2025 BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP, PRESENTED BY ONTARIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

[1] UC Irvine Anteaters (39-13, 24-6 Big West)
Goodwin Field (3,500) - Fullerton, Calif.
Thursday vs. Hawai'i - 3:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Friday vs. Cal Poly - 3:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Saturday vs. Cal Poly - 7:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Sunday vs. Cal Poly - 3:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats

PITCHING PROBABLES
Thursday: UCI RHP Riley Kelly vs. UH RHP Itsuki Takemoto
Friday: UCI RHP Trevor Hansen vs. CP LHP Josh Volmerding
Saturday: UCI LHP Ryder Brooks vs. CP LHP Jaccob Torres
Sunday: UCI RHP Finnegan Wall vs. CP RHP Ethan Marmie

Game Notes

AROUND THE HORN
3rd - UCI won the Big West for a 3rd time joining the 2009 and 2021 'Eaters. UC Irvine will be the inaugural No. 1 seed in the Big West Championship
11-2 - The 'Eaters went 11-2 against the rest of the Championship field sweeping three in Big West series, and 7-0 in games played away from home
20-5 - UCI is 20-5 on the road, top 2 in the NCAA for a third season in a row, along with a 3-1 neutral site record. Over the last 3 years, UCI is 68-21 away from home
12 - 12 Anteaters were All-Big West including the first unanimous winners of Field Player, Pitcher, and Coach of the Year since UCI did so in 2009
 
LEADING OFF
+ UC Irvine won the Big West regular season for the third time joining the 2009 and 2021 Anteaters. In the process, UCI earned the No. 1 seed in the inaugural Big West Championship. They await their opening opponent which will be the winner of the UC Santa Barbara vs. Hawai'i matchup Wednesday afternoon.
+ The rest of the five-team field includes host Cal State Fullerton who will play 2-seed Cal Poly in the other Thursday matchup in addition to UCSB and Hawai'i playing to survive Wednesday with the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament going to the tournament winners. UC Irvine's record against the rest of the field is 11-2 having swept three of the teams in Big West series, two coming on the road
+ Big West Awards were issued Tuesday with UC Irvine picking up Big West Field Player of the Year, Colin Yeaman, Pitcher of the Year, Ricky Ojeda, and Coach of the Year Ben Orloff. It's the first time a team has won each award since 2015 and first time a team has done so without sharing any award since Orloff, Daniel Bibona, and Mike Gillespie did it for the 'Eaters in 2009.
Þ It's the program's seventh Big West Field Player of the Year, third year in a row, seventh Big West Pitcher of the Year, first since 2019, and fifth Coach of the Year, fourth in the Big West, and second for coach Orloff
Þ There were 12 Anteaters on the All-Big West team with Blake Penso, Jacob McCombs, and Trevor Hansen joining Yeaman and Ojeda on the first team, second-teamers Anthony Martinez, Chase Call, Riley Kelly, and Max Martin, and an honorable mention trio of Will Bermudez, Frankie Carney, and Ryder Brooks. There were eight first-timers among the winners, three returners (Ojeda, Bermudez, Call), and three-time honoree Anthony Martinez
+ UC Irvine is among the nationally ranked as the regular season concludes reaching as high as Nos. 7 and 8 on April 28. They began at No. 24 in the preseason by Baseball America. This week, they're as high as No. 11 by NCBWA in addition to 18th in USA Today coaches poll, 19th in Perfect Game USA, 20th in D1Baseball, and 22nd by Baseball America
+ UC Irvine is 6-3 this season against ranked opponents. UCI took 1 of 3 at No. 11 Oregon State, defeated No. 15 UCLA, has a win over No. 24 Nebraska in the season opener, a one-run loss to No. 16 Vanderbilt on a neutral site, and three wins on the road over No. 21 UC Santa Barbara.
+ The regular season ended with the 'Eaters winning 11 of the 14 weekend series with seven sweeps, the longest losing streak at two games, and winning streaks of five, six, eight, and 12 games throughout the year:
Þ As a team, UC Irvine sits fifth in HBP, 18th in shutouts, 21st in triples, 25th in sacrifice hits, 28th in on-base percentage, 32nd in strikeouts per nine innings, 36th in doubles, 39th in runs per game, 41st in batting, 45th in hits, 48th in ERA, 48th in hits allowed per nine innings, and just out the top 50 in fielding, strikeout-to-walk ratio, WHIP, and slugging percentage
Þ Anteaters in the national rankings include:
+ Ricky Ojeda - 1st in wins, 27th in least hits allowed per nine innings and strikeouts per nine innings, 49th in appearances, 62nd in WHIP, and 105th in strikeouts
+ Jacob McCombs - 16th in triples and 44th in HBP
+ Trevor Hansen - 11st in starts, 33rd in wins, 64th in ERA, and 75th in strikeouts
+ Max Martin - T3rd in saves
+ Will Bermudez - 11th in sacrifice hits and 2nd in the Big West
+ David Butler - 10th in pitching appearances, T1st in Big West, with a team-leading seven holds out of the setup role
+ The Anteater offense scored 8.2 runs a game to lead the Big West and finished top two in each part of the slashline:
Þ Jacob McCombs enters the postseason as the team's leader in hitting at .363, triples with five, his 16 doubles tied for the lead, and his 55 runs scored stands as the best in the Big West
Þ Colin Yeaman hit 13 home runs to lead the team finishing third in the Big West along with team highs in hits, slugging, OPS, and RBIs. He started his UCI career reaching base in 39 straight games and at one point had a 21-game hitting streak, tied for third-longest in program history
Þ Chase Call returned Saturday after missing eight games with a back injury following an outfield collision. He provided a key outfield assist and reached three times to finish as the team's leader in OBP and HBP while becoming the program's home run king standing currently at 28
Þ Alonso Reyes enters the postseason as the hottest Anteater hitter at .483 in the month of May with two four-hit games including one Saturday with three doubles scoring and driving in three, all that gave UCI the lead at the time
+ Anteater pitching closes with a 4.74 ERA, but their 4.22 conference ERA led the Big West along with the overall totals of 17 saves and five shutouts:
Þ Ricky Ojeda is the national and Anteater leader with 12 wins, and is top five in the Big West in ERA, WHIP, least hits with 6.14 per nine innings, and strikeouts
Þ Trevor Hansen topped UCI pitching in innings, strikeouts, and ERA with an 8-2 record winning seven times in Big West matchups, tied for the most. He also added his seventh quality start Friday giving the team 10 for the season
Þ The weekend rotation has solidified with Riley Kelly and Ryder Brooks a combined 7-1 in Big West play and each striking out 47 hitters in 44.1 innings.
Þ Max Martin and his 13 saves rank third in the nation with 12 coming in Big West games and four in the month of May
Þ UCI's unsung arms include David Butler with 28 appearances tying him for the Big West lead picking up two wins, two saves, and a team-high seven holds, Danny Suarez picked up his second career win Saturday as he and Jack Ross have been pivotal in UCI's winning down the stretch, and David Utagawa has thrown shutout ball in May over 5.1 innings including a win and a hold