No. 10 UC Irvine Defeats USC in Extra Innings
March 11, 2009
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- Brock Bardeen and Ryan Fisher delivered late-inning heroics to lead No. 10 UC Irvine to a 6-5, 12-inning victory over USC Tuesday at Dedeaux Field. The win extended UCI's streak against USC to seven games as the Anteaters improved to 8-4 on the season.
UCI took an early four-run lead after four innings but were then held to one hit through the next four innings as USC took a 5-4 lead in the seventh. The Anteaters clawed their way back in the top of the ninth. After DJ Crumlich was cut down at home, trying to score from second on a Ben Orloff double, Bardeen laced an 0-2 pitch up the middle to plate Orloff for the tying run.
The two teams would be held scoreless until UCI reclaimed the lead in the 12th. Eric Deragisch belted a two-out, pinch-hit double to left-center and Ryan Fisher lined a clutch single to right, easily scoring Deragisch for the eventual game-winning run.
Bardeen was handed the ball in relief in the USC 10th and went on to shutout the Trojans for three innings, striking out three, walking two and scattering three hits to improve to 2-0 on the mound.
Cory Olson sparked the Anteater offense in the leadoff spot as the centerfielder went 3 for 6 with two RBI and two runs scored. Olson led off the game with a solo home run over the left-centerfiled wall and ended the night a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.
Fisher was 2 for 4 with an RBI while Orloff extended his hit streak to seven games with a 2 for 6 performance at the plate.
Right-hander Cory Hamilton gave UCI a solid start on the mound, holding USC to a run on two hits. The junior struck out a career-high five batters while recording his longest outing of the season at 4.2 innings. Five Anteater pitchers combined for a season-high 13 strikeouts in the win.
Following Olson's roundtripper in the first, a USC error yielded an Anteater run in the second. DJ Crumlich capitalized on Olson's leadoff double in the third with an RBI hit up the middle for a 3-0 lead. The Anteaters then took a four-run advantage as Olson registered his second RBI of the game with a single in the fourth to plate Jeff Cusick, who had reached on an error by shortstop Grant Green.
USC jumped on the board in the fourth, scoring a run on a wild pitch, and took a 5-4 lead with a four-run seventh. Joe DePinto doubled off Noel Avison to lead off the frame. Garrett Houts followed with a single off Matt Dufour to score DePinto and Green followed with a double to put runners on first and third. DePinto crossed the plate on a groundout to first and Robert Stock belted a 2-0 pitch off Eric Pettis to cap the inning for USC.
Vasquez took the loss to fall to 0-2 after yielding a run on two hits in three innings while striking out two. Third baseman Hector Rabago went 3 for 5 while catcher Robert Stock drove in two on 1 for 4 hitting.
