UC Irvine atop standings after first weekend
When a baseball team is off to a good start, there is an occasional surprise player or two contributing. In the case of UC Irvine, that would be pitcher Michael Frias and outfielder Luke Spillane.
Frias is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.69 in five appearances — two of them starts — in 21-1/3 innings. In the 2020 season shortened by the coronavirus pandemic, he was 0-1 with an ERA of 1.35, but that was over just 6-2/3 innings pitched. The season before, in 2019, he went 1-1 with a 6.04 ERA in 14 appearances covering 28-1/3 innings.
Spillane batted just .167 in 30 at-bats in 2020. This season, he leads the team with a .370 average with three doubles, 11 runs, eight RBIs, six stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .443.
Coach Ben Orloff likes what he’s seen from the duo.
“Yeah, I think Luke Spillane’s been really good for us,” said Orloff, whose team is 10-7 overall and sits in first place in the Big West Conference at 4-0 after they were picked to finish third in the preseason coaches’ poll.
“He really got his opportunity when we kind of lost some guys due to injury, and he’s done great.”
Orloff could not say enough about Frias.
“And on the mound, we don’t have the record that we have if not for Michael Frias,” he said. “He’s in his fourth year in the program and he pitched opening night in the second inning, when Trenton (Denholm) had a blister on his toe and did great.
“Every time out, he’s done really good. I’m looking at his numbers now and we’re nowhere the team we are without him doing what he’s done.”
The Anteaters have a team batting average of .254 and a team ERA of 3.75 – both respectable numbers. Orloff made it clear that, on the whole, pitching and defense are the biggest reasons why the team is enjoying success.
And that is in spite of the four-game conference sweep of UC Davis this past weekend by scores of 10-1, 8-0, 6-2 and 5-4 (in 11 innings), which Orloff said was his team’s best offensive weekend thus far.
“This last weekend was a step forward for us ... so, hopefully, we can have that carry over,” Orloff said.
Next up for UC Irvine is a four-game series against Hawaii beginning Friday at Anteater Ballpark. series with UC Santa Barbara (11-7, 2-2) this past weekend.
After absorbing losses of 9-2 and 11-4, Fullerton came back to defeat the Gauchos 4-1 and 10-9 (in 10 innings).
UCSB was picked to finish first in the coaches’ poll.
Leading the offense for the Titans have been Caden Connor, Jason Brandow and Omar Veloz. Connor is batting .311 with seven RBIs in 45 at-bats; Brandow is at .304 with a home run and eight RBIs in 46 at-bats; and Veloz is batting .375 with a home run and seven RBIs in 32 at-bats.
UC Riverside
The Highlanders are 3-8 overall and 1-3 in conference after dropping three of four at Cal State Bakersfield this past weekend.
Outfielder Dylan Orick leads UCR with 12 RBIs and infielder Ely Stuart has 10.
The Highlanders host a four-game series against Cal State Fullerton beginning Friday.
CSUN
The Matadors are 1-3 in conference after opening the season by losing three of four to Cal Poly, which was picked to finish fourth. CSUN’s Kai Moody got off to a hot start with eight hits in 14 at-bats for a .571 average.
CSUN this weekend will play a four-game series at Long Beach State.
Long Beach State
Picked to finish second, the Dirtbags lost three of four in their opening weekend at Hawaii, which was picked to finish seventh.
After losing the first three, Long Beach State salvaged the the final game of the series with an 8-5 victory Sunday in Honolulu.
Connor Kokx, who led the Dirtbags with a .400 batting average in 2020, picked up where he left off by going 6 for 13 (.462) with two RBIs.
Alfredo Ruiz and Luis Ramirez — the top two starters — pitched well in Games 1 and 2. Ruiz allowed one run in five innings with six strikeouts in Friday’s 3-2 loss, Ramirez (0-1) allowed one run in seven innings in a 1-0 loss in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. He struck out eight.
This and that
Hawaii, Cal Poly and conference newcomer Cal State Bakersfield all began their conference seasons with 3-1 records. Cal Poly’s Mustangs (11-6 overall) have won series from USC and UCLA, which is currently ranked No. 17 by Baseball America . ... Cal Poly’s Brooks Lee leads the Big West with 28 RBIs and is tied with UCSB’s Broc Mortensen with six home runs . ... Jalen Smith of UC Davis (5-13, 0-4) has a conference-high nine stolen bases . ... Aaron Davenport of Hawaii leads the Big West with 37 strikeouts.