MIDWEEK

UC Irvine Anteaters (3-0) vs. USC Trojans (3-0)
Los Angeles, Calif. - Dedeaux Field
Tuesday - 6:30 PM | Pac-12.com | KUCI | Live Stats

THE SERIES

UC Irvine Anteaters (3-0) at the Tony Gwynn Legacy

Friday - 10:00 AM vs. Washington State (4-0) at Tony Gwynn Stadium | KUCI | Live Stats
Sunday - 1:00 PM vs. UNLV (3-0) at Fowler Park | WCC Network | KUCI | Live Stats
Monday - 6:00 PM at San Diego (3-0-1) | WCC Network | KUCI  | Live Stats

Gameday Page
Game Notes

PITCHING PROBABLES

Tuesday: UCI RHP Andre Antone vs. USC RHP Caden Aoki
Friday: UCI RHP David Vizcaino vs. WSU RHP Dakota Hawkins
Sunday: UCI RHP Riley Kelly vs. UNLV TBD
Monday: UCI TBD vs. USD TBD

EARLY RETURNS

+ UC Irvine starts with a series sweep for the second time in three years. Head Coach Ben Orloff remains unbeaten in season openers improving to 5-0
+ UCI's pair of shutouts surpass the 2022 total of just one. The last series that featured two shutouts was at home in 2019 against a visiting St. John's squad
+ The bullpen was used for 18 of the 27 innings allowing just two runs while collecting 28 of the team's 41 strikeouts. Bullpen arms inherited five runs stranding four of them
+ In all but two innings, the 'Eaters were tied or defending a lead of three runs or less and never trailed to the Green Wave. Anteaters arms recorded six holds including a pair each by Tanner Brooks and Cameron Wheeler.
+ UCI closers landed a save in each of the games. Designated closer Jacob King collected two including one of four outs. Michael Stanford retired all six hitters he faced Saturday to nail down his first career save.
+ Offensive standouts included Myles Smith who reached all four times in Friday's win and scored a run in all three contests. Caden Kendle topped the team with four RBI and launched the first home of the season Saturday. Dub Gleed was consistent to lead the club in hitting at .444 and on-base percentage.

NATIONAL PRAISE

+ Jo Oyama's three triples put him in sole possession of the national lead
+ Jacob King is 1 of 4 pitchers to collect two saves so far
+ UCI pitching is 10th in ERA and 19th in WHIP (0.96)
+ UCI is the only program to throw two shutouts thus far
+ Pitching averaged 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings, 10th in the NCAA and second in the Big West

DIAMOND DARLINGS

+ Anteater newcomers made waves in their first games with hitters combining for a 10-for-40 mark with six runs, nine RBIs, and all four triples
+ Jo Oyama made the most noise crushing three triples including the eighth two-triple game in team history and first since 2014. His .909 slugging percentage led the squad, and he reached six times while stealing his first career base
+ Jacob Stinson started the final two games where he reached three times, drove in two runs on sac flies, stole a base, and did not go down on strikes once
+ Tony Martinez reached in all three games and added hits in the final two games including a two-run double
+ Will Bermudez tripled for his and the team's first hit. He brought a high level of glovework on the defensive end to contribute to the pair of shutouts as well
+ Pitchers making debuts included Riley Kelly striking out the side in his only inning and Max Martin picking up a hold Saturday in 1.2 innings of work. Other firsts saw Finnegan Wall's starting debut as he recorded seven outs on five Ks.

TOP OF THE ORDER

+ UCI's career leaders start with Luke Spillane at 120 games and 109 starts in the field. He's also tops with 405 at-bats, 70 runs, 106 hits, 15 doubles, five HRs, 74 RBI, and 22 stolen bases
+ A few streaks hold over from last season like Caden Kendle's on-base streak that's grown to 30 games. David Vizcaino has an 11-inning shutout streak following 5.2 on Friday.
+ Jacob King now has 14 saves and 59 appearances in his Anteater career adding 82 strikeouts in 68.2 IP.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS

The Trojans are under new leadership as Andy Stankiewicz takes over after a successful 11-year run at Grand Canyon winning five conference titles and reaching the NCAA Tournament twice.

The 2022 squad produced another sub-par season going 25-28 with just eight conference wins to finish in dead last in the Pac-12.

The 2023 Trojans are off to a good start under its new coach going 3-0 against Marist over the weekend. They needed a late burst to win Friday night, 8-6, before running away with the rest of the series winning 17-4 and 12-2 to close it out.

Hot starts belong with many hitters as the team hit .323 over the weekend with a pair of players, Ryan Jackson and Nick Lopez, hitting over .500. Lopez also mashed three home runs and a team-high six RBIs  along with three doubles. Jackson worked his was to a .733 on-base percentage without falling victim to a strikeout

On the mound USC used solid starting pitching while the bullpen allowed just one earned run. The staff struck out 31 Marist hitters while issuing just seven walks and a save in the opener from Kyle Wisch. Caden Aoki will make his USC debut Tuesday, a transfer that tossed 9.1 IP last year for Notre Dame.

ALL-TIME SERIES

USC returns to the Anteater schedule for the first time since 2020. The 'Eaters and Trojans have been yearly midweek rivals with UCI holding a slight lead in the all-time series, 36-34.

SCOUTING THE WEEKEND

UCI's weekend will feature three different opponents from three different conferences and played on three different fields.

UC Irvine returns to the Tony Gwynn Legacy after competing in 2017. UCI began with a 14-run win over Notre Dame in that tournament, but dropped the final three matchups to Oregon, San Diego, and a walk-off to a Dave Serrano-coached Tennessee program in eight innings.

Like the Anteaters, all three opponents finished their weekend series with unbeaten marks.

Friday afternoon's contest on the campus of San Diego State pits the 'Eaters against their second Pac-12 opponent of the week in Washington State. The Cougars have already played four neutral site matchups with two wins each against Villanova and UC Riverside out in Peoria, Arizona. WSU averaged 13.5 runs a game in the four wins, and will likely send their ace out Friday in Dakota Hawkins who struck out 10 Wildcats in five scoreless frames to start the year. This will be the first matchup between the schools not played on UCI's campus. The 'Eaters are 7-2 all-time vs. the Cougars last playing in 2019 with the 'Eaters claiming a series sweep.

Saturday night will be a true road test as one of the tournament's hosts, San Diego, welcomes UCI for a weekend tilt. UCI and USD met the last time the 'Eaters participated in the Tony Gwynn Legacy with USD taking the win, 14-6. Last year, the teams split their midweek matchups. USD finished off a four-game home series with Nebraska that featured three wins and a 16-16 tie in Monday's finale. Garrett Rennie will likely take the mound after the righty did not receive a decision over the week allowing one run in five innings. USD's tournament begins Friday night with a home test against another Big West foe, Hawai'i

UCI ends the weekend with an early morning matchup at UC San Diego's Triton Ballpark with a 10:00 a.m. first pitch vs. UNLV. The Rebels massacred Pacific in a sweep scoring 53 runs, winning by no less than five runs, and finishing with an obscene 31-6 trouncing in the finale. Joey Acosta is in line for the start as he was on the mound in that 25-run drubbing earning the win. UNLV swings by Arizona State for a Tuesday night matchup, and will play four times in the tournament over four days and three parks starting with UCSD Friday, Hawai'i Saturday, and a Monday matchup with Washington State. This will be the 82nd meeting all-time with the Mountain West favorites and UCI winning 43 of those, but the teams split the last time they played in 2016, and on a neutral site UNLV has won two of three all-time.

DOWN THE LINE

Looking ahead to next week, UC Irvine returns home for a Tuesday test against Michigan out of the Big Ten before a trip to Tempe to lock horns with Arizona State for a road series.