Riverside—The UC Riverside Baseball Team brought its bats to the yard for the second straight game Sunday afternoon, taking the series from visiting UC Irvine with an 12-2 Senior Day victory.
Less than 24 hours after scoring nine runs in a six-run win over the Anteaters, the Highlanders plated their second most runs of the season. The 21 combined runs UC Riverside scored over the last two days are the most the Highlanders have scored in back-to-back games all year long.
UC Riverside scored all of the runs it would need in the bottom of the first, sending nine batters to the plate, and taking a 4-0 lead. The Highlanders drew three of their eight walks on the day in the first, and got RBIs from Yeager Taylor, Michael Farris, and Tony Gudino. Gudino's single through the left side with the bases loaded scored two to put UCR up four.
The Anteaters scored an unearned run in the top of the third, but UC Riverside bounced back with two in their half of the frame thanks to a Cody Sporrer double, and a wild pitch and an error that brought Sporrer home from second.
UC Irvine (20-32, 7-14) took advantage of a lead-off walk in the top of the fourth, as Ryan Fitzpatrick eventually came around to score on a Cole Krueter single to left. The Highlanders once again countered in their half of the inning when Taylor drove in his second run of the game scoring Contreras.
There was a bit of a scary moment for UCR (21-29, 7-14) in the top of the sixth. With two outs in the inning, Kreuter lifted a ball to deep left center. Contreras went back on the ball, and jumped to make the catch, crashing into the wall in the process. Falling to the ground, he held his glove aloft to show the umpire that he had made the catch, but he remained down for over a minute as the Highlanders sports medicine staff sprinted to his side.
Contreras left the field under his own power, and the very next half inning showed that there were no ill effects from the collision, lacing a double down the left field line to drive in UC Riverside's eighth run of the day. Later in the inning, he scored the team's ninth run on a Taylor sac fly. A Sporrer triple drove in two more Highlanders in the sixth to make it 11-2 UCR.
Sporrer completed the scoring for the day in the UC Riverside eighth, collecting his fourth RBI of the afternoon with a single up the middle. The Highlanders' second baseman was one of three Highlanders with three hits, Sunday, joining Contreras (3 for 5, 3 runs, 1 RBI) and Taylor (3 for 4, 2 runs, 3 RBI).
Hazahel Quijada (3-5) was the beneficiary of all of that run support, and he responded with one of his best outings of the season. The sophomore pitched six innings, scattered seven hits, and struck out four while allowing just a single unearned run.
Matt Hardy Jacob Worrell, and Max Compton each pitched a scoreless inning of relief for UC Riverside, while Cole Spear (4-5) took the loss for UC Irvine.
The Highlanders finish the home portion of their schedule on Monday against the Oregon Ducks. First pitch is slated for 12 pm PT.
