IRVINE, Calif. — Taking care of a tragic family situation is something no one ever wants to do, but sometimes it is necessary.
UC Irvine second baseman Tommy Reyes had to do as much last week. He missed the Anteaters’ four games prior to this weekend’s matchup with UC Riverside while attending to family matters related to the death of his older brother Robby, a Marine Corps Cpl., who was killed in a training exercise in Morocco.
When he got returned this weekend, Reyes said he was just happy to be back with his Irvine (22-17, 7-7) teammates and to be able to go out and have fun. His bat has also been having fun. After a 4-for-4 performance Friday night, he was 3-for-4 with two doubles and scored both runs in the Anteaters’ 2-0 win Saturday afternoon against the Highlanders (14-22, 4-7).
After Saturday’s win, I chatted to Reyes and starter Andrew Thurman, who picked up the victory in the 9-2 win Friday night.
Reyes talked about what he saw from Riverside ace Eddie Orozco. He discussed getting back in the groove upon his return as well as how the Anteaters are just trying to take it one game at a time down the stretch:
Thurman, who has taken over the role of ace with three lights out wins in a row, talked about taking the challenge of being the Friday night starter and usually having to face the other team’s best pitcher. I also teased Thurman about allowing five hits against Riverside after he allowed only one hit in his previous two starts:
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