Tempe, AZ – The UC Riverside Baseball Team (1-1) opened its 2018 campaign in dominant fashion, defeating Washington State (0-1) by a final score of 8-1 in the two teams' season-opener. Later in the day, the Highlanders fell to Nebraska (1-0) 8-3.
WASHINGTON STATE
UC Riverside opened the year by topping the Huskies 8-1, giving the Highlanders their largest season-opening win since 2014. Sophomore Connor Cannon – whose 28 RBIs last season were the most among the team's returners – put together a stellar offensive effort, tallying a career-high 5 RBIs to lead the way.
Cannon would help open the scoring in the bottom of the first, getting on base thanks to a Husky error and helping bring junior center fielder Justin Mannens home from third for his first run as a Highlander.
On the following at bat, junior first baseman Yeager Taylor would foul out to left field, earning a sac fly on an unearned run by senior shortstop Colby Schultz to make it 2-0.
Aside from a Washington State run in the top of the fourth, things would remain relatively quiet until the seventh, when UCR would explode for six more runs.
Freshman third baseman Nathan Webb opened the inning up with a double down the right field line. He would score his first run of the season immediately after, as senior second baseman Cody Sporrer knocked a single towards the right side to give UCR a 3-1 advantage.
Several batters later, Sporrer scored off a Tony Gudino double to make it 4-1.
Finally, with just one out on the board and the bases loaded, Cannon stepped up to blast his first ever grand slam to left center, also scoring runs from, Gudino, Schultz and junior right fielder Dean Miller to give UCR an 8-1 lead.
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Trenton Toplikar (1-0) earned the first win of the year, striking out 8 batters and giving up just 4 hits and 1 run in just under six innings pitched.
NEBRASKA
Facing Nebraska in the second game of Friday's doubleheader, the Highlanders were able to stay close until late on, when a four-run seventh inning from the Cornhuskers helped ice their 8-3 victory.
A defensive-minded beginning saw both sides keep things scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, when Nebraska's Scott Schreiber made it home from second off a teammate's single to open the scoring.
Redshirt sophomore Cade Peters would answer in the top of the fifth to tie things at one run apiece, scoring on a Cody Sporrer single. However, Nebraska answered with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 4-1 lead.
The Highlanders enjoyed their most effective offensive inning in the top of the sixth, as Taylor and Webb both scored to bring UCR within one run at 4-3. Peters recorded his first RBI of the season on a single up the middle to bring Taylor home, while Webb followed up with an unearned run shortly after.
Unfortunately for the Highlanders, they would go scoreless the rest of the way while the Cornhuskers tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Junior pitcher Hazahel Quijada (0-1) got the start for UCR, picking up two of the Highlanders' four strikeouts. UC Riverside finished the game with three errors, compared to one for Nebraska.
The Highlanders will be back in action at 3:00 p.m. the next two days, playing in rematches with Nebraska on Saturday and WSU on Sunday.
