April 19, 2009

Box Score

RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- Casey Stevenson and DJ Crumlich combined for six RBI and the Anteater bullpen was solid as No. 3 UC Irvine swept the series with a 12-9 win over UC Riverside Sunday at Riverside Sports Complex. The victory gave Anteaters their third sweep over a Big West opponent and climbed to 11-1 in conference action and 26-10 overall. The Highlanders fell to 20-13 (2-7) overall.

Francis Larson led the team with three hits, going 3 for 4 with two RBI while five Anteaters posted two hits apiece. Tommy Reyes registered a multiple-RBI game with two runs batted in on 2 for 6 hitting while Stevenson and Crumlich posted three RBI apiece.

Starter Crosby Slaught was touched for five runs in the first and handed the ball off to Kyle Necke, who was solid in 3.2 innings, holding the Highlanders to a run on four this while striking out three. Noel Avison blanked the Highlanders in 1/3 inning and Matt Dufour picked up his first win of the season (1-0) after pitching 1.2 innings and holding UCR to a run on five hits. Brock Bardeen gave the Anteaters 2.1 innings of two-run relief and Eric Pettis recorded his 12th save after retiring the final two batters in the ninth to move into a tie for the national lead.

Orloff and Deragisch led off the game with consecutive singles and crossed the plate on run-scoring hits by Larson and Crumlich for a 2-0 lead.

However, the Highlanders took their first lead of the series with a five-run first. Carl Uhl doubled to lead off the frame and Michael Hur drove in UCR's first run with a one-out single up the middle. The Highlanders then strung together four consecutive hits with Michael Nesbitt's two-run double highlighting the frame.

The Anteaters battled and caught UC Riverside with a three-run fifth as UCI sandwiched an RBI double by Jeff Cusick with a pair of run-scoring groundouts to short.

UCI then claimed the lead in the top of the sixth, loading the bases on a single by Orloff and a pair of walks with one out for Reyes, who dropped a bloop single to right-center to give UCI a 7-6 edge. Crumlich's bunt on a suicide squeeze play went for a single, scoring Deraigisch and Cusick extended the inning with a four-pitch walk. Stevenson broke open the game, jumping on the first pitch from reliever Kolby Moore to lace a single through the right side and give the Anteaters a 10-6 advantage.

UC Riverside led off the seventh inning with consecutive singles by Hur and Goetz. Both runners advanced on a towering fly-ball out to right and scored a run on grounder to short by Tony Nix to close the gap to 10-7.

UCI responded again as Reyes tripled to lead off the eighth and crossed the plate on Crumlich's sacrifice to center. Larson tacked on a run in the ninth with a run-scoring single to short to score Dillon Bell who led off with a single to left.

UC Riverside refused to yield as Uhl doubled down the left-field line to and scored on Hur's single in the top of the ninth. An error by Stevenson put runners on first and third with one out but Brantley's sacrifice to right was followed by a groundout to short to end the game.

Starter Paul Applebee allowed six runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings and Matt Larkins was hit with the loss after giving up four runs on three hits in an inning to fall to 1-1. Goetz led the team with three hits while three Highlanders recorded two RBI apiece.