RIVERSIDE, Calif. (Interstat) — UC Riverside snapped a three-game losing streak and earned its first Big West series win of the season Sunday, defeating UC Irvine 5-3 at Riverside Sports Complex.

The Highlanders, who had been outscored 32-8 in the first two games of the series, rallied from an early three-run deficit and took the lead for good in the sixth inning. The win improved UC Riverside’s record to 15-31 overall, while UC Irvine fell to 23-24.

UC Irvine scored all three of its runs in the first inning. The Anteaters loaded the bases on a single by D. Polasek, a single by L. Schermer and a walk to Al. Reyes, then pushed across the runs on a sequence of hits and a fielder’s choice. The early outburst gave starter Hunter Manning a cushion, but the Anteaters’ offense stalled after that.

Manning pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing no hits and one earned run while striking out two. He was relieved by Ricky Ojeda, who worked 2 1/3 innings and gave up two earned runs with no hits and two strikeouts. Danny Suarez followed with three innings, allowing no hits but two earned runs and two strikeouts.

UC Riverside chipped away at the lead. In the third inning, David Gibbs scored on a single by Isaiah Hernandez to make it 3-1. The Highlanders tied the game in the fourth. Manoah Chapman singled, moved to third on a double by Andrew Rivas, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Esteban Sepulveda. Rivas then scored on a single by David Whittle to knot the score at 3-3.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Rivas was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a groundout. Tyler Gordon then tripled down the right-field line, driving in Rivas to give UC Riverside a 4-3 lead.

The Highlanders added an insurance run in the seventh. Robert Pitts singled, stole second and scored on Hernandez’s second RBI single of the game, a line drive to right-center that made it 5-3.

UC Riverside’s pitching staff held the Anteaters scoreless over the final three innings. Starter Joshua Martinez earned the win, allowing three earned runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings with three strikeouts. Jaxon Byrd and Marco DiGirolamo combined for 2 2/3 scoreless innings, with Byrd striking out one. Matt Hudson pitched the ninth, allowing one hit and striking out one to earn the save.

For UC Irvine, designated hitter Zach Crandall drove in both runs after the first inning, doubling to center field in the sixth to score Reyes and Ef. Ortega. Crandall later scored on a wild pitch to give UC Irvine a brief lead, but the runs were nullified by UC Riverside’s rally. Crandall finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Hernandez led UC Riverside’s offense, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Gordon was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a triple.

The game featured a combined 18 hits, nine for each team, and UC Irvine grounded into two double plays. The Anteaters had won the previous two meetings by scores of 15-3 and 17-5, but the Highlanders’ bullpen and timely hitting proved decisive on Sunday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of UC Irvine 5, UC Riverside 4, and its ELO system gave UC Irvine an 87.60 percent probability to win.