UC Irvine baseball brings long streak of success to Hawaii

UC Irvine baseball coach Ben Orloff is an enigmatology master. Through metrics, video and old-fashioned sense, Orloff is accomplished in solving baseball puzzles. For the Big West series that begins tonight, Orloff knows about Hawaii’s pair of pitching aces (Isaiah Magdaleno, Hekili Robello), reliable outfielder/first baseman Ben Zeigler-Namoa, and Les Murakami Stadium’s cross winds blowing toward right field.

But Mother Nature might throw a curveball. “We’re concerned about the rain,” Orloff said of the wet and windy forecast for the three-game series scheduled for tonight through Sunday. The Anteaters have defeated the Rainbow Warriors nine consecutive times, including a second-round victory in the 2025 Big West Tournament.

The ’Bows have not won a series against the Anteaters since 2018. (The teams did not meet in 2020 because of the pandemic. ) But Orloff cautioned that “Hawaii’s good.

It’s always tough to play Hawaii in Hawaii. The travel. The long days before you go on the field (for night games).