This Week in Anteater Baseball
Dates														May 10, 2022	May 13-15, 2022
Opponents														at Loyola Marymount (16-27-1, 12-9)	at UC Riverside Highlanders (7-36, 3-21)
Location														Page Stadium - Los Angeles, Calif.	Riverside Sports Complex - Riverside, Calif.
Times														Tuesday - 6:00 PM WCC Network Live Stats Tickets	Friday - 6:00 PM ESPN+ Live Stats kuci.org		Saturday - 6:00 PM ESPN+ Live Stats kuci.org	Sunday - 1:00 PM ESPN+ Live Stats KUCI 88.9 FM
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Around The Horn
6 - Starter Nick Pinto has had a great year not reflected in his results. He's 1-1 in 6 quality starts, incurred 10 unearned runs, and left the game 6 times leading only be left out of the decision
5th - UC Irvine boasts the 5th-toughest non-conference schedule with an RPI of 61 and five Quadrant 1 wins coming at Oregon State and vs. UC Santa Barbara, USD, and twice vs. Grand Canyon
12 - 12 'Eater alums are currently playing across Major and Minor League Baseball with eight in Double-A or higher. Andre Pallante made an opening day roster becoming the 9th 'Eater in the MLB
114 - UCI baseball is in its 44th year with a .569 all-time win percentage and 1,351 wins. Head Coach Ben Orloff holds a 114-61 record recently tying Dave Serrano (114-63-1) for third in all-time wins
 
LEADING OFF                   
+ The Anteaters picked up two wins in four games, both against top-50 RPI teams in the nation now 5-6 against Quadrant 1 programs. In the process, UCI losing two of three to UCSB eliminated them from the Big West title race.
+ Anteater bats on the week were active hitting .258 led by Caden Kendle who continues to be red-hot batting .438 on the week with seven hits and four runs scored. Taishi Nakawake also hit well at .364 including a three-hit day Sunday and no strikeouts in 16 plate appearances. Dub Gleed had a three-hit game Saturday, and UCI's 23 RBIs came from 10 different Anteaters with multiples on the week from eight.
+ Pitching had its ups and downs starting with David Vizcaino allowing a run and two hits over seven innings in Tuesday's win. Nick Pinto added a quality start giving him five of the team's 10 on the year. The bullpen was taxed having to pitch 16.1 of the 18 innings in the final two games allowing 18 runs, but positive returns from relievers like Jake Spillane and Troy Wentworth making their first appearances in nearly two months, and one collegiate debut in second-year Roger Thomas entering in the ninth Sunday.
+ The 'Eaters are among the national leaders in sacrifice bunts (8th), triples (13th), walks allowed per game (25th), hit by pitch (36th), and WHIP (49th) leading the Big West in sacs, triples, and HBP. National leaders start with Gordon Ingebritson who is sixth in walks per 9 innings, 11th in K-to-BB ratio, 16th in WHIP, and 27th in ERA at 2.22 that leads the Big West. Taishi Nakawake has 13 sac bunts to rank third nationally. Nick Pinto ranks fourth in the Big West in strikeouts and his 27 strikeouts looking leads the Big West

LAST WEEK
+ UCI went 2-2 for a second straight week winning its eighth midweek contest over San Diego, 6-1, before dropping a home Big West series to No. 25 UC Santa Barbara.
+ The Anteaters have now lost 5 of its last 6 weekend series and 4 of its last 5 Big West including three straight at home.

THIS WEEK VS. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT, UC RIVERSIDE
+ UCI and LMU complete their midweek series Tuesday after the 'Eaters won the first, 7-3, at UCI one month ago.
+ The 'Eaters head onto the road for all four games including a three-game set starting Friday at UC Riverside.
+ UCI and UCR had a pair of weekend series in 2021 with UCR winning 2 of 3 at their place in March in a non-conference tilt before UCI won the Big West series in a four-game sweep back in Anteater Ballpark in May

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.
+ Last week, another UCI product made his MLB debut in 2017 NLI signee and No. 1 draft pick Royce Lewis 

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS
Loyola Marymount has enjoyed an extended layoff last playing on May 1with no game last Tuesday or weekend. Since the April 12 matchup at UCI, LMU has gone 5-7 losing 2 of 3 weekend WCC series and going 1-2 midweek which includes a home loss to UC Riverside. LMU is 16-27-1 overall, but a 12-9 conference record puts them fourth in the standings.

The Lions dropped the April 12 contest, 7-3, to UCI punctuated by four scoreless from David Vizcaino and the 'Eaters scoring in five consecutive innings. Tuesday night's meeting will be the 89th between the them as UCI holds leads overall a 47-38-3 and in games at LMU going 25-15-2 as they face former UCI assistant Nathan Choate as LMU's head coach.

The offense posts a .276 average as a team scoring 6.3 runs a game. Diego Baqueiro guides the bats with a .332 average and team highs with 61 hits, 10 HR, and 51 RBIs. Grant Weiss, son of UCI baseball alum Aaron Weiss, is also enjoying a successful 2021 with five homers and a .309 average. The offense from the first game came from two-hit nights by Weiss and Ben Grunberg while the Lions managed eight hits but struck out 12 times.

Pitching comes in with a 5.23 ERA while allowing opponents to hit for a .300 average on the season. Senior Jimmy Galicia made the start last time allowing two earned runs in 4.2 innings, and since has taken over weekend innings making three starts and pitching at least six in each including a 10-strikeout game at Gonzaga in a win. UCI did not face the best the bullpen has to offer either with Alex Burge (4.79, 2 saves), Merrick Baldo (3-1, 2 BB in 21.1IP), and Owen Hackman (3.22, 39 K) lurking for LMU.
 
UC RIVERSIDE HIGHLANDERS
UC Riverside enters the week with a 7-36 record tied at the bottom of the Big West with three wins. Their season did feature a three-game win streak, and have wins over Cal Poly, Saint Mary's, and two each over UC Davis and LMU. Their most recent weekend did end by getting no-hit at Long Beach State for a sixth straight conference loss, but will return home to host Washington State Tuesday at The Plex where they have earned six of their wins.

The Highlanders gave UCI fits in 2021 winning a non-conference series in Riverside in March before UCI returned the favor with a four-game series sweep back home in May.  All-time, the sides have matched up 87 times including UCI's very first game in 1970. UCI leads the series, 57-30, and are 23-19 in Riverside.

The offense comes in batting .225 averaging 3.7 runs a game and 7.3 hits a game. Dylan Orick paces them with 36 hits, 19 for extra bases, 25 RBIs, and three of the team's six home runs. Others like Anthony Mata (35 H, 14 BB, 13 RBI), Andrew Rivas (HR, 17 RBI), and Joey Nicolai (33 H, 11 2B, 16 RBI) can also get the job done.

The pitching despite a 7.53 ERA has some arms with Jeremiah Priddy (4.28, 39 K) healthy and Sergio Ramirez (2-5, 2.45) dealing out of the bullpen. The 43 starts have been scattered among 10 different Highlanders and familiar names like Tucker Juline, Eric Marrujo, and Tyler Frazier collecting wins and productive innings.

Defense is something UC Riverside does do well with one of the Big West's best fielding percentages at .973 both overall and in conference play including 11 runners caught stealing behind the plate and 53 double plays turned around the infield.