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College Baseball: ‘Eaters wrap up sweep

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RIVERSIDE — What by all rights should have been a euphoric capper to a dominant week and weekend turned into an exercise in fragility Saturday for the UC Irvine baseball team.

Leading host UC Riverside, 11-4, heading into the ninth inning, the Anteaters needed three pitchers to close out an 11-9 win that took some wind out of the sails of an offensive windfall that produced 36 runs and 45 hits in a three-game Big West Conference sweep.

For the week, UCI amassed 49 runs, 60 hits and four victories to extend its winning streak to 12 games. At the halfway point of the regular season, the Anteaters (18-10, 6-0 in conference) sit atop the Big West standings having won 15 of their last 16. The 12-game win streak is the longest in Mike Gillespie’s eight seasons and the longest since UCI revived the program before the 2002 season.

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UCI’s 19 hits Saturday against a beleaguered Highlanders pitching staff are a season high. Scoring double-digit runs in four straight victories on four separate days was a first in UCI baseball history. It was only the second time ever that UCI has won four straight while scoring at least 10 runs, the last time coming in a four-game stretch that included a doubleheader in 1982.

But UCI Coach Mike Gillespie was nearly as grumpy as he was giddy in the aftermath Saturday.

“Unfortunately, the message is, it’s too bad that even though we won three, we feel like we lost,” Gillespie said. “So we’re trying to remember we won.”

Despite a season-high hit output, UCI left 15 runners on base, including the bases loaded in the first, third and sixth innings.

“We’re trying to be happy that we won, but we all know what the frustrations were,” Gillespie said. “They were bases loaded, bases loaded, bases loaded, and not delivering a killer punch over and over and over. And, of course the [three] bases on balls and the error [in Riverside’s five-run ninth] and we dodge a bullet.”

Half of the six Anteaters’ pitchers surrendered runs, including starter Evan Manarino, who gave up four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 to improve to 3-0.

Freshman Shaun Vetrovec, a Newport Harbor High product, allowed a hit, two walks and was charged with three runs after opening the ninth. Sean Sparling then surrendered a hit and a walk and was charged with two runs, only one earned, without retiring a batter.

Senior Sam Moore then found himself in a surprising save situation. After a two-run single by Vince Hernandez finalized the scoring, Moore induced a four-six-three double play that gave UCI three double plays in the final five innings and notched his third save.

“We got a lot of hits this weekend and a lot of big hits, so I’m liking that,” said Gillespie, whose team hit .369 in the series and lifted its season batting average seven points on Saturday to .289. “But I think we can pitch better. We didn’t pitch better.”

Junior left fielder Wyatt Castro went four for five with three runs batted in, while freshman outfielder Keston Hiura and senior catcher Jerry McClanahan were both three for five with one RBI for the winners.

Freshman third baseman Parker Coss and freshman Cameron Bishop (who also pitched two scoreless relief innings) each had two hits, while sophomore second baseman John Brontsema drove in two runs for UCI.

Junior Jonathan Muñoz hit his first home run of the season for UCI, which now has 17 dingers on the season.

Ten Anteaters had at least one hit and eight drove in at least one run as UC Riverside (10-22, 0-6) saw its losing streak extended to nine games.

The Highlanders, who lost their No. 1 starting pitcher to injury before the series, had outfielder Alex Rubanowitz, a knuckleballer, make his first mound appearance to start Saturday’s game.

UCR, which has allowed 102 runs in its nine-game losing streak, during which teams posted double-digit runs eight times, used 16 pitchers in the three-game series. After making four errors in each of the first two games, Riverside went errorless in the finale, meaning all 11 runs were earned to lift its staff earned-run average from 4.86 to 5.05.

UCI visits San Diego State on Tuesday, before playing host to Long Beach State in a three-game Big West series beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Big West Conference

UC Irvine 11, UC Riverside 9

SCORE BY INNINGS

UCI 301 122 200 – 11 19 1

UCR 010 201 005 – 9 13 0

Manarino, Garcia (6), Bishop (7), Vetrovec (9), Sparling (9), Moore (9) and McClanahan; Rubanowitz; Dunyon (1), Compton (4), Morton (6), Gentner (7), Ellis (8), Lillie (9) and Ellis, Gudino (8). W – Manarino, 3-0. L – Rubanowitz, 0-1. Sv. – Moore (3). 2B – Henderson (UCR), Holland (UCI). HR – Muñoz (UCI).

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