SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. --- UC Irvine baseball fell short Friday night to open the series against Cal Poly at Baggett Stadium with a 5-4 loss.

The game was decided in the eighth inning with the clubs tied 4-4 as Cal Poly (5-13, 2-2) came to bat. Wyatt King began the inning with a dribbler to the mound. Tanner Brooks made the play but his throw went up the line as King sped on to second base to start the frame. The following batter, Taison Corio, laid down the sacrifice bunt, and that was thrown away by catcher Thomas McCaffrey to plate King for the go-ahead run.

The 'Eaters (12-6, 1-3) looked to answer and did so by loading the bases thanks to a pair of walks and infield single with just one out. Mustang closer Kyle Scott would fight through the jam with a strikeout and flyout to keep the 'Eaters from drawing even and finishing out the 5-4 win for Cal Poly.

FINAL SCORE: CAL POLY 5, UC IRVINE 4
The game was never separated by more than a run all the way with both sides leading in the first inning. Caden Kendle doubled home a run for the 1-0 lead in the top of the first with Cal Poly finding two runs in the bottom half to lead 2-1.

UCI took the lead back in the third inning with a two-run single by Thomas McCaffrey for a 3-2 edge. After Cal Poly tied things up in the fifth, UCI took the lead back 4-3 in the seventh on a base hit by Chase Call.

The offense missed other opportunities with 10 men left on base including multiple runners left on in four innings and twice leaving the bases loaded. Jo Oyama had a three-hit game, Anthony Martinez had two hits to up his average to .380, and Will Bermudez scored twice without recording a hit on the night.

"We're not playing good enough to win," said head coach Ben Orloff. "We've got to get better starting pitching, we've got to execute better on offense, if we don't do those things and they do, they win and we don't. Teams like Fullerton and Cal Poly are better than most of the teams we've played, the pitching is better, caliber of team is better. This was a one-run game that could have gone either way and we felt short in those areas that mattered."

Pitching was carried by Michael Stanford going four innings to match his career best allowing one run with no walks and two strikeouts. David Vizcaino lasted just one inning as the starter allowing a pair of runs on 36 pitches.

"Stanford was huge, he picked us up and gave us a chance to win this game."

Looking ahead to Saturday, the Anteaters look to even the series with Nick Pinto on the mound. Fellow left-hander Travis Weston goes for Cal Poly with a 4:00 p.m. first pitch from Baggett Stadium.