Castagnola’s 3-run homer leads UC Irvine to 8-3 win

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    In a gripping elimination game at the Los Angeles Regional, UC Irvine emerged victorious against Fresno State with an 8-3 win on Saturday. The result was significantly influenced by James Castagnola’s clutch performance, as he nailed a two-out three-run homer in the second inning to set the tone for UC Irvine’s dominance.

    UC Irvine, the No. 2 seed with a season record of 42-16, now prepares to face the loser of the evening showdown between the top-seeded host UCLA and No. 3 seed Arizona State in another elimination matchup scheduled for Sunday. Unfortunately, Fresno State closed out their season with a record of 31-29.

    The game’s momentum shifted early when Fresno State’s starter Aidan Cremarosa, who now holds a 6-6 record, hit Jacob McCombs with a pitch to lead off the inning and later issued a walk to Blake Penso with one out. Castagnola took full advantage of the situation, driving the ball out of the park and boosting UC Irvine’s lead significantly. McCombs later contributed to the scoreboard with a solo home run in the third inning and a single in the seventh, where he ultimately went 3 for 4 for the day.

    UC Irvine expanded their lead to 5-0 as Alonso Reyes walked and later scored on a double play in the fourth inning. In a bid to rally, Fresno State managed to post some resistance with Lee Trevino singling in an unearned run in the fourth and Eddie Saldivar delivering a two-out solo homer in the fifth, reducing UC Irvine’s lead to 5-2.

    Riley Kelly, UC Irvine’s starting pitcher, put up a solid performance by allowing only two runs, with one earned, over 4 2/3 innings. Reliever David Utagawa, now 2-0, took over and contended with Saldivar’s solo shot. Max Martin stepped in thereafter, pitching the final two innings and conceding just a run, which came on Justin Stransky’s RBI single.

    Further stretching their lead, UC Irvine received contributions from Colin Yeaman and Anthony Martinez, each driving in runs in the ninth inning. On the opposite side, Cremarosa finished his outing allowing five runs over six innings, while his successor Drew Townson was accountable for three runs and could only retire four batters.