UC Irvine scored eight runs in the bottom of the first inning en route to a lopsided 11-2 victory against top-ranked TCU on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series in Irvine, Calif.
Right-hander Brian Howard started for TCU and gave up all eight first-inning runs, yielding eight hits and recording only one out. Last week against LSU, Howard (2-2) gave up four runs in the first.
TCU (11-2) saw the end of a seven-game winning streak, which included a big rally against Texas A&M last weekend. The Horned Frogs face the Anteaters (8-4) at 4 p.