Wolverines Struggle Down Stretch, Fall to UC Irvine

Tuesday, February 28

Irvine, Calif.

2:00 PM PT

Michigan

4-3

UC Irvine

7-1

Michigan

UC Irvine

(Michigan Photography)

2/28/2023 9:15:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Conor Stemme

IRVINE, Calif. -- The University of Michigan baseball team started off strong against UC Irvine, but fell behind and eventually took a 15-3 loss Tuesday (Feb. 28) at Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark.

Michigan (4-3) got off to a quick start, scoring a pair of second-inning runs. Mitch Voit singled to left and Jordon Rogers hit a ground-rule double into the Anteaters bullpen to give U-M runners at second and third with no outs. Big Ten Freshman of the Week Greg Pace Jr. plated Voit and Rogers with a triple to give the Wolverines and 2-0 lead.

U-M added another run in the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead. Rogers led off with a walk and advanced to second when Jonathan Kim was hit by a pitch. Both runners moved up a base on a throwing error, and Rogers scored on a Cody Jefferis groundout.

It was all UC Irvine (7-1) after that, with the home team scoring seven times in the bottom of the fourth and adding six runs in the sixth. The Anteaters added two seventh-inning runs to close the scoring,

Pace's two RBI led Michigan, while Gabe Sotres was 2-for-3 at the plate to run his batting average to .500 on the season. Kurt Barr made the start and his college debut, throwing two hitless innings. Cam Hart also made his college debut, tossing a scoreless eighth inning with a strikeout. John Torroella (0-2) took the loss, charged with seven runs (two earned) over 1.2 innings of relief.

The Wolverines will look to bounce back Wednesday (March 1) at 5 p.m. PST against No. 17-ranked UCLA at Jackie Robison Stadium. The meeting, which will be streamed live on Pac-12.com, is the first between the teams since the 2019 NCAA Super Regional.