IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine baseball played the No. 1 Bruins tough Tuesday night eventually falling 9-1 in Anteater Ballpark.

• In front of one of the largest crowds in ballpark history of 2,685, UCI welcomed the No. 1 team in the country for the ninth time in program history
• The Bruins got the jump on the Anteaters with help from three free passes in the first inning and a wild pitch allowing three runs to the Bruins on just one hit
• The Anteater bats fought back putting multiple runners on the base through the first three innings
  • Costly baserunning in the first took away what could have been a run as Frankie Carney singled by his hard turn was picked off from the outfield
  • UCI again had issues on the basepaths shorten a rally in the third inning.
  • Carney doubled to set up Alonso Reyes who also tried for a double but was thrown out, and even after a lengthy review the play was upheld
• The game was 3-1 into the fifth as the Bruins added a run bringing a leadoff double around for a 4-1 game
• UCLA's bullpen put the clamps on retiring 16 in a row at one point through the middle innings
• The Bruins busted out four more runs in the seventh inning with help from three of their five infield singles on the night to extend the lead to 8-1

#1 UCLA 9, UC Irvine 1

• Anteater freshman Dane Grant got his first career start allowing the three runs in the first inning to draw the loss
  • UCI threw eight arms on the night with some effective nights led by Tim Grack going 2.1 scoreless with two strikeouts
    • Tyler Foster stranded the bases loaded and struck out two in 1.1 innings
    • Hunter Manning worked around baserunners to throw 1.1 scoreless
    • Ryder Brooks struck out three in an inning of work
    • Cade Castles avenged his start at UCLA with a scoreless ninth and a strikeout
• The offense had six hits with five in the first three innings
  • Frankie Carney led the charge with three hits and a run scored
  • Zach Fjelstad had a double as his only hit
  • Daniel Polasek was back on the field after an injury in the very first game of the season finishing 0-for-3 as the left fielder

Next up is another Big West series that starts Thursday night in Anteater Ballpark vs. UC Davis