|
Baseball:
UC Irvine Defeats Texas 9-6 to Win Round Rock Regional
June 4, 2007 Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery
ROUND ROCK, Tex. --- Pitcher Wes Etheridge secured the final two outs with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth as No. 9 UC Irvine won the Round Rock Regional with a 9-6 win Monday over fifth-ranked Texas at The Dell Diamond. This is UCI's first NCAA Division I regional title. The game was resumed Monday at 11:00 a.m. (PT) after thunderstorms halted the contest Sunday evening with the Anteaters leading 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning. UCI (43-15-1), which had never won a regional game in its Division I history, went 3-0, defeating Wake Forest and Texas twice to advance to the Super Regionals. Utility player Taylor Holiday was voted the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after leading UCI with seven hits, batting .467 (7 for 16) with six runs scored and two stolen bases. Holiday, also named the all-tournament first baseman, was joined by pitchers Scott Gorgen, who threw a complete-game against Texas Saturday and Wes Etheridge, who shut out Wake Forest to open the tournament and recorded the save in the final game. Second baseman Cody Cipriano was also honored after totaling five RBI while hitting 5 for 13 (.385), including two doubles, as was catcher Aaron Lowenstein, who hit 3 for 12 (.250) with a pair of runs batted in. Centerfielder Ollie Linton rounded out the list of honorees for UCI after a stellar performance that included two game-changing catches against Texas Saturday. Linton also had two RBI on a pair of hits for the Anteaters.
UCI, holding onto a one-run margin, came up empty in the bottom of the seventh in the clinching game. Gorgen set down Texas in order in the eighth and the Anteaters added three runs in the bottom of the eighth, getting a run on a pinch-hit by Dillon Bell that resulted in a throwing error by Kyle Russell, allowing Bryan Petersen to score and allowed Bell to take third. After Linton was hit by the pitch, Tyler Vaughn delivered with a two-run double that scored pinch runner Sean Madigan and Linton for a 9-6 lead. Senior Blair Erickson entered the ninth and gave up a single and a double to put runners on second and third for Texas. Erickson struck out Kyle Russell but walked the next two batters, allowing a run to score before giving way to Etheridge. Cipriano led UCI with a pair of doubles and two RBI while Bryan Petersen, Tyler Vaughn and Holiday each had two hits. Dylan Axelrod picked up the win to improve to 4-4 after striking out two in 1.1 innings of two-hit relief. Texas, the designated visiting team Monday, got on the board in the top of the second on Chais Fuller's one-out double down the right-field line to score Bradley Suttle. UCI took the lead in the bottom of the third as Cipriano drove a double down the left-field line to score Vaughn and Holiday, who hit back-to-back, one-out singles. Ben Orloff, reaching third on Cipriano's double, broke for home as Matt Morris laid down a perfect bunt for the suicide squeeze. Texas tied the game in the top of the fourth, putting runners on second and third with two outs for pinch hitter Josh Prince, who drove a 2-2 pitch to the left-centerfield gap that got past a diving Holiday and scored Chance Wheeless and Fuller. The Longhorns then scored twice in the sixth on a two-run double by Brett Lewis to take a 5-3 advantage but the Anteaters regained the lead with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Cipriano led off for UCI with a double but was thrown out at third on Morris' fielder's choice. Bryan Petersen followed with a double to left-center and Jeff Cusick came up with a bases-clearing triple to center to score Morris and Petersen. Linton was hit by a pitch and then stole second before Lowenstein grounded out to second to bring in Cusick for the go-ahead run. Linton ended the inning trying to steal home. Texas reliever Keith Shinaberry fell to 0-2 after giving up three runs on four hits in three innings of work. UCI starter Eric Pettis pitched 5.1 innings, giving up five runs on nine hits and striking four. Sites and times for the Super Regionals will be announced Tuesday. |
