No. 18/25 UCI Outslugs The Dirtbags 8-6

Saturday, March 8

Irvine, Calif.

1:00 p.m.

Long Beach State University

6-8, 1-1

UC Irvine

10-4, 1-1

Long Beach State

UC Irvine

Photo by: Photos by Izzy J

3/8/2025 4:02:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Briseno comes up a triple shy of the cycle

By: Matt Turk, Associate Athletic Communications Director

IRVINE, Calif.--No. 18/25 UC Irvine out slugged Long Beach State 8-6 in the middle game of their Big West baseball series Saturday afternoon at Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark.

After getting a 1-4-3 double play in the bottom of the first, Josh Donegan walked Anthony Martinez before hitting Chase Call. Jacob McCombs hit a three-run home run to put the Anteaters into the lead.

Jack Ross hit Dylan Lina to begin the top of the second. Armando Briseno's opposite-field double to right center scored Lina to break the seal for the Dirtbags. With one out, Ross walked Justin Roulston. Conner Stewart jumped on a 2-0 Ross fastball and homered to left, putting the Dirtbags into a 4-3 lead.

Rowan Felsch led off the bottom of the second with a double to right. Zach Crandall tied the score with an opposite-field single through the right side. Will Bermudez singled through the right side. Donegan hit Colin Yeaman to load the bases. Martinez hit a ball to left that was lost in the sun by the LBSU outfielders, resulting in a single and the go-ahead run across the plate. Call hit a ball to the warning track left that became a sacrifice fly, scoring the sixth UCI run. McCombs hit into the right side shift that Long Beach State put on as Nathan Cardena made a diving play at second for the final out.

Alex Champagne led off the top of the third with an infield single to second. Bermudez committed a throwing error on the play, allowing Champagne to reach second. Champagne went to third on a Riley Kelly wild pitch. A one-out Lina sac fly scored Champagne to make it 6-5. Briseno tied it with a home run over the scoreboard in left field.

Owen Geiss relieved Donegan to begin the third, retiring the first six batters he faced. He hit Call and McCombs with one out in the bottom of the fifth. Geiss got the ground ball he was looking for as James Castagnola hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Zach Fjelstad recorded UC Irvine's first hit since the second inning with a one-out single up the middle in the bottom of the sixth. Pinch-hitter Alonso Reyes doubled to right to plate Fjelstad and return the lead to the Anteaters.

The Dirtbags put two runners on base with two outs in the top of the seventh, but reliever Ricky Ojeda got Champagne to pop out to cut down the LBSU threat.

Martinez began the UCI seventh with a double followed by a Call infield single. Champagne chased down a McCombs shot in the left-center gap for the first out. Martinez took third on the play. Jakob Russell, LBSU's third pitcher of the game, struck out Castagnola for the second out. Fjelstad walked to load the bases. Alex Ramos relieved Russell and hit Felsch with a 2-2 breaking pitch to allow a run to score. Blake Penso struck out, looking for the third out.

Ojeda walked Connor Charpiot on four pitches to begin the eighth. Lina popped out to short to bring up Briseno. Briseno hit a shot to the warning track in left field, which Felsch tracked down for the second out. Ojeda struck out pinch-hitter Dylan Jackson, keeping the score 8-6.

UCI closer Max Martin retired the Dirtbags in order in the ninth to pick up his third save of the season.

Briseno ended a triple shy of the cycle as he went 3-for-4 with his home run, two runs scored, and two RBI. He had three of the six Long Beach State hits. Bermudez, Martinez, and Felsch each charted two hits for the 'Eaters.

The 2025 baseball edition of the Black and Blue Rivalry concludes Sunday afternoon. Long Beach State (6-8, 1-1 Big West) and UC Irvine (10-4, 1-1 Big West) face off at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

~#LongBeachBuilt~