters |
| UC Irvine |
vs. |
UCLA |
| Pitcher |
Year |
|
Stats |
Day |
Pitcher |
Year |
|
Stats |
| Andre Antone |
RS-Sr. |
RHP |
(1-0, 5.00) |
Tuesday |
Daniel Colwell |
Sr. |
LHP |
(2-1, 4.10) |
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| Â Probable Weekend Rotation |
| UC Irvine |
vs. |
CSU Bakersfield |
| Pitcher |
Year |
|
Stats |
Day |
Pitcher |
Year |
|
Stats |
| Nick Pinto |
RS-So. |
LHP |
(2-5, 3.25) |
Friday |
Jaykob Acosta |
So. |
RHP |
(3-5, 3.86) |
| David Vizcaino |
RS-Fr. |
RHP |
(4-0, 1.00) |
Saturday |
Benji Caggianelli |
So. |
RHP |
(2-2, 4.43) |
| Cameron Wheeler |
RS-So. |
RHP |
(2-5, 5.88) |
Sunday |
Adrian Santa Cruz |
Jr.. |
RHP |
(1-2, 4.91) |
Around The Horn
0.75 -Â Â Anteater starters boasted a
0.75 ERA (2 ER in 24 IP) last week allowing 18 total hits, two walks, and led by
David Vizcaino's 2-hitter over 8 shutout innings to win Big West Pitcher of the Week
8th -Â Â UC Irvine boasts the
8th-toughest non-conference schedule with an RPI of 78 and five Quadrant 1 wins coming at Oregon State and vs. UC Santa Barbara, USD, and twice vs. Grand Canyon
3 -Â Â 3 'Eaters have made their MLB debuts in 2022 starting with Andre Pallante on the St. Louis Cardinals opening day roster, and joined by Royce Lewis of the Twins and the Rays' Calvin Faucher
116 -Â Â Head Coach
Ben Orloff holds a
116-63 record passing Dave Serrano for third in all-time wins over the weekend at UC Riverside. Next on the list is UCI and UCLA coaching great, Gary Adams, at 185
 Â
LEADING OFFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
+ The Anteaters picked up two wins in four games, both but the losses came at a price dropping its RPI from 61 to start the week to 78. UCI remains 5-6 against Quadrant 1 teams with Tuesday vs. UCLA the final Q1 program left.
+ Starting pitching was dominant on the week led by
David Vizcaino earning the team's first Big West Pitcher of the Week honor in 2022 from eight shutout two-hit innings to improve to 4-0 and didn't even allow a runner to second base. UCI's four starters allowed two runs over 24 innings for a 0.75 ERA as
Nick Pinto,
Cameron Wheeler, and first-time starter
Andre Antone struck out 15 batters between them with just 18 hits and two walks allowed.
+ Anteater bats on the week were hot and cold busting out 27 runs on 33 hits in their two wins, but five runs in the two losses.
Caden Kendle continues to shine hitting .472 for the month of May, and now leads the team hitting .320 after a week of nine hits, six runs, a home run, and .600 on-base.
Nathan Church added with eight RBIs including his first career grand slam to give him 100 for his career, and notables from
Luke Spillane (.500, 3 RBI),
Dub Gleed (5 RBI), and
Woody Hadeen (.429, 7 R, first career home run).
+ The 'Eaters are among the national leaders in sacrifice bunts (9th), walks allowed per game (15th), triples (19th), hit by pitch (25th), K-to-BB ratio (32nd), and WHIP (41st) leading the Big West in sacs, triples, and HBP. National leaders start with
Gordon Ingebritson who is sixth in BB per game, seventh in K-to-BB ratio, 16th in WHIP, and 18th in ERA at 2.10 that leads the Big West.
Taishi Nakawake has 13 sac bunts to rank fourth nationally.
LAST WEEK
+ For a third straight week, UCI finished 2-2 on their road trip with bookend losses at LMU Tuesday and UCR Sunday.
+ The Anteaters won its first series in a month snapping four straight series losses and three straight in conference.
THIS WEEK VS. UCLA, CSU BAKERSFIELD
+ UCI welcomes UCLA to Anteater Ballpark. They won last year's weekend Saturday matchup here, and are coming off a Tuesday win at the Bruins, 4-2, in late April. The Bruins visit as a top-25 program, like the April UCI win. UCI is 38-36 at home against ranked opponents all-time and have 25 wins vs. ranked Pac-12 squads.
+ The final home series welcomes in CSU Bakersfield for the first time as a Big West foe, first home matchup since 2017 and first weekend series since 2015. Saturday will also mark the 2,400th game in UC Irvine baseball history
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 April 10 in St. Louis for the Cardinals as the ninth Anteater to reach the Major Leagues. 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.
+ Two more Anteaters got the call in May with 2017 No. 1 overall pick and UCI NLI signee Royce Lewis joining the Twins and another 2017 draft pick, Calvin Faucher, making his MLB debut with Tampa Bay Monday.
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UCLA Bruins
UCLA enters the week needing to perform well to earn a postseason spot despite a 33-18 overall record. Since the April 26th meeting that UCI won, 4-2, at No. 13 UCLA, the Bruins scored a sweep of Arizona State before losing five straight at Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, and swept at Washington. They rebounded over the weekend sweeping Washington State at home, but still sit on the edge of the bubble with their RPI and are third in the conference standings with Oregon State awaiting them.
The Bruins and Anteaters meeting on April 26 featured the Bruins at No. 13 in the nation at the time. UCI scored in the first to lead before UCLA scrounged up a couple runs off
David Vizcaino to take a 2-1 lead.
Caden Kendle's home run robbery kept UCI within striking distance which they would take advantage of scoring twice on a
Justin Torres single, adding a Kendle insurance HR, and
Troy Taylor would earn the save with the bases loaded.
The offense is right around UCI's with just over six runs a game. They reach base well with the second-most walks in the Pac-12 and 13th-most hit by pitch in the nation for a .386 OBP. Familiar face
Jake Palmer will be back this weekend as the team's leading hitter at .321 and 29 RBIs. Cody Schrier is another volatile bat (.305, 9 HR, 39 RBI), and Ethan Gourson (.289, 21 2B, 34 RBI) looks to rebound from last outing where he was held hitless.
Pitching is where UCLA makes their bread in a team ERA of 3.38, fourth nationally. The arsenal of bullpen arms make it difficult to erase any deficit with the third-lowest WHIP nationally (1.16) combined with an above-average defense ranked 60th nationally.
CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners
CSU Bakersfield makes its return to Anteater Ballpark for the first time since 2017 when they stopped by for a midweek and first weekend series since 2015. CSUB joined the Big West in 2020 and hosted UCI in 2021 with the 'Eaters taking 3 of 4 matchups in late May. UCI has a 19-5 all-time lead in the series including 11 wins in 13 games at Cicerone Field, but the Runners scored a decisive 14-2 win in the last game they played in Irvine.
The Roadrunners enter the week at 17-29 overall with some notable wins over Utah, two over Utah Valley, and a home series win vs. Kansas State. CSUB began Big West play well with three series wins over UCR, CSF, and UC Davis, but have lost 12 of the last 15 to sit ninth in the standings at 10-14. They begin the week at Fresno State and end the season at home vs. UC Santa Barbara.
The offense hits a point less than the Anteaters at .257 ranking near the bottom of the conference in most every category aside from their 190 walks and 1.7 doubles per game. Posing the biggest threat is AJ Miller topping the team in everything - .303, 31 R, 54 H, 14 2B, 11 HR, 36 RBI, 55 K - with helpers like James Bell (.288, 29 R), Aaron Casillas (47 H, 12 2B, 26 RBI), and Andrew Allanson (7 HR, 27 RBI) behind him.
Pitching stands with a 5.24 ERA and the most hit batters in the conference. The rotation of Kellen O'Connor (4-4, 3.79, 56 K), Benji Caggianelli (2-2, 4.43, 61 K), and Adrian Santa Cruz (1-2, 4.91) have been consistent, and five different hurlers that have recorded a save led by Ryan Verdugo's three. CSUB also comes up big inducing the double play ball with 38 on the year good for third in the Big West.
