Very winnable series this weekend. UC Irvine’s pitching is…not good (6.07 ERA). However, they’re a polished offensive team that won’t make mistakes on the base paths or in the field.
UC Irvine is ranked as high as No. 27 in the nation and owns an 11-6 record heading into the weekend series. The Anteaters’ Tuesday game vs. USC was cancelled due to inclement weather. UC Irvine split a series at Seattle last weekend. The team is hitting .308 with 37 doubles and 10 home runs, while driving in 107 RBI. UC Irvine is led at the plate by Evan Cassolato’s .446 average and 29 hits, while Keston Hiura follows with a lofty .419 clip, five home runs and 20 RBI. The Anteaters are 16-of-20 on the base paths and have only committed 10 errors through 16 games. UC Irvine pitching owns a 6.07 ERA with nine saves, 130 strikeouts and 84 walks in 149.2 innings tossed. Louis Raymond leads the team with a 3-1 record in five starts and owns a 4.74 ERA.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UC IRVINE
Houston and UC Irvine have met seven times in program history, dating back to 2006. UC Irvine owns the all-time series, 5-2, winning the last five. Last Meeting | College Classic at Minute Maid Park on Feb. 28, 2009 | UCI won 13-7 Last Meeting at UC Irvine | Houston swept two-game series (March 10, 2006, 3-2 | March 11, 2006, 7-3)
Top 4th
Grimsley grounds out to short
Hollis ground rule double down the LF line
Wong flies out to right, Hollis tags and goes to 3rd
Padgett grounds out to second to end the inning
M4…Tied 1-1
Coogs have had a baserunner on 3rd in each of the first 4 innings so far. Hitting the ball hard, but UCI defense is solid.
Bottom 4th
UCI has runners on the corners with one out after a walk, sac bunt, a stolen base and a walk…4 walks by Romero now
Squeeze scores the runner…Anteaters lead 2-1
Romero walk (5th) another batter to put runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs
Line out to Scheiner ends the inning
Top 5th
Davis drives one to the wall in left, but its caught
Scheiner flies out to left
Triolo infield single to the right side
Lockhart grounds out up the middle
Bottom 5th
Bielamowicz in for Grimsley and moves to LF, Padgett to CF and Julks to RF
Romero walks another (6) to lead off the inning
6-4-3 double play
Hits the next batter with an 0-2 count
Runner picked off to end the inning
Top 6th
Julks with an infield single to short
Bielamowicz grounds out to second, Julks to 2B
Hollis walks
After a ball to Wong, that’s it for the UCI pitcher
Wong K’s, but double steal moves the runners to 2nd and 3rd…2 outs
Padgett grounds out to 2nd to end the inning
M6…UCI leads 2-1
Grimsley’s been battling groin issues and re-aggravated it his last at bat
Top 7th
Davis walks on 4 pitches
Scheiner grounds into a 5-4-3 double play
Triolo lines a double to left-center
Lockhart doubles down the left field line, Triolo scores…Tied 2-2
Julks reaches on an error by the 2B, Lockhart to 3rd
Passed Ball scores Lockhart, Julks to 2nd…Coogs lead 3-2
Julks thrown out at the plate on an infield single by Bielamowicz
Bottom 7th
Single, Flyout to left and a single put runners on the corners with 1 out.
K, runner takes off for 2nd, Wong fakes the throw, goes to 3rd and they get the runner coming to the plate.
Bottom 8th
Champion comes in for Bielamowicz, goes to RF, Julks to LF
1st pitch hits the UCI batter
Popout to Hollis
Groundout to Pulido gets the 2nd out, runner moves to 2nd
Another HBP
Single to right scores a run, runners now on the corners…Tied 3-3
K ends the inning
T9…Tied 3-3
Biting nails at this point. Davis, Scheiner, Triolo due up.