Baseball: ‘Eaters lose historic opener

Richard Dunn

ANTEATER BALLPARK - With the countdown to the historic first pitch

reaching a tight deadline, the UC Irvine baseball program was officially

resurrected Friday night before a standing-room only crowd of 3,083.

After scrambling to complete its new facility before the host

Anteaters’ season opener against the University of San Diego, the

finishing touches on the outfield wall came about two hours before game

time.

“We were still putting up the yellow padding on top of the (12-foot

high) wall and still putting the dimension numbers up,” UCI Athletic

Director Dan Guerrero said.

Many of the fans were gone by the time San Diego earned its 8-5

nonconference victory, but they saw a long list of firsts, including

UCI’s return to baseball after the program was dropped because of budget

cuts following the 1992 season.

In the first of a three-game series, USD broke it open in the fifth

inning on cleanup hitter Joe Lima’s grand slam.

With the Toreros leading, 2-1, Ben Quinto started the fifth with a

single to left off UCI starter Paul French, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound junior

right-hander who pitched well through four innings.

Mike McCoy, USD’s leadoff hitter, doubled to right field to move

Quinto to third. UCI right fielder Chris Klemm made a diving effort at

McCoy’s ball, but it bounced off his glove.

French struck out the next hitter, Tom Caple, but UCI Coach John

Savage, the former USC pitching coach, pulled his starter after 63

pitches and called in freshman southpaw Glenn Swanson to face lefty Jason

Marian, USD’s No. 3 hitter.

Swanson walked Marian to load the bases, then Lima crushed a 3-2

fastball up the zone for the first home run at Anteater Ballpark.

USD scored twice more in the sixth to take an 8-1 lead, then Irvine

came back with three in the bottom of the inning when Torero reliever

Chad Cummings hit two batters and walked another.

Facing reliever Mike Koehler, UCI’s No. 9 hitter, Daniel Miramontes,

walked with the bases loaded, forcing home Elliot Salcedo. An out later,

Effren Trejo doubled home two runs, the first RBI hit for UCI at its new

ballpark.

UCI scored its first run in the fourth inning, when Steve Gutherie

walked, the first of three straight bases on balls by USD starter Ricky

Barrett, who was chased after 60 pitches and 3 2/3 innings.

With the bases full and nobody out, UCI’s Jaime Martinez struck out

looking against Barrett, then Gutherie scored on a fielder’s choice as

B.J. Eucce beat out a possible double-play ball.