THE SERIES

UC Irvine Anteaters (15-3, 2-1 Big West) vs. Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (4-16, 1-2 Big West)
Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark - Irvine, Calif.

Friday - 6:00 PM | ESPN+ | KUCI | Live Stats
Saturday - 1:00 PM | ESPN+ | KUCI | Live Stats
Sunday - 1:00 PM | ESPN+ | KUCI | Live Stats

PITCHING PROBABLES
Friday: UCI LHP Nick Pinto vs. CSUB RHP Ryan Verdugo
Saturday: UCI RHP Trevor Hansen vs. CSUB RHP Jacob Gutierrez
Sunday: UCI LHP Brandon Luu vs. CSUB LHP Kellan O'Connor

Gameday Page
Game Notes
Scout Pack

AROUND THE HORN
#19 - UC Irvine enters the week ranked in five polls with Baseball America coming in the highest at #19
4 - UCI has earned a Big West award in 4 of the season's 5 weeks adding Nick Pinto as last week's top pitcher
18 - UCI's winning streak ended at 18 games, 2nd-longest in UCI history, and the 12-0 start was best in UCI history
6 - UCI is 1 of 6 programs in the nation that ranks in the top 25 in runs scored per game (9.4) and ERA (3.92)
 
LEADING OFF
+ UC Irvine finished the week 2-2; shutout Tuesday night and a heartbreaking loss in 11 innings Sunday. The 'Eaters did go 2-1 in Big West games sitting one game back of first place UC Santa Barbara
+ UCI started 2024 12-0, the 'Eaters' best-ever start to a season. UCI was the third-to-last team to lose a game outlasted only by Texas A&M and Florida State
+ Nick Pinto scored Big West Pitcher of the Week from eight innings of shutout, 3-hit ball Friday night. He did not pick up a decision leaving Friday's game tied, 0-0, but struck out seven and now has five awards to his name in his career
+ Fifth-year Anteater starter Nick Pinto is 3-1 over five starts this season. He continues to lead active NCAA pitchers with 51 career starts and will tie Scott Gorgen for fourth all-time in his next one. After starting the year 10th on the program's career strikeout list, he's moved to sixth surpassing Trenton Denholm, Elliot Surrey, Justin Cassel, and on Friday Andre Pallante with 265 strikeouts.
+ The Anteaters are beginning to make a national name for themselves statistically. The 'Eaters enter the week ranked 21st with a 3.92 ERA and 22nd with an offense scoring 9.4 runs per game. They are 1 of 6 programs within the top 25 in both along with schools such as Tennessee, Texas A&M, Duke, Virginia Tech, and unbeaten Florida State.
+ UC Irvine continues to stand among the national leaders in addition to their runs per game and ERA marks. Elsewhere, they are top 50 in hit by pitch (3rd), sac runs (13th), on-base percentage (18th), walks allowed per game (26th), strikeout-to-walk ratio (26th), triples (33rd), doubles (35th), runs (40th), fielding percentage (42nd), and walks (43rd).
+ Anteaters among the nation's best include Jo Oyama, 10th in the NCAA hit by pitch 10 times, Luke Spillane ranking eighth in sac bunts, Myles Smith 22nd with 21 walks, Ricky Tibbett's four saves good for ninth-best, Nick Pinto ranking 58th in ERA and 97th in WHIP, and Caden Kendle at 51st in batting, 35th in hits per game, 40th in on-base percentage, and 59th in RBIs per game.
+ UCI came away with a stellar week from their starting pitching. UCI's four starts together produced a 0.96 ERA, three walks, 15 strikeouts, and opponents hitting just .164
Þ Brandon Luu was called upon twice throwing a scoreless inning Wednesday and then five solid innings Sunday allowing one run in all
Þ Veteran Nick Pinto had one of his best starts at UCI throwing three-hit ball. He completed eight innings for the fourth time in his career, and struck out seven in the 20th career quality start of his 51 as an Anteater
Þ Trevor Hansen continued to impress falling one out shy of earning the decision. He matched his strikeout high with seven, and did not walk a batter doing it all in just 59 pitches helping UCI win, 6-1, Saturday
+ UC Irvine held firm in the national rankings as they still sit No. 19 according to Baseball America. There were small drops in D1Baseball, from 22nd to 24th, and Perfect Game, from 22nd to 23rd, while rising from 22nd to 20th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll.
 
 
SCOUTING THE 'RUNNERS
Cal State Bakersfield returns to UC Irvine after the programs had an offensive series at Hardt Field last year. The 'Eaters managed to take all three and improve to 24-6 in the all-time series while holding a 13-3 advantage at home. Since joining the Big West in 2021, the 'Eaters have dropped two games to the Roadrunners in 10 tries as CSUB has finished ninth twice and seventh in the Big West standings.

The 'Runners have had a tough start to 2024 losing their first nine to the likes of Oregon State, Missouri, New Mexico, Minnesota, LMU, Utah, and San Diego State. They're winners of four in their last 12 games including a ninth-inning comeback Sunday to avoid a sweep to Hawai'i. CSUB has been in it, too, losing eight of their games by three runs or less.

The offense has started slow averaging 4.4 runs a game and hitting .254. While they excel in producing hits, they have six home runs as a team. The big bats early on have been Matthew Kurata (.316, 2 HR, 9 RBI), Cody Hendriks (.318, 5 2B, 5 RBI), and tablesetters Jonah Shields (.366, 7 RBI) and Nick Salas (18 H, 10 BB, 4 SB) pacing the Roadrunners

Pitching has been the beacon shining Bakersfield in the right direction with a 5.45 ERA and a solid defense behind them turning 16 double plays and among the Big West's best with a .972 fielding percentage. The three weekend arms of Ryan Verdugo, Jacob Gutierrez, and Kellen O'Connor have been quality with a 3.72 ERA between them and 90 strikeouts to 32 walks. Gary Grosjean has also worked as a starter while the bullpen is led by David Villegas (1-0, 3.72) and big innings from Tally Wright Jr., Tobias Plotkin, and Ryan Figueroa which makes them dangerous heading into the weekend where both teams will be on full rest.