Heading into the 2013 season, the Highlanders were picked to wind up in seventh place by the Big West Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. The team, however, hoped to exceed expectations with a tested group of players itching for a possible run to the NCAA Regional Baseball Tournament.
The crop of Highlanders ultimately fell short of their goals in a season that saw facets of the program’s offense flourish while areas of pitching remained stagnant. UC Riverside was in the top four in batting average (.282), slugging percentage (.380) and on-base percentage (.374) among Big West Conference teams for the season, which was primarily due to the power plays generated by outfielder David Andriese and utility player Joe Chavez.
Andriese paced the offense with a team-leading 43 RBIs while finishing second in the conference in batting average (.335) and slugging percentage (.426). His 70 base hits were the eighth-most in the Big West while his impressive RBIs ranked him seventh. The Highlanders’ power plays were centered around Chavez, whose .490 slugging percentage not only led the team, but was also good enough to place sixth-best in the conference. Despite the duo of Andriese and Chavez generating hits, the Highlanders as a team struggled to score once they were on base. The hitters of Riverside only mustered up 14 home runs for the season, which was fourth-worst in the conference.
On the pitching side, UC Riverside was eighth of out 10 teams in the Big West with a 5.29 earned run average, which meant the pitchers of Riverside weren’t necessarily throwing lights out for the majority of the season. The team allowed the most hits (598) and runs (364) in the conference while only muscling up 20 wins for the 2013 campaign. The pitchers were, however, above average in saves (sixth) due to the savvy plays of senior Trevor Frank, one of the premier closers in the league with 10 saves on the season. Frank’s handful of saves was the third-most in the Big West and the third-highest total in the history of UCR’s baseball program.
The standout performance for the Highlanders this season was actually a string of performances as the team started their 2013 campaign with an 11-game home winning streak at the Riverside Sports Complex, often called “The Plex,” that was eventually snapped by a 24-11 loss to UNLV on April 16.
While the baseball season primarily stayed on the mound, there were moments of drama peppered throughout. Following a game on Feb. 22 against Sacramento State, four players were suspended after a brawl broke out during the game. The Highlanders made national headlines, which included local coverage from ESPN and NBC. In April, the NCAA announced that the university had to vacate eight wins from the team for using an ineligible player during the season. Fifth-year Eddie Young was injured during his freshman season in 2009 and the proper paperwork for a medical redshirt was not filed, according to the NCAA.
Riverside ended the season with a disappointing 14-32 record overall, winning only 10 out of 27 conference games. Six Highlanders, however, were selected to the Big West All-Conference teams including Andriese, Chavez, Frank, Zach Varela, Devyn Bolasky and senior Clayton Prestridge.
