Photo by: Matt Brown
2026 Baseball Season Review
June 04, 2026 | Baseball
UC Irvine Baseball 2026 - 25-27, 14-16, T6th in Big West
Top hitters
Efren Ortega: .306 (3rd in Big West at .365, 2nd in OBP .486)
Zach Fjelstad: 52 games, 52 starts, team highs 59 hits, 33 runs
Alonso Reyes: 52 games, 52 starts, team highs 34 RBI, 32 BB, 18 HBP
HR leaders: 5 - Landon Gaz & Tommy Farmer
Top pitchers
Trevor Hansen: 14 starts, 7-4, 4.94, 78.1 IP, 96 K, three 10-strikeout games
Ricky Ojeda: 18 games, 7 starts, 3-3, 3.77, 3 saves, 62 IP, 62 K
Danny Suarez: 16 appearances, 3-3, 3.26, 2 saves, 38.2 IP, 4 BB, 30 K, .181 OBA
Peyton Rodgers: Team highs 20 appearances, 3 saves
Top hitters
Efren Ortega: .306 (3rd in Big West at .365, 2nd in OBP .486)
Zach Fjelstad: 52 games, 52 starts, team highs 59 hits, 33 runs
Alonso Reyes: 52 games, 52 starts, team highs 34 RBI, 32 BB, 18 HBP
HR leaders: 5 - Landon Gaz & Tommy Farmer
Top pitchers
Trevor Hansen: 14 starts, 7-4, 4.94, 78.1 IP, 96 K, three 10-strikeout games
Ricky Ojeda: 18 games, 7 starts, 3-3, 3.77, 3 saves, 62 IP, 62 K
Danny Suarez: 16 appearances, 3-3, 3.26, 2 saves, 38.2 IP, 4 BB, 30 K, .181 OBA
Peyton Rodgers: Team highs 20 appearances, 3 saves
Storylines
- UC Irvine finished with 25 wins playing in just 52 games, the least amount of games in a season since playing 50 games in 1992
- The Anteaters played against six opponents that made regionals going 4-10 against them, won games against three of the four Power 4 conferences, and played ranked opponents in nine games winning three
- All-Big West honors for four Anteaters. Frankie Carney was the lone second-teamer marking his second career honor. Three others were named honorable mention beginning with Trevor Hansen, his third honor, a second honor for Ricky Ojeda, and the lone first-timer in Efren Ortega
- Efren Ortega shone in his sophomore season and first year as an Anteater leading the team at .306. His .365 average in conference play ranked third in the Big West, and he finished with the second-best on-base percentage at .486, and he added Academic All-District honors following the season
- Zach Fjelstad was 1 of 2 Anteaters to start and play in all 52 games finishing with the team lead in hits (59) and runs scored (33)
- Alonso Reyes was the other player to start and play all 52 driving in a team-best 34 RBIs, team highs in walks and HBP, and recorded a two-HR games at UC San Diego
- The duo of Landon Gaz and Tommy Farmer had five home runs each to tie for the team high. Farmer added an inside-the-park-HR at UCSD while Gaz had a stretch of 10 consecutive plate appearances reaching base
- Frankie Carney finished as the team steals leader with 10. The 'Eaters finished with five caught stealing, tied for third least in the nation
- Other notable position players include Daniel Polasek hitting .330 after missing half the season with injury, freshman Lucas Schermer hitting .318 including two pinch-hit home runs, and Zach Crandall hitting .428 down the stretch and picking up Big West Field Player of the Week honors
- Trevor Hansen on the pitching side led the team with seven wins, sixth in Big West, 78.1 IP, and 96 strikeouts, fourth in the Big West, striking out 10 or more hitters on three occasions
- Ricky Ojeda added three wins striking out 62 over 62 innings and three saves. He helped UCI win 1 of 3 games vs. ranked opponents downing #21 USC, #22 Vanderbilt, and #24 Oregon
- Bullpen arms included Danny Suarez, picking up his first two saves, adding three wins, and opponents hit .181, Peyton Rodgers also saved three games and pitched in a team high 20 games, and Finnegan Wall collected two quality starts
Notable Performances
- February 13 - W, 5-0 at Sacramento State: Trevor Hansen and Ryder Brooks came together for a one-hitter while striking out 16 hitters
- February 20 - W, 5-3 vs. California: Trevor Hansen pitched into the ninth striking out nine without a walk to defeat the ACC power
- February 27 - W, 9-4 vs. #22 Vanderbilt: The 'Eaters opened the Live Like Lou Collegiate Baseball Classic by downing the Commodores for the first time in program history behind a Trevor Hansen win and three hits and two RBIs by Zach Fjelstad
- February 28 - W, 8-6 vs. #24 Oregon: UCI added a second win at the Live Like Lou with seven strong innings by Ricky Ojeda and a five-run eighth inning comeback to defeat the Ducks
- March 28 - W(11), 12-9 at Long Beach State: UC Irvine erased a 5-0 deficit in the 6th and then a four-run deficit in the eighth to send the rivalry game to extra innings before a bases-loaded triple from former Dirtbag Alonso Reyes sealed the win
- April 5 - W, 8-4 vs. UC Davis: Finnegan Wall dealt his second straight quality start striking out a career high six to complete at sweep of UC Davis
- April 7 - W, 13-5 vs. San Diego: A nine-run fourth inning powered by the home debut of Daniel Polasek and his four RBIs and the first career victory by Tyler Foster to down the Toreros
- April 18 - W, 6-3 vs. UC Santa Barbara: Tommy Farmer's three-run triple, an Alonso Reyes homer, and 5.1 one-hit innings from Ricky Ojeda closed out a win against the Big West-leading Gauchos
- April 26 - W, 9-7 at UC San Diego: A furious ninth-inning comeback fueled by two-out RBIs by Lucas Schermer and Efren Ortega capped by an inside-the-park-homer from Tommy Farmer gave the Anteaters a Sunday victory over the Tritons
- April 28 - W, 4-1 vs. #21 USC: The combo Hunter Manning, Tim Grack, David Butler, Dane Grant, and Peyton Rodgers shut down the 21st-ranked Trojans in front of over 1,600 fans in Anteater Ballpark
- May 5 - W, 9-4 at San Diego: Zach Crandall's first career HR flipped the game putting UCI ahead along with Daniel Polasek's first career homer to score the final nine runs against the Toreros
- May 9 - W, 15-3 at UC Riverside: Auggie Gutierrez drove in a career high five RBIs along with his first career home run to top the Highlanders
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
1B/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
1B/C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballWednesday, May 27
Monday, March 23
Monday, February 16
Friday, February 13
