RIVERSIDE, Calif. – UC Riverside finished off a three-game series with Portland on Friday, falling 7-5 in game one and 10-0 in game two.
UC Riverside dropped four runs on the Pilots in the third inning after falling behind early.
Anthony McFarland worked an eight-pitch walk, then the freshman duo of
Andrew Gamez and
Andrew Rivas went to work with back-to-back singles to bring Gamez and McFarland home.
Dylan Orick finished off a string of three consecutive RBI singles for the Highlanders, bringing home Rivas to give UCR the 3-2 lead. UC Riverside pushed the lead to two runs one at bat later on a fielder's choice.
Anthony Mata brought UCR back to a tie with an RBI single in the seventh before the Pilots went ahead for good in the eighth.
Jacob Badawi went 2 for 3 in game two, the freshman's first collegiate multi-hit game.
UC Riverside begins Big West play on Friday, March 18 with a 6:00 p.m. first pitch against CSU Bakersfield at the Riverside Sports Complex, the first of three games against the Roadrunners. All three contests will be streamed live on ESPN+ and tickets are available on highlanderstickets.universitytickets.com. UCR students receive free admission with a valid UCR ID.