OREM, Utah – UC Irvine's Andre Pallante, John Vergara and Kaz Akamatsu combined to allow just one hit en route to shutting out Utah Valley 15-0 in the series opener on Friday night at UCCU Ballpark.
Offensively, the 22nd-ranked Anteaters managed to bang out 14 hits on its way to recording the 15-0 victory. Brandon Lewis led UCI by going 3-for-6 with four runs batted in, while Christian Koss to drove home four runs after going 2-for-5 at the plate.
UCI improves to 10-4 on the season with the victory, while UVU falls to 3-14 with the setback.
With two on in the top of the first, the Anteaters got off to a quick start thanks to a two-out two-run double from Matt Reitano to jump out to an early 2-0 lead.
UCI then added to its lead in the third when Mikey Filia blasted out a two-run homer to left to make it 4-0.
With two on in the sixth, UCI's Koss managed to get ahold of one and muscle it over the leftfield fence for a three-run homer to make it 7-0.
With the UC Irvine starter Pallante in control on the mound, the Wolverines then got their first hit of the ballgame with a leadoff single to right off the bat of
Ty Vargas in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Trevor Howell then promptly followed with a walk to put two on with nobody out. Pallante then responded with a double play, and with Vargas later leading from third with two away, he then managed to draw an inning-ending groundball off the bat of
Kody Hall to keep it a 7-0 contest.
The Wolverines then again got two on in the seventh, but UCI's Pallante managed to retire Plecas to escape the jam and preserve the shutout.
In the late innings, UC Irvine then tacked on eight insurance runs to put the game out of reach.
The 2018 consensus All-American Pallante (3-1) earned the win after allowing just one hit and no runs while striking out five and walking just two in 7.0 innings of stellar work. Relievers Vergara and Akamatsu then each pitched a scoreless and hitless inning of relief to preserve the shutout. UVU's
Jake Carr was saddled with the loss to drop to 0-4 on the year.
Vargas led UVU at the plate in the ballgame by going 1-for-3 with a single.
The contest marked the first time that UVU has been shutout since March 3, 2018 when the Wolverines were shutout at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Wolverines and Anteaters will continue the three-game series on Saturday with a 2 p.m. matinee. Saturday's contest will be televised locally on UVU TV and streamed on the WAC Digital Network. The two will then conclude the series on Sunday at noon. Following Sunday's finale, UVU will wrap its current nine-game homestand by hosting BYU for a UCCU Crosstown Clash on Tuesday, March 19 at 6 p.m.
