On Feb. 26, 2025, the University of California, Riverside (UCR) baseball team stepped up to the plate against Loyola Marymount University (LMU). The game’s final score was 7-6 with LMU pulling ahead by one run and stealing the game. With identical records of 5-3, both teams came in with similar starts to the season.
Before their game against LMU, UCR entered this game confident as they came off a road series win against Utah Tech in a four-game non-conference series.
UCR lost the first game but took the last three games of the series with scores. UCR won 5-4 and 8-6 on Feb. 22, and 4-0 on Feb. 23. A mentionable play from these games was by Jayden Lopez, who hit his second home run of the season in the third inning in the game that powered the Highlanders to a UCR 8-6 victory.
The game started with LMU batting and UCR pitching in the top of the first inning. UCR gained an advantage by having an offensive push in the first inning by bringing a run home by Robert Pitts as he got to walk and again in the bottom of the fourth inning by driving in two more runs.
UCR had the upper hand up until the top of the fifth inning when LMU snatched the lead by four runs. Sophomore pitcher Joshua Torres made his season debut for UCR in 2025. Sporting the number nine, Torres played four innings, recording four strikeouts. Torres’s performance was significant in the team’s execution of the game. Additionally, senior first baseman Andrew Rivas drove in three runs showcasing his offensive prowess.
The Highlanders will now make the cross-town trip to California Baptist University on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, at 6:00 pm. These preseason games are crucial to the team as they steadily approach their first game of the Big West Conference on March 6 to March 9 at home in the Riverside Sports Complex at 6:00 pm against the University of Hawaii in a three-game series.
