BASEBALL LOSES LEAD LATE IN EXTRA INNINGS LOSS TO NO. 16 UC IRVINE

3/14/2010

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The No. 16 ranked UC Irvine Anteaters came back from a 3-1 deficit, scoring a run apiece in the top of the seventh, ninth and 10th innings to defeat the Sacramento State baseball team by a score of 4-3 on Sunday, March 14 at Hornet Field.

With the loss, the Hornets fall to 5-8 on the season, while UC Irvine improved to 9-6.

After the Anteaters scored on a sacrifice fly in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead, the Hornets scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. With one down, junior Jake Chilton and senior Josh Powers scratched out back-to-back singles, and junior Trevor Bloom followed with a RBI single, scoring Chilton to tie the score at 1-1. The next two runs came on a bizarre play, as with Bloom on first and Powers on third, Bloom stole second base. As he was nearing sliding into the bag, Anteaters' catcher Francis Larson attempted a throw to second baseman Casey Stevenson, but Stevenson was not expecting it, as the ball bounded off the top of his shoulder and into center field. Powers scored from third, and Bloom came around to score after the ball was jarred loose from Larson on a head first slide by the Hornet right fielder, giving the Hornets a 3-1 lead.

UC Irvine came back to score a single run in the seventh inning to pull to within one, 3-2, which remained until the top of the ninth. After recording two quick outs in the inning, the Anteaters got a two-strike single from Larson, who was then pinch ran for. Brian Hernandez followed with a single, moving the pinch runner Cory Olson to third base. Ronnie Shaeffer then brought Olson home with a RBI single, and after Bloom misplayed the ball in right field, Hernandez moved to third and Shaeffer moved to second. But Dillon Bell popped out in the infield, and the game moved to the bottom of the ninth.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Hornets loaded the bases with just one out, but grounded into a 5-2-3 double play to end the inning. The Anteaters leadoff man in the top of the 10th, Ryan Fisher, hit a 2-0 pitch over the right field wall to give the Anteaters a 4-3 advantage. In the bottom of the 10th, freshman Blake Miller kept the Hornets alive with a two-out single, and junior Kyle Baskett followed with a single to center. Baskett, however, took too large of a turn rounding first, and was thrown out trying to get back 8-5-3 to end the game.

Eric Pettis (2-0) picked up the victory for the Anteaters, allowing one earned run on six hits in nine innings of work. Kyle Necke (2) picked up the save throwing the 10th inning. Junior Andrew Galvan (1-1) picked up the loss in relief, allowing three runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings. Senior Jose Ramirez started for the Hornets, and he allowed just one runs on five hits in 6.0 innings, striking out three batters.

Bloom led the Hornets with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, while five other Hornets added a lone hit apiece. Hernandez led UC Irvine with three hits, while Stevenson, Shaeffer and Fisher added two hits each.

Sacramento State returns to action on Tuesday, March 16th as they host the Pacific Tigers. First pitch from Hornet Field is scheduled for 2 p.m.