UC Irvine
4-0
San Diego State
3-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego State | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| UC Irvine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 5 | 10 | 0 |
Anteaters Take Home Opener, 5-2, Over SDSU
February 18, 2026 | Baseball
- Jack Ross took the mound for the midweek start and started strong with two scoreless picking up a strikeout and allowed one baserunner
- A towering flyball couldn't get hauled in at the right field wall to start the third inning for a triple that later came home on a groundball to put the Aztecs ahead, 1-0
- The Anteaters struggled to solve SDSU starter Alec Belardes who retired the first seven he faced and got through three innings allowing just two baserunners and racking up four strikeouts
- The UC Irvine bats came back with a vengeance in the fourth inning
- UCI got a leadoff triple of their own on a Tommy Farmer shot into the left-center gap one-hopping the wall to start the rally
- Rowan Felsch tied the game up with a hit to right field, 1-1, and UCI snagged the lead, 2-1, on a passed ball
- Kai Smith tripled by a diving center fielder to make it a 3-1 game, and he would score on a Noah Alvarez sacrifice fly for a four-run frame
- Ross ran with that lead pitching into the fifth inning before giving way to Dane Grant
- Grant tossed a scoreless inning striking out two, and a fellow freshman Hunter Manning followed with three strikeouts over an inning pitched
- Ryder Brooks added 1.2 inning striking out two and sending UCI to the ninth with a lead
- The bats added an insurance run with three consecutive singles in the seventh capped by Alonso Reyes shooting one up the middle for an RBI and a 5-1 lead
- Peyton Rodgers entered in the ninth inning facing his former school
- He loaded the bases from two singles and a walk with one out before getting a key comebacker that scored a run to make it 5-2
- With the tying run at the plate, he came through with a strikeouts closing the door on the victory.
- Ross snagged the win in his 2026 debut, his fourth in his Anteater career
- Pitching totaled 11 strikeouts on the night with one from each pitcher as Grant, Manning, and Brooks each collected a hold
- UCI's season high 10 hits came from two-hit games by Farmer, Reyes, and Efren Ortega
- Five different 'Eaters scored a run and four different players drove one in with Felsch and Smith doing both
- Smith's triple and RBI were both the first of his collegiate career. He was joined by Farmer, Ortega, Alvarez, Manning, Grant, and Rodgers all making their Anteater Ballpark debuts
- Farmer stole third base making him 3-for-3 this season, and Alonso Reyes stole his first UCI base
- The Anteaters have now won seven straight in the series with SDSU dating back to 2020
- UCI has won despite giving up the first runs of the game for each of the last two contests
- For the first time, Anteater Ballpark featured video replay reviews and two challenges were issued, both in the seventh inning
- Efren Ortega appeared to back-pick Jabin Trosky for the first out of the top of the seventh, but the play was challenged by SDSU and reversed to safe leaving Trosky on base
- The final out of the inning was a grounder to Alonso Reyes flipped to Ryder Brooks for the bang-bang out. SDSU also challenged the call, but it was confirmed an out
- A total of 5:03 was used total for the two reviews
Felsch knows how to make an entrance #EatersGottaEat pic.twitter.com/eaNg7BQYbU
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) February 19, 2026
Rowan rips it tied #EatersGottaEat pic.twitter.com/Fgs1Vvh80e
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) February 19, 2026
Welcome to the show, Kai Smith!! #EatersGottaEat pic.twitter.com/RChotjivWa
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) February 19, 2026
Final K from a solid Tuesday from Jack Ross - 4.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 0 BB, 3 K #RipEm pic.twitter.com/g4HaXH4JEW
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) February 19, 2026
Hunter Manning gets his first 2 collegiate Ks! #EatersGottaEat pic.twitter.com/uYkSRusoaW
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) February 19, 2026
Ballgame!! Peyton seals the win against his former mates! #EatersGottaEat pic.twitter.com/DXS8shiOcY
— UCI Baseball (@UCIbsb) February 19, 2026
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ross, Jack (1-0)
L: Alec Belardes (0-1)
Batting:
3B: Zane Kelly 1
RBI: Dawson Santana 1 ; Zane Kelly 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tyce Peterson 1 ; Zane Kelly 1
HBP: Max Farrell 1 ; Jabin Trosky 1
Batting:
3B: Farmer, Tommy 1 ; Smith, Kai 1
RBI: Reyes, Alonso 1 ; Felsch, Rowan 1 ; Smith, Kai 1 ; Alvarez, Noah 1
SF: Alvarez, Noah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fjelstad, Zach 1 ; Farmer, Tommy 1 ; Castagnola, James 1 ; Felsch, Rowan 1 ; Smith, Kai 1
SB: Farmer, Tommy 1 ; Reyes, Alonso 1
HBP: Carney, Frankie 1 ; Alvarez, Noah 1
