OMAHA, Neb. – Stymied for seven innings, UC Irvine finally struck in the eighth inning, rallying past Texas, 3-1, in the opening game of the 2014 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park.
Taylor Sparks was 3-for-4 for UC Irvine (41-23), including the game-tying triple with one out in the eighth. With Adam Alcantara on second following a sacrifice bunt, Sparks sent the first pitch he saw from Texas ace Nathan Thornhill (8-3) to the wall in left center, plating the Anteaters left fielder.
After Texas (43-20) brought John Curtiss out of the bullpen, Chris Rabago bounced the go-ahead single past a drawn in Longhorns infield to bring Sparks home with the eventual game-winning run.
UC Irvine’s Jonathan Munoz closed the frame by singling to left, and a sliding Rabago scored just ahead of Texas’ relay to third for the final out of the inning.
Until Sparks’ triple, the Anteaters had been 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position despite putting a runner at second or third with one out in each of the first four innings. The triple, the first off of Thornhill in 2014, was the ninth of the year for Sparks, extending his NCAA lead.
Coming out of the bullpen for the first time this season, Evan Brock (9-6) worked 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to collect the victory for UC Irvine, which has now won six of seven games in the NCAA tournament after earning one of the final at-large bids.
Brock struck out the side in the ninth, including one of Texas center fielder Mark Payton, snapping the senior’s 101-game streak of reaching base dating back to March 3, 2013.
Thornhill had retired the last eight batters he had faced entering the top of the eighth before running into trouble. After Texas scored its lone run of the game in the second inning, it appeared that the right- hander may be able to make the run stand up.
In the second, the Longhorns capitalized on three balls that never left the infield.
Doubling to right to lead off the inning, Collin Shaw advanced to third on Madison Carter’s sacrifice bunt, the second for Texas in as many innings. Kacy Clemens then squibbed a ball to the left of UC Irvine starter Anthony Morales, but the right-hander’s tag attempt missed Clemens, putting runners at the corners.
Zane Gurwitz followed by pushing a bunt between the mound and first base, reaching on the single and bringing Shaw home.
After Brooks Marlow singled to center to load the bases, Morales retired Ben Johnson and Mark Payton to escape further damage.
Morales matched Thornhill, tossing his sixteenth quality start with six innings of work, allowing just the one run and striking out five. The All-American danced around trouble, stranding 10 Longhorns over the course of his 108-pitch outing.
With a 35-mph wind coming straight in from center, runs were at a premium, and the nation’s leaders in sacrifice bunts combined for six on day, one shy of matching the CWS record.
The opening game of the CWS featured two titans of college baseball matching wits in their respective dugouts, as Texas head coach Augie Garrido brought 1,917 career wins into the matchup with UC Irvine head coach Mike Gillespie, owner of 1,036 career victories.
Despite a combined 22 appearances in the CWS, the meeting was just the second for Garrido and Gillespie in Omaha; in the 1995 championship game, Garrido guided Cal State Fullerton to an 11-5 win over Southern California.
After adding another victory to his ledger, Gillespie will lead the Anteaters against the winner of the Louisville-Vanderbilt game on Monday, June 16, at 8 p.m. EST.
Texas, making its 35th appearance in the CWS will look to avoid its second consecutive early exit on Monday at 3 p.m. EST against either the Cardinals or Commodores.
