Anteaters’ Bardeen earns Big West pitching honor

UC Irvine senior Brock Bardeen has been named Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week after picking up two relief wins for the No. 10-ranked Anteaters.

Bardeen also sparkled with the bat, including driving in the tying run in the ninth inning of a 12-inning victory at USC Tuesday. He pitched the final three innings against the Trojans to earn the win. He struck out three and allowed three hits without surrendering a run.

In the opener of a three-game series against Tulane Friday night, Bardeen hit a sixth-inning grand slam to erase a 3-2 deficit.

He also threw 1 2/3 innings of relief, allowing one run and two hits, to earn the victory against the Green Wave.

Bardeen, who leads UCI with four home runs, was 2-0 with a 1.93 earned-run average in two pitching appearances last week, spanning 4 2/3 innings.

He is 3-0 with an 8.49 ERA for the season and is hitting .227 with 13 RBIs, one off the team lead, in just 22 at-bats. Four of his five hits have cleared the fence.

— From staff reports