Friday, February 21
Irvine, CA
8 pm
Rice University
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UC Irvine
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Rice
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UC Irvine
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Photo by: Maria Lysaker
UCI Takes Friday Opener 10-1
2/22/2020 12:05:00 AM | Baseball
First Pitch Saturday Set For 8 PM Central Time
IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine scored ten runs on 12 hits and had a solid outing on the mound from starter Trenton Denholm for a 10-1 win over the visiting Rice baseball team Friday evening in Irvine, Calif.
Roel Makes Return: Rice's biggest takeaway from the contest was the long-awaited return of senior right-hander Roel Garcia, who started on the mound for the Owls in what was his first appearance since the 2018 season. By design, Garcia worked just 2.0 innings Friday, but he struck out three of the eight batters he faced. He also made a nice defensive play to throw out the lead runner on a bunt and finished without allowing any runs nor walks. Garcia was relieved by Alex DeLeon (3.2 IP), Garrett Zaskoda (0.1) and Mathew Santos (2.0).
Also Rerturning: Roel Garcia's start was certainly in the spotlight, but the Owls were also happy to have sophomore Justin Dunlap return to action later in the game. In 2019 Dunlap had just worked his way into a starting role in the outfield when in March he was sidelined for the remainder of the season. Dunlap entered the game Friday as a defensive replacement in the outfield. He drew a walk and scored Rice's lone run in the top of the eighth inning.
Two Hits: Rice finished the night with just two hits. Senior Aaron Beaulaurier laced a double to right-center in the top of the eighth. True freshman Eric Benitez collected his first career base hit in his first collegiate at bat.
How Tough? Collins-Tough: Eric Benitez made his collegiate debut as a defensive sub behind the plate in the bottom of the seventh, giving a bit of relief to Owl iron man Justin Collins who up to that point had caught each of the 33 defensive innings the team had played. Collins' toughness is nothing new. He played the final third of last season behind the plate with a broken hand.
UCI Starter: Credit to UCI starter Trenton Denholm, a preseason All-America selection, for a sensational outing. The junior right-hander did not allow a base hit for 7.0 innings. He allowed only one walk and struck out six of the 23 Owl batters he faced.
Game Of Inches: UCI struck for three runs on five hits in the bottom of the third inning. The first hit of the game was an Anteater blooper that landed just inside the right field line with three Owl fielders converging on the ball. Four of the next five batters hit safely for a quick 3-0 advantage and UCI never looked back.
Next Up: Game two of the three-game weekend road series is set for Saturday at 8 pm Central Time (6 pm Pacific). First pitch of Sunday's game is 3 pm Central Time.
Roel Makes Return: Rice's biggest takeaway from the contest was the long-awaited return of senior right-hander Roel Garcia, who started on the mound for the Owls in what was his first appearance since the 2018 season. By design, Garcia worked just 2.0 innings Friday, but he struck out three of the eight batters he faced. He also made a nice defensive play to throw out the lead runner on a bunt and finished without allowing any runs nor walks. Garcia was relieved by Alex DeLeon (3.2 IP), Garrett Zaskoda (0.1) and Mathew Santos (2.0).
Also Rerturning: Roel Garcia's start was certainly in the spotlight, but the Owls were also happy to have sophomore Justin Dunlap return to action later in the game. In 2019 Dunlap had just worked his way into a starting role in the outfield when in March he was sidelined for the remainder of the season. Dunlap entered the game Friday as a defensive replacement in the outfield. He drew a walk and scored Rice's lone run in the top of the eighth inning.
Two Hits: Rice finished the night with just two hits. Senior Aaron Beaulaurier laced a double to right-center in the top of the eighth. True freshman Eric Benitez collected his first career base hit in his first collegiate at bat.
How Tough? Collins-Tough: Eric Benitez made his collegiate debut as a defensive sub behind the plate in the bottom of the seventh, giving a bit of relief to Owl iron man Justin Collins who up to that point had caught each of the 33 defensive innings the team had played. Collins' toughness is nothing new. He played the final third of last season behind the plate with a broken hand.
UCI Starter: Credit to UCI starter Trenton Denholm, a preseason All-America selection, for a sensational outing. The junior right-hander did not allow a base hit for 7.0 innings. He allowed only one walk and struck out six of the 23 Owl batters he faced.
Game Of Inches: UCI struck for three runs on five hits in the bottom of the third inning. The first hit of the game was an Anteater blooper that landed just inside the right field line with three Owl fielders converging on the ball. Four of the next five batters hit safely for a quick 3-0 advantage and UCI never looked back.
Next Up: Game two of the three-game weekend road series is set for Saturday at 8 pm Central Time (6 pm Pacific). First pitch of Sunday's game is 3 pm Central Time.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Denholm (1-1)
L: DeLeon, Alex (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Beaulaurier, Aaron 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dunlap, Justin 1
HBP: Beaulaurier, Aaron 1
Batting:
2B: Palmer, J. 1 ; Kasper 1 ; Mazur 1 ; Nakawake 1
HR: Peabody 1
RBI: Palmer, J. 2 ; Church 1 ; Kasper 1 ; Damla 2 ; Peabody 2 ; Mazur 1 ; Nakawake 1
SH: Nakawake 1
SF: Palmer, J. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Palmer, J. 2 ; Church 1 ; Kasper 1 ; Damla 1 ; Peabody 2 ; Jensen 1 ; McGuire 1 ; Nakawake 1
SB: Peabody 1
HBP: Palmer, J. 1 ; Damla 1 ; Peabody 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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