LSU 3, UC Irvine 4
The defending national champions got knocked down early and after nine innings in the Sunday elimination game at Jackie Robinson Stadium, they were out. UC Irvine jumped ahead early, extended their lead a bit and then hung on to take out LSU and send the throngs of purple and gold clad Tiger fans home disappointed with a 4-3 win.
The Anteaters got off to a quick start, taking a 1-0 lead in the second on a Jordan Leyland RBI single. The team then manufactured two more runs in the fourth inning to stretch that lead to 3-0. Blake Dean lifted one high and deep to right center in the fifth inning for a solo home run to get LSU on the board, but Drew Hillman’s sixth inning blast got that run back from Irvine.
Trailing 4-1, LSU did their best to put together one of their trademark rallies. Consecutive doubles in the seventh by the Tigers cut the Anteaters’ lead to 4-2, then a single by Tyler Hanover played another to make it a one-run ballgame. The Tigers even flashed some stellar defense when Leon Landry went all the way from left center to deep right center and fully extended to make a sensational diving catch. None of that was enough, though, because Nick Hoover came out of the Irvine bullpen to shut the Tigers down in the final innings, preserving the victory and eliminating LSU.
UCLA 6, UC Irvine 2
As the Los Angeles Regional’s number one seed and host, UCLA was expected to make it through to the Super Regionals, but in what was pegged by many as the toughest Regional, it was supposed to be tough. The Bruins made it look anything but all weekend long, culminating in a 6-2 victory over UC Irvine on Sunday evening to finish off a perfect 3-0 Regional. Now, the Bruins will await the winner of the Fullerton Regional and prepare for next weekend’s Super Regionals, which they will host as the number six national seed.
The Bruins were first on the scoreboard when Niko Gallego smacked a 1-1 pitch to deep left center for a belly-whopping triple that plated Cody Regis in the second. In the bottom half of the inning, Drew Hillman hit a solo home run to a spot nearly identical to where his home run versus LSU earlier in the day landed.
With the game tied at 1-1, UCLA looked to get their lead back and they did in the third inning. Blair Dunlap doubled home a run and when the Irvine third baseman couldn’t snag a slow roller with the bases loaded, UCLA got another run for a 3-1 lead. Jordan Leyland’s home run cut the UCLA lead to 3-2, but the Bruin starting pitcher, Rob Rasmussen was strong. He limited the Anteaters to just those two solo home runs in six innings and with the Bruin bullpen in lock down mode, Regis’ three-run home run in the eighth was enough to wrap up the game, and Regional, for UCLA.
2010 Los Angeles All-Regional Team
MVP: Trevor Bauer, UCLA
Catcher: Francis Larson, UC Irvine
First Base: Jeff Cusick, UC Irvine
Second Base: Casey Stevenson, UC Irvine
Shortstop: Niko Gallego, UCLA
Third Base: Cody Regis, UCLA
Outfield: Beau Amaral, UCLA
Outfield: Drew Hillman, UC Irvine
Outfield: Leon Landry, LSU
Designated Hitter: Jordan Leyland, UC Irvine
Pitcher: Gerrit Cole, UCLA
Pitcher: Evan Brock, UC Irvine
