James Hepp’s day was done after facing just three hitters Tuesday as the junior right-hander failed to record a single out.

And though the Bruins would eventually shut out the Anteaters from the second inning on, the five runs No. 12 UC Irvine (29-9, 16-2 Big West) scored in the first inning off Hepp and redshirt sophomore southpaw Will Goldberg were enough to propel it to a 5-3 victory over No. 15 UCLA baseball (29-11, 13-5 Big Ten).

The Bruins’ loss at Cicerone Field in Irvine – which marked the centennial meeting between the two UC programs – resulted in their eighth defeat to the Anteaters in their past nine meetings and their fourth Quad 1 loss in their past five games.

UC Irvine shortstop Colin Yeaman took Hepp’s sixth pitch of the evening deep to left center for a two-run homer, and before UCLA could even record an out, right fielder Chase Call – the older brother of sophomore second baseman Phoenix Call – sent Goldberg’s fifth offering over the wall for a two-run shot of his own.

The Bruins responded in the top of the second with their only extra base hit of the evening, a solo shot off the bat of junior designated hitter Jarrod Hocking, his second in his last three games, but wouldn’t drive home another run until the top of the ninth.

With two runners on in the third, sophomore Roman Martin grounded into an inning-ending double play, and with another two runners on in the eighth, sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky did the same.

The Bruins left seven runners on base and struck out 10 times Tuesday. Anteater southpaw Ricky Ojeda improved his record to 9-0 while right-hander Danny Suarez struck out five batters, allowing just two to reach in 2.1 innings of work.

“We’re just not playing good enough,” said Cholowsky, who went 2-for-4 Tuesday. “We’re not stringing enough at-bats together during the game, and that’s really what it’s come down to is scoring runs.”

Sophomore catcher Cashel Dugger pinch hit with two outs in the ninth and loaded the bases after his batted ball deflected off Anteater first baseman James Castagnola’s glove. Redshirt freshman outfielder Aidan Espinoza then delivered a two-RBI pinch-hit single to bring the go-ahead run to the plate, but sophomore left fielder Dean West – who had three hits Tuesday – couldn’t yield a fourth knock, striking out to end the ballgame.

UCLA’s last five relievers combined for seven scoreless innings – with redshirt junior right-hander Josh Alger and freshman right-hander CJ Bott tossing two frames each – and struck out nine while allowing just six baserunners.

But similar to last week’s affair against then-No. 6 Oregon State, where the UCLA bullpen held its opponent scoreless over the final five frames, the Bruin offense couldn’t capitalize.

“This is probably the first time all season that we’ve had a little adversity,” Hocking said. “I’m just really excited to see how we’re going to deal with it because I think we’re going to attack it, and it’s going to make us better ultimately.”