
Ninth-Inning Call Longball Tops UCLA, 9-7
April 23, 2024 | Baseball
- A back-and-forth game in Westwood where each side led multiple times in addition to four ties
- The 'Eaters took the early lead with a Caden Kendle sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead in the first
- UCLA came back to tie the game 1-1 in the third on a sac fly and 2-2 in the fourth on a home run before taking their first lead in the fifth on an infield single, 3-2
- The Anteaters roared back in the sixth with three runs including two-out hits by Chase Call to take the lead back and James Castagnola to make it a 5-3 advantage
- The Bruin long ball brought them back again with a Jack Holman home run in the sixth, a tying blast in the eighth by Duce Gourson, and Roch Cholowsky's second homer of the game later that inning to snatch the lead back, 7-5
- With the 'Eaters trailing again heading to the ninth, the bats got to work
- Anthony Martinez snapped an 0-for-4 night with a base hit and got to third base on Myles Smith's third double of the game
- Will Bermudez got his first hit of the night with a timely one-out RBI single to cut it to a 7-6 game
- Chase Call dropped the thunderous note two pitches later with a home run to straightaway center field to turn the game back to UCI, 9-7
- The offense as a whole was driven by Myles Smith with his four hits, three doubles, and three runs scored
- Chase Call drove in four on two hits joining Castagnola and McCaffrey who each had two-hit games and an RBI
- Woody Hadeen again reached base four times scoring a run and swiping a bag
- Pitching began with Tim Grack who pitched into the fifth inning allowing three runs and four hits and striking out three
- All five pitchers earned a strikeout with four giving up a run
- David Utagawa was dominant in the ninth inning to earn his first collegiate saves striking out all three hitters looking
Postgame Thoughts from Head Coach Ben Orloff
"I thought we played well. We controlled the game until the three home runs, but we played well and hit some balls hard. It's just a special team, we believe we're going to win. Down two in the ninth, Tony gets that thing going, Myles was unbelievable, Will gets that big hit and really good baserunning to get to second base, and then Chase Call was the hero so it was fun."
"We'd like to do it easier, but this puts us in a place where we always believe we're going to win in regards to circumstances we believe we're going to win. When you've got a team that does that, it's powerful, and we've got a lot of good players. It's kind of only just a matter of time until we get the big hit or go ahead, so it's a good group."
T-Mac ties us back up!! #EatersGottaEat pic.twitter.com/WB389Hx6mJ
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) April 24, 2024
And Chase with 2 outs for the lead back!! #EatersGottaEat pic.twitter.com/9GjV5wTXlq
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) April 24, 2024
James havin' a game!! #EatersGottaEat pic.twitter.com/n4e8sXTqr3
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) April 24, 2024
The Big West Player of the Week is at it again!! 1-run ballgame with 1 out #EatersGottaEat pic.twitter.com/Qw02h8YBcX
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) April 24, 2024
CHASE CALL TO DEAD CENTER!! #EatersGottaEat
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) April 24, 2024
3-RUN HOMER 'EATERS LEAD 9-7 IN THE NINTH!! pic.twitter.com/OihXQdh2hm
Utagawa strikes out the side looking for the save and the W!!
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) April 24, 2024
'Eaters 9, UCLA 7#EatersGottaEat pic.twitter.com/730yKq2S2K
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Martin, Max (1-0)
L: Ruff (2-4)
S: Utagawa, David (1)

Batting:
2B: Oyama, Jo 1 ; Smith, Myles 3
HR: Call, Chase 1
RBI: Kendle, Caden 1 ; McCaffrey, Thomas 1 ; Bermudez, Will 1 ; Call, Chase 4 ; Castagnola, James 1
SF: Kendle, Caden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hadeen, Woody 1 ; Martinez, Anthony 1 ; Smith, Myles 3 ; McCaffrey, Thomas 1 ; Bermudez, Will 1 ; Call, Chase 2
SB: Hadeen, Woody 1 ; McCaffrey, Thomas 1
HBP: Hadeen, Woody 1

Batting:
HR: Gourson 1 ; Holman 1 ; Cholowsky 2
RBI: Schrier 2 ; Gourson 1 ; Holman 1 ; Cholowsky 3
SH: Salgado 1
SF: Schrier 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gourson 1 ; Holman 1 ; Knight 1 ; Cholowsky 2 ; Dugger 1 ; Brennan 1














