UC Irvine
1-0
Nebraska
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Irvine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 1 |
| Nebraska | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
'Eaters Win 10-5 on Opening Day over No. 24 Nebraska
February 14, 2025 | Baseball
- UCI made the first noise with a two-out first-inning rally getting a Chase Call single and RBI double by Jacob McCombs for a 1-0 lead.
- The 'Eaters got some distance between them and the Cornhuskers thanks to a five-run fourth inning highlighted by 2-out, 2-run singles from Will Bermudez and Chase Call for a 6-0 lead
- After Nebraska got a couple runs back, UCI's bats responded in the fifth with four more runs including a booming, three-run, two-out triple by Colin Yeaman to extend the lead to 10-2
- UC Irvine's staff was the unsung hero on Friday with a brilliant outing from three top arms:
- Danny Suarez set the tone from the start with three scoreless, one-hit innings and four strikeouts before running into trouble in the fourth
- Ricky Ojeda picked him up shutting down the threat and pitching into the eighth allowing just one earned run and striking out four of his own
- Max Martin wrapped up the final two innings allowing one run and striking out two
- A lot of first-timers got their shot on Friday with Division I debuts for Yeaman, Alonso Reyes, and Davis D'Errico, and Anteater debuts for Zach Fjelstad and Jacob McCombs. As a group, they had five hits, scored five runs, and drove in six
- UCI's win comes over No. 24 Nebraska, the 93rd win over a ranked team in program history coming off two in the 2024 season. UCI also takes over the all-time series lead with the Cornhuskers at 5-4.
Postgame Thoughts from Head Coach Ben Orloff
"Good win. Opening day is always tough. We were able to score first and Suarez pitched well until the fourth, but he gave us a chance to stabilize things early. These opening day games can go sideways fast. He did a good job, a lot of different offensive production from a lot of different guys which is good to see. I really liked the bullpen; when we can play from ahead and turn it over to the guys we have in there, it's a good winning formula for us."
"Ricky comes into a big spot where it's bases loaded, we had just scored a lot and they were getting back into it. He gets the strikeout and then the grounder on a nice play by Fjelstad. Even Max Martin, he inherits a runner and gets the double play, those guys were good. We scored 10, but we really pitched well for a majority of the game. Even when it went sideways on it, we were able to stay away from the huge inning."
"That run in the first with two outs and nobody on helped us settle in. McConnaughey's pitching we were not having much success with that, but to not overreact to it, hang around, do enough, and string together good at-bats in a row together in back-to-back innings, that's the name of the game."
Baseball gold!! New 'Eater Jacob McCombs drives in Chase and we're up 1-0! #RipEm pic.twitter.com/qxkYzqT05X
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) February 14, 2025
Danny strikes out the first hitter of a 1-2-3 1st #EatersGottaEat pic.twitter.com/dcLE6WKsCM
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) February 14, 2025
Clutch city @williamb_13 #EatersGottaEat pic.twitter.com/mpAIOmGsmS
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) February 14, 2025
Yeaman strikes gold!! 2-out, bases-clearing triple from the newbie and it's 10-2 'Eaters!! #RipEm pic.twitter.com/PRvK4qRIq9
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) February 14, 2025
Ballgame! 'Eaters are 1-0 #EatersGottaEat pic.twitter.com/QGBSxFgUtN
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) February 14, 2025
?? OPERATION WEST COAST EXPOSURE ??
— Jack DeLongchamps (@JDelongchamps) February 14, 2025
UC Irvine is one of the best teams in the country & today they went out & proved it
Their skipper breaks-down todays opening day W, their teams identity & his love of all things pencils @UCIbsb ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/FWEgt4pDGu
?? MEET THE EATERS ??
— Jack DeLongchamps (@JDelongchamps) February 15, 2025
A big time opening day dub means pencil talks galore@UCIbsb ??@MLBDesertInvite pic.twitter.com/CBByNU81wR
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ojeda, Ricky (1-0)
L: McConnaughey (0-1)
Batting:
2B: McCombs, Jacob 2 ; Reyes, Alonso 1
3B: Yeaman, Colin 1
RBI: Bermudez, Will 2 ; Yeaman, Colin 3 ; Call, Chase 2 ; McCombs, Jacob 1 ; Reyes, Alonso 1 ; D'Errico, Davis 1
SH: Penso, Blake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bermudez, Will 1 ; Call, Chase 1 ; McCombs, Jacob 1 ; Castagnola, James 1 ; Reyes, Alonso 2 ; Penso, Blake 2 ; D'Errico, Davis 2
HBP: Call, Chase 1 ; Penso, Blake 1
Batting:
2B: Buettenback 1 ; Carey, D. 1 ; Bolin, R. 1
RBI: Carey, D. 1 ; Sanderson, C 1 ; Swansen, G. 1 ; Stokes, R. 1
SF: Sanderson, C 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Buettenback 3 ; Carey, D. 1 ; Bolin, R. 1
HBP: Swansen, G. 1 ; Stokes, R. 1
