SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- UC Irvine baseball fell behind early and never could quite make up ground dropping its first game for 2023, 10-4, to UNLV Sunday at Fowler Park.
REBEL YELL
The Anteaters (5-1) were the home team Sunday in a neutral site matchup, and UNLV (4-2) hitting first wasted little time. The first five hitters reached and scored with Alex Pimentel's bases-clearing double in the gap really putting the 'Eaters up against it trailing 5-0 before they could come to bat.
UNLV continued to flex their offensive muscles adding hits and run throughout with a big two-run double in the fifth as they pounded out 17 hits on the afternoon.
ANTEATER ANSWERS
UCI started slow but did punch back a couple times in the contest.
Will Bermudez got the 'Eaters off the mat in the second inning with a home run in his second straight at-bat dating back to Friday. This time from the right side the plate, he cleared the left-center wall to make it a 5-1 ballgame.
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In an 8-1 ballgame in the seventh, UCI finally chased starter Josh Sharman and awoke with three straight hits to start the inning. Doubles by
Jo Oyama and
Caden Kendle got things going, and
Tony Martinez pummeled his first career home run deep to right field to put the Anteaters right back in the ballgame at 8-4.
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FINAL SCORE: UNLV 10, UC IRVINE 4
UCI's first loss of the season puts them at 5-1 on the year early on, but still good for the third-longest winning streak to open a season in program history.
Starter
Riley Kelly lasted just 0.1 IP accounting for all five first-inning runs and was handed his first career loss.
Finnegan Wall pitched well in relief of Kelly putting up four innings of his own and scoreless ball until a pair of runs allowed to end his day in the fifth.
The Anteaters finished with 10 hits themselves including two-hit days from Oyama, Gleed, and Bermudez.
Chase Call added a hit and reached on walks twice. Oyama picked up his third steal of the season.
Thomas McCaffrey also made his season debut as a pinch-hitter in the ninth recording the final out.
BACK TOMORROW
The Tony Legacy closes up for UCI again in Fowler Park at USD against the hosts, San Diego, on Monday, February 27. First pitch comes in at 6:00 p.m. with starters for both sides yet to be announced.
