No. 4 UC Irvine Hosts Rikkyo University; Travels to Baseball at the Beach Tournament
Feb. 22, 2010
ANTEATERS PLAY EXHIBITION GAME, TRAVEL TO MYRTLE BEACH, SC.: UC Irvine (3-0) hosts Rikkyo University in an exhibition game Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. at Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark and then travels to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to compete in the Baseball at the Beach Tournament hosted by Coastal Carolina.
The Anteaters take on their first ranked team of the season when they open tournament action against the No. 12 Chanticleers (2-1) Thursday (Feb. 25) at 1:00 p.m. The team then takes on North Carolina State (3-0) Friday (Feb. 26) at 9:00 AM before meeting the Coastal Carolina in a second game Saturday (Feb. 27) at 9:00 AM. The `Eaters conclude tournament action against James Madison (0-0) Sunday (Feb. 28) at 8:00 AM.
All games of the tournament will be played at BB&T Coastal Field, home of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the advanced-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. All times listed are Pacific.
BASEBALL AT THE BEACH TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, February 25 - Coastal Carolina vs. UC Irvine - 1:00 p.m.
Friday, February 26 - North Carolina State vs. UC Irvine - 9:00 p.m.
Friday, February 26 - Coastal Carolina vs. James Madison - 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 27 - Coastal Carolina vs. UC Irvine - 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 27 - North Carolina State vs. James Madison - 12:30 p.m. S
unday, February 28 - UC Irvine vs. James Madison - 8:00 a.m.
Sunday, February 28 - Coastal Carolina vs. North Carolina State - 12:30 p.m.
TWO UCI GAMES PICKED FOR ESPNU BROADCAST: The Anteaters will be on ESPNU twice during the regular season. ESPNU will broadcast UCI's Sunday game against Cal State Fullerton (Apr. 11) and the series finale at Cal Poly (May 9). First pitch for both games has been moved from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
ANTEATERS HOST RIKKYO UNIVERSITY: For the second consecutive year, UCI will host a team from Japan in an exhibition game. The Anteaters face Rikkyo University with first pitch at 3:00 p.m. The Anteaters hosted Keio University last year.
BIBONA NAMED BIG WEST PITCHER OF THE WEEK: All-American pitcher Daniel Bibona (Lake Forest/Santa Margarita HS) struck out 10 and pitched seven scoreless innings to lead UCI to a 5-1 win last Friday. The crafty southpaw retired the first six batters he faced, including striking out the first four. Bibona did not allow an LMU base runner to reach second until yielding a fourth-inning double. The Lions threatened UCI in the seventh, putting runners on first and third but the senior induced a fly-ball out and struck out the final two batters to escape the inning. Bibona, 1-0 on the season, has 240 career strikeouts and has collected eight straight wins. It is the third time Bibona has received the conference's weekly honor.
LARSON BLOGS ABOUT ANTEATER BASEBALL: Senior catcher Francis Larson (Yorba Linda/Esperanza HS) will write a weekly blog on his thoughts regarding UCI Baseball. The blog will be posted on the baseball page on the UC Irvine Athletics website. Go to ucirvinesports.com to read Francis' blog.
BIBONA, BERGMAN, PETTIS SLATED TO MAKE STARTS IN TOURNEY ACTION: Bibona, Christian Bergman (Altadena/St. Francis HS) and Eric Pettis (West Hills/El Camino Real HS) will be given the ball in the first three games of the Baseball at the Beach Tournament this weekend. Sunday's starter has yet to be determined.
Bergman, who will face North Carolina State Friday, struggled in his first start last week. The senior right-hander gave up five runs on 10 hits in 4.1 innings while striking out two and walking one but came away with a no-decision.
Pettis, making the transition from starter to closer for UCI this year, received plenty of run support from the Anteaters Sunday and went on to pitch six strong innings. The right-hander struck out four and walked just one while allowing three earned runs on six hits for the win. Pettis will take on the Coastal Carolina in UCI's second game against the Chanticleers Saturday.
FISHER DRIVES IN CAREER-HIGH RBI: Redshirt junior Ryan Fisher (Manteca/East Union HS) drove in a career-high five RBI against LMU Sunday. Fisher went 3 for 5, hitting a grand slam, an RBI single and a double. It is the second time in his career that Fisher has homered in the first game of the season. As a redshirt freshman, Fisher went yard twice in the team's win at Nevada, driving in four runs on three hits.
FOX TIES PERSONAL-BEST: Sophomore Jordan Fox (Hacienda Heights/Bishop Amat HS) tied a career-high with three hits in the win against LMU Friday. Fox singled twice and then delivered an RBI double to go 3 for 4 at the plate. Fox also stole a pair of bases and is currently hitting .333 for the `Eaters. Fox last recorded three hits in a game in the series finale at UC Santa Barbara, where he went 3 for 3 with three runs scored.
MADIGAN BACK IN THE GAME: After suffering from a season-ending injury last season, Sean Madigan (Yorba Linda/Servite HS) has come back healthy and immediately provided offense to the Anteater lineup. The redshirt junior hit .667 in two games, driving in four runs on four hits. Madigan belted a pair of doubles and scored four runs to help UCI complete the series sweep.
SUMMERS GETS FIRST WIN: Sophomore Matt Summers (Scottsdale, AZ/Chaparral HS), pitched three strong innings in relief Saturday to earn his first win of the season. The right-hander struck out four and walked one while scattering three hits in the effort. He also pinch-hit Sunday and doubled to left-centerfield.
NECKE PICKS UP FIRST SAVE: Senior Kyle Necke (Walnut/HS) worked 1.1 innings, giving up an earned run in Saturday's win to collect his first save of the season. The right-hander did not walk a batter and allowed one hit in the effort.
NEW ANTEATERS DEBUT: Several freshmen and newcomers have made their Anteater debuts early in the 2010 season. Drew Hillman (Lake Forest/Orange Coast College), Scott Gottschling (Orange/Villa Park HS), Jonathan Hurst (Orange/Cypress College), Andy Lines (Palos Verdes Estates/Palos Verdes HS), Evan Brock (Chino Hills/Ayala HS), Matt Whitehouse (Diamond Bar/Damien HS) and Kyle Hooper (Saugus/HS) all made appearances in UCI's first series last weekend.
Hillman earned a spot in the starting lineup, playing in the outfield and third base over the weekend. The junior transfer tied for second on the team with four RBI on three hits. Offensively, his best outing was in the series finale where he drove in three runs while batting 2 for 5 with two runs scored.
Gottschling entered the game Sunday as a pinch-hitter for Tommy Reyes (Rancho Cucamonga/Bishop Amat HS) and hit his first collegiate home run in his second at-bat. The redshirt freshman jumped on a first pitch offering and drove the ball over the left-field fence for a two-run home run.
Hurst also was called off the bench to pinch-hit for Larson and doubled in a run in the UCI seventh Sunday. Hurst went 2 for 2 after singling in the eighth but was left stranded. The junior transfer caught the LMU ninth to close out the game.
Lines made his collegiate debut Friday. The left-hander entered the game with the runners on first and third with two outs and struck out the final batter to earn his first save. Lines also entered the game in the LMU eighth Saturday and registered a strikeout and a hit batsman before handing the ball over closer Kyle Necke (Walnut/HS).
Brock saw action Sunday, striking out two and walking one in an inning of relief. The right-hander opened the top of the eighth with two strikeouts, hit a batter and walked one before retiring the final batter of the inning.
Hooper saw action in two games, pitching 1.2 innings. The right-hander allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits and walking one.
Whitehouse struck out three in one innings while allowing a pair of unearned runs on one hit Sunday.
LARSON HOMERS, NEARING SCHOOL RECORD: Larson went over the Mikos Blue Monster Saturday at George C. Page Stadium to hit his 18th career home run and is now five away from setting a UCI record. Anteater alums Cody Cipriano (2004-07) and Jaime Martinez (2002-06) share the current record with 17.
ABOUT COASTAL CAROLINA: Coastal Carolina, ranked 12th by Baseball America, is 2-1 after defeating West Virginia twice before falling to Kentucky. The Chanticleers are led by infielder Tommy LaStella who is hitting .545 (6 for 11) with a double and three RBI. Outfielder Chance Gilmore tops the team with four RBI and is 5 for 12 (.417).
CHANTICLEER ROTATION: Coastal Carolina will throw a pair of left-handers against the Anteaters Thursday and Saturday. Junior Cody Wheeler is slated to face off against Bibona Thursday. Wheeler is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA. He held WVA to two runs on three hits while striking out five in six innings of work in the team's 4-2 win.
Junior Matt Laney will face off against Eric Pettis Sunday. Laney struck out five in 4.1 innings against Kentucky Sunday. The lefty walked four and gave up two runs on two hits but did not figure in the decision.
THE SERIES: Thursday marks the first meeting between the two teams.
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE: North Carolina State opened the season at 3-0 after sweeping LaSalle. The Wolfpack outscored LaSalle 65-15, hitting .474 over the weekend. The team is led by senior outfielder Kyle Wilson, who hit .625 (5 for 8) with four RBI. Senior infielder Dallas Poulk drove in a team-high 10 runs while hitting 6 for 11 (.545) and infielder Andrew Ciencin belted three doubles and drove in nine runs on six hits.
ON THE MOUND: Lefty Cory Mazzoni is slated to make the start for the Wolfpack Friday against Christian Bergman. Mazzoni is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA. The sophomore struck out seven in five innings of work and allowed one run on four hits in the 18-3 win.
THE SERIES: The Anteaters and Wolfpack will meet for the first time Friday.
ABOUT JAMES MADISON: James Madison was scheduled to host a three-game series against Marist last weekend but the series was snowed out. With JMU's game against Radford this Tuesday also expected to be canceled due to the weather, the Dukes will most likely open the season at the Coastal Carolina Tournament this weekend.
THE SERIES: UCI will meet JMU for the first time this weekend.
WEEKEND WRAPUP: UC Irvine opened the season with a series sweep, marking the third straight year that the Anteaters have won three straight to open the season.
Bibona hurled seven shutout innings and struck out 10 in the series opener. Fox totaled three hits while Jeff Cusick (Mission Viejo/Santa Margarita HS) led the team with two RBI as the Anteaters won 5-1.
Saturday, Bergman's struggles were offset by the Anteater offense. Ronnie Shaeffer (Garden Grove/Pacifica HS) blasted a three-run home run to give the `Eaters a 3-2 lead. Clutch hitting and costly Lion miscues tied the game at five for UCI and a two-run seventh would give the Anteaters the lead for good. Madigan and Larson combined for six hits and two RBI while Summers picked up the win. Necke earned the save in the 9-6 decision.
Sunday, the Anteater offense tagged LMU for seven runs in the first and the team never looked back, completing the sweep, 19-9. Fisher's career-high five RBI were followed by three apiece from Drew Hillman and Madigan. Cory Olson (Anaheim/Orange Coast College) and Gottschling drove in two runs each in the win.
