(Courtesy of Cal Poly)
Here is your Big West Recap for February 21st. The information comes from various press releases.
Game 1: Cal-Poly 10 Rice 3
Game 2: Cal-Poly 7 Rice 6
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Sophomore first baseman J.J. Thompson’s double to the gap in right-center field knocked in the winning run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning as Cal Poly completed a comeback from a 6-2 deficit and upset No. 3 Rice 7-6 Saturday night in Baggett Stadium.
Coach Larry Lee’s Mustangs (2-1) also won the first game of Saturday’s day-night doubleheader, 10-3, and captured the season-opening non-conference baseball series, two games to one.
Freshman left fielder Bobby Crocker ignited the rally with a one-out single up the middle, then stole second base. Thompson belted a 2-0 pitch from Rice reliever Matthew Reckling into the gap in right-center field, scoring Crocker with the winning run and completing the twinbill sweep.
Cal-Poly Recap
Rice Game 1 Recap
Rice Game 2 Recap
Game 1: UC-Riverside 6 Cal 5
Game 2: UC-Riverside 5 Cal 2
UC Riverside (2-1) bounced back from a season-opening 8-7 loss to Cal Friday, with a pair of wins against the Bears (1-2) in a Saturday double header.
Freshman Matt Andriese got the start in the first game and threw five innings of five-hit ball, but four of those hits came in the second inning when the Bears hung a four-spot on the board. That erased a 2-0 UCR lead the Highlanders manufactured in the first off of a Carl Uhl single, a balk, an error, a walk and a wild pitch. UC Riverside tied the game in the top of the fourth when they loaded the bases scoring one run on an RBI single from Uhl.
TCU 8 Cal-State Fullerton 6
FULLERTON, Calif. – The No. 32 TCU Horned Frogs held on for an 8-6 victory over No. 5 Cal State Fullerton to even the season-opening series at a game apiece. Chris Ellington broke a 4-4 tie with a double in the seventh and the Frogs bullpen made the lead stand. Ben Carruthers tallied three hits to lead the offense and Kaleb Merck pitched a perfect ninth for his first career save.
Cal State Fullerton jumped out to the early lead in the second inning on a solo home run off the bat of Khris Davis.
After being held down through three innings, the Frogs came to life in the fourth inning, scoring two runs on two hits to take their first lead of the game. Matt Curry lined a one-out single up the middle and moved to third on a double off the bat of Jason Coats. Titan starter Kyle Witten uncorked a wild pitch that tied the game at one. Bryan Holaday followed with a sacrifice fly to left field that gave TCU the 2-1 advantage.
TCU Recap
Cal-State Fullerton Recap
Game 1: UC-Irvine 5 Hawaii 4
HONOLULU, HI – Catcher Francis Larson was 3 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored and fell a single shy of hitting for the cycle as UC Irvine edged Hawaii, 5-4, Saturday in the first game of the double-header. The win lifted UCI to 2-0 while the Rainbows fell to 0-2. First pitch for the second game is at 4:05 p.m. (HT).
Designated hitter Ryan Fisher drove in a pair of runs on 1 for 4 hitting while Dillon Bell was 1 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Starter Christian Bergman (1-0) pitched eight innings, yielding one earned run (four earned) on seven hits while All-American Eric Pettis retired the ninth in order for his first save of the season.
Game 2:UC-Irvine 5 Hawaii 4 (7 Innings)
HONOLULU, HI — Senior Brock Bardeen and freshman DJ Crumlich, making their respective debuts, were instrumental as UC Irvine improved to 3-0 with a 5-4 win against Hawaii (0-3) in the second game of the double-header Saturday at Les Murakami Stadium.
Bardeen, in his collegiate pitching debut, entered the game in relief of starter Crosby Slaught and went on to earn his first win after pitching 2.1 innings and holding the Rainbows to a run on two hits with two strikeouts.
Crumlich made the start at third base and paced the Anteaters with two RBI while hitting 1 for 2 at the plate with a run scored. Sean Madigan, Dillon Bell and Sammy Donabedian each recorded an RBI in the win.
Pacific 9 Baylor 8
Waco, Texas – Led by Texas natives sophomore J.B. Brown (Alvin, Texas) and Mark McCain (Dallas, Texas), the Pacific baseball team rallied past No. 8 Baylor, 9-8, on Saturday, Feb. 21.
With the victory the Tigers evened the opening series of the 2009 season at 1-1.
Trailing 8-5 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the Tigers used a mix of patience and precision to rally past the Bears. Senior Mike McKeever (San Diego, Calif.) got things rolling in the eighth on a lead-off walk. Brown followed with a single to left field, then senior Kurt Wideman (Fallbrook, Calif.) worked a walk to load the bases.
Cal-State Northridge 6 Pepperdine 2
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – A three-run fifth inning would provide all the necessary runs for sophomore pitcher Ryan Juarez as the Matadors avenged yesterday’s final-inning loss by defeating the Pepperdine Waves 6-2 in their inaugural home game of the 2009 season.
In his six-inning stint on the mound today, Juarez only allowed seven hits and two runs to pick up the first CSUN victory of the season.
Billy Ott emerged from the bullpen in the top of the seventh to preserve the victory, allowing zero hits in three runs, picking up his first save of the season in the process.
For the second consecutive game, the Matadors jumped out to an early lead, this time in the second inning as third-baseman Ryan Pineda scored the first run of the game thanks to a line drive down the left field line by designated hitter Chris Hannick.
Cal-State Northridge Recap
Pepperdine Recap
Southern Cal 4 Long Beach State 0
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Junior right-hander Kevin Couture (Coronado/Coronado HS) threw seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out a career-high 10 batters Saturday as the USC Trojans shut out the Long Beach State 49ers, 4-0. The Trojans (2-0) scored all four runs in the eighth, thanks to RBI singles from Mike O’Neill and Hector Rabago and a two-run single by Robert Stock.
Long Beach State starter Jake Thompson matched Couture in a pitchers’ duel, throwing seven shutout innings of his own and giving up only three hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Couture allowed only one walk and hit three batters, but did not allow a runner past second base during his performance.
Manny McElroy (0-1) took the loss after giving up two runs. He walked Joe De Pinto and pinch hitter Shane Boras to lead off the Trojan half of the eighth. Greg Zebrack then lifted a fly ball to right that moved De Pinto to third before O’Neill and Rabago hit back-to-back singles. Grant Green advanced O’Neill and Rabago to second and third with a ground ball back to the pitcher, followed by Stock’s two-run hit up the middle.
USC Recap
Long Beach State Recap
Game 1: UC-Riverside 6 Cal 5
Game 2: UC-Riverside 5 Cal 2
UC Riverside (2-1) bounced back from a season-opening 8-7 loss to Cal Friday, with a pair of wins against the Bears (1-2) in a Saturday double header.
Freshman Matt Andriese got the start in the first game and threw five innings of five-hit ball, but four of those hits came in the second inning when the Bears hung a four-spot on the board. That erased a 2-0 UCR lead the Highlanders manufactured in the first off of a Carl Uhl single, a balk, an error, a walk and a wild pitch. UC Riverside tied the game in the top of the fourth when they loaded the bases scoring one run on an RBI single from Uhl.
