UC Irvine Wins Series Over New Mexico With 11-6 Decision
ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Dillon Bell and Josh Tavelli combined for six RBI to lead UC Irvine to a series win over New Mexico with an 11-6 decision Saturday at Isotopes Park. Centerfielder Ollie Linton recorded a stolen base to become UCI’s single-season record holder with 29 as the Anteaters improved to 27-10 overall.
New Mexico (27-18) took an early 2-0 lead on Ian Hollick’s solo home run in the first and an RBI single by Scott Gracey in the second. However, the Anteaters tied the game in the top of the third on Linton’s run-scoring single to plate Bell, who had led off the inning with a double, and a sacrifice fly by Eric Deragisch.
UCI claimed the lead with a three-run fourth, highlighted by Tavelli’s two-run home run, his second of the season. The Anteaters added four in the fifth as Tavelli delivered again with a sacrifice fly to score Francis Larson and was followed by a three-run blast from Bell to stake UCI to a 9-2 lead.
The Lobos added a single run in the bottom of the sixth but Ryan Fisher answered for the Anteaters with a solo home run in the UCI seventh, giving the team its first three-home run game since March 15 against Hawaii.
Trailing 11-4 in the bottom of the eighth after Deragisch’s RBI single in the top of the frame, the Lobos pushed across two runs on a run-scoring double from Matt Hibbits and a single from Brian Cavazos-Galvez. However, right-hander Kyle Necke entered in relief for Cole Hathcock and induced an inning-ending groundout. Necke finished the game, yielding two hits in the scoreless ninth.
Anteater starter Bryce Stowell picked up the win, improving to 5-2 after striking out five in five innings while allowing two runs on five hits.
Lobo starter Jacob Norton gave up eight runs (seven earned) on 10 hits in 4.1 innings to fall to 5-3.
Bell was 3 for 3 with three RBI, including a double and a home run while Linton also had a three-hit day, batting 3 for 5 with two runs batted in. Tavelli drove in three on 1 for 3 hitting and the Anteaters also received a pair of RBI from Deragisch, who was 2 for 4 at the plate.
New Mexico was led by Cavazos-Galvez, who was 4 for 4 with two RBI.
Three-Run Fifth Helps Aggies Even Series With No. 15 Cal State Fullerton
FULLERTON, Calif. – UC Davis overcame a two-run deficit with three runs in the fifth inning off RBI’s from Ryan Scoma and Ty Kelly; right-hander Brad McAtee fanned a season-high seven batters and Justin Fitzgerald completed his seventh save of the season to lead UC Davis to a 3-2 victory over No. 15 Cal State Fullerton in front of 1,976 fans at Goodwin Field on Saturday night.
The victory, which was seen live on Big West TV, evens the series at one game apiece and gives the Aggies their first win over the Titans since 2006 while improving them to 26-14 overall and 7-4 in conference. The Titans fall to 25-15 overall and 10-4 against conference competition.
UC Davis took its first lead of the series in the fifth inning with three runs. Following a triple from Ryan Royster, Kelly brought him home with a single up the middle. Evan Hudson managed an infield single with two outs and advanced to second on a wild pitch to give Scoma runners at second and third. Scoma drove a double to right field to score Kelly and Hudson.
The Titans scored single runs in the first and third innings to take an early 2-0 lead. Erik Kamatsu drove in both Titan runs with an RBI double in the first and a sacrifice fly in the third. He has accounted for five of his team’s eight runs in the series.
Aggie starter McAtee earned a tie for the team lead with his sixth victory of the season. He allowed only one earned run off four hits while striking out a season-best seven in seven innings of work. Andy Suiter worked a scorelees eighth inning and Fitzgerald pitched the ninth to earn his team-leading seventh save of the season, which leaves him just one shy of the single season record.
Scoma, Kelly, Hudson and Kevin James each finished with two hits for the Aggies. Kelly has now driven in three of the Aggies’ six runs through the first two games of the series.
Josh Fellhauer was the only Titan to get multiple hits in the game as he also finished with two. Daniel Renken was credited with the loss as he allowed all three runs off 10 hits in 6.1 innings.
Dirtbags Win Slugfest in the Ninth, 14-13
LONG BEACH— Second baseman Kurt Wideman could not field a hard chopper by Shane Peterson, allowing the winning run to score from second in the bottom of the ninth, as No. 25-ranked Long Beach State (25-15, 7-4 Big West) won a slugfest, 14-13, to win the series with visiting Pacific (8-30, 2-12 Big West) on a warm Saturday afternoon.
The Dirtbags, who scored five runs in the eighth inning to take a 13-10 lead, once trailed the contest 10-6 after five innings. And even after lead in the ninth, the Dirtbags watched reliever Nick Vincent give up three runs in the ninth to make it 13-13.
In the bottom of the ninth, Jason Tweedy’s led off the inning with a single, before being sacrificed to second off of reliever David Rowse (0-3). Peterson then hit a ball to the right side of the infield that Wideman could not field, allowing the go-ahead run to score for the second-straight inning.
Jason Corder ignited the five-run eighth inning with his second home run of the contest, a three-run shot to centerfield to make it 12-10. Travis Howell followed with an RBI triple to give LBSU a three-run lead, after relievers Adam Wilk and Brett Lorin allowed just two hits following Pacific’s 10-6 lead in the fifth.
LBSU inched back over the latter innings with a run in the sixth, followed by a solo home run by Rylan Sandoval (2) in the seventh and a leadoff triple and groundout to start the eighth. Sandoval, starting for the first time at third base, finished with three hits, as did Corder, Danny Espinosa and Jason Tweedy.
Eight runs over the fourth and fifth innings gave Pacific a 10-6 lead.
A five-run fourth inning chased starter Vance Worley from the contest and gave the Tigers a 7-6 advantage, before reliever David Roberts gave up three more runs in the fifth to make it 10-6.
Mark McCain went the first 5.2 innings, giving up seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits for Pacific, as LBSU staked them selves to a 6-2 lead.
Corder connected on his 10th home run of the season, making it 6-2 in the third, as he is the first Dirtbag since Evan Longoria in 2006 to hit double digits, and just the second player since 2002 to reach 10. His 18 career home runs is ninth all-time.
An Espinosa two-run single in the first made it 2-0, before an error by third baseman Mike Walker opened the door to three runs in the second to make it 5-2.
Matadors Dispatch UC Riverside By 14-5 Count
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Cal State Northridge (17-21, 5-9) evened their weekend series with UC Riverside (12-25, 6-5) Saturday with a decisive 14-5 victory that featured several impressive feats. Justin DeMarco was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBI and Ryan Pineda smacked his first career homer, a first-inning grand slam.
Matador starter Phil Hann had a six-run advantage with which to work before he ever took the ball.
In the top half of the opening frame, TS Reed was plunked to open the game and things continued from there, with Richard Cates, Dominic D’Anna, and Matt Warr notching back-to-back-to-back singles. Warr’s knock brought in Reed and Drew Muren walk left the bases full for Ryan Pineda, who went yard with an opposite field blast that went as his first career homer. The slam was the first bases-loaded shot for the Matadors since 2006.
The Northridge bats would go silent through the middle innings.
On the mound, Hann allowed the Highlanders to halve the lead in the second with four singles to open the inning. The result belied Hann’s work, however, as the senior right-hander stuck to the game plan and was able to induce ground balls for five of the first six batters in the inning.
Leadoff man Aaron Wible lashed a seeing-eye single through the left side, Ryan Goetz slapped a bouncer to second base that bounced over the shoulder of an in-position TS Reed, and after a line drive into right field, another hard grounder would slip down the third base line. Out number one came on a ground out to shortstop Justin DeMarco, and another grounder to DeMarco resulted in a throwing error. The Highlanders scored three in the frame.
UCR came within one in the fifth. A one-out walk was followed by a single to put two men on, Wible collected a sacrifice fly, and Goetz notched an RBI single that scored a run, narrowing the score to 6-5.
Northridge got back to the bats in the sixth, when three consecutive two-out hits resulted in a pair of runs.
The newfound three-run lead prompted head coach Steve Rousey to go to the bullpen for his relief ace, Edwin Quirarte. Quirarte responded with three shutout frames.
Northridge held their three-run advantage when they took the bats in the ninth. Again the damage was done with two outs in the inning. A Warr doubled was sandwiched between a pair of strikeouts, and when reliever Ryan Platt walked a man behind Warr, the bullpen was stirred again.
Dustin Emmons was the reliever and he was greeted with a Chris Hannick single, back-to-back Matador triples off the bats of Justin DeMarco and TS Reed and back-to-back singles for John Parham and Richard Cates. Northridge pushed five runs across in the inning.
The triple for DeMarco was his first career three-bagger and John Parham extended his hit streak in the ninth after being walked in the sixth and eighth.
Eric Billings set the Highlanders down quietly in the ninth to secure the 14-5 Matador win.
For the day, Reed, Cates, Warr, and Parham all tallied multiple hits and each Northridge starter found his way into the hit column. Northridge has had one or fewer errors in each of its last three contests.
UCSB Bounces Back, Wins 8-4 Against Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo, Calif. – UC Santa Barbara (28-13, 7-4) got back to their winning ways, beating Cal Poly (18-21, 6-8) 8-4 Saturday night at Baggett Stadium. Mario Hollands and the Gauchos bounced back from a disappointing series opener yesterday to earn their seventh Big West win of the season. Hollands (5-2) earned his fifth win on Saturday, allowing only two runs in six innings of work.
Cal Poly jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Following a Luke Yoder double, Brent Morel doubled to left field for the first run of the game. With two-out and the bases juiced, Kyle Smith drew a walk to force in the second Mustang run of the inning.
UCSB quickly tied things up scoring a pair of runs in the top half of the second. With runners on the corners and two-out, Steve Cook lined an RBI single through the left side of the infield, bringing the Gauchos within one, 2-1. Designated hitter Gunnar Terhune followed with an RBI single up the middle, tying the game at 2-2.
After a scoreless bottom half of the second, the Gauchos scored two more runs in the top of the third. Following a Chris Fox groundout, Eric Oliver singled up the middle to put a runner on with one out. Cleanup hitter Mike Zuanich then launched his 12th home run of the year, a two-run shot to deep left field. Zuanich’s blast gave the Gauchos a 4-2 after three and half.
The Gauchos extended their lead to five with three runs in the top of the fifth. With the bases loaded and two-out, Chris McMurray lined a bases-clearing triple down the right field line. McMurray hit the first pitch he saw for his first triple of the year, driving in Patrick Rose, Oliver, and Zuanich. After five innings of play, UCSB held a 7-2 advantage.
The Mustangs clawed back with a run in the seventh as Dorrell’s RBI single to left field closed the gap to four, 7-3.
After the Gauchos scored a run in the top of the eighth courtesy of a bases loaded walk, Cal Poly scored a run of their own in the bottom half.
It wouldn’t be enough for the Mustangs as Zach Samuels pitched a perfect ninth to secure the 8-4 win for the Gauchos.
Hollands allowed seven hits in six innings, while striking out five and walking only two.
Chris McMurray led the way going 2-for-4 with one run scored and three RBI. Zuanich added a hit and two runs scored in a two RBI effort as well.
