College baseball: UCI sweeps into second

LONG BEACH - The third three-run inning of the game was definitely

a charm for the UC Irvine baseball team, which rallied for three in the

ninth to claim an 11-9 Big West Conference victory Sunday to sweep a

crucial three-game series from host Long Beach State at Blair Field.

After the 49ers scored three in the eighth to forge a 9-8 advantage,

the Anteaters (28-18, 9-3 in conference) posted their third three-run

inning, including a pair of unearned runs, to knock off the 15th-ranked

hosts for the third straight day.

Steve Guthrie led off the UCI ninth with a double and Brett Dalton

connected for a one-out RBI single to pull the Anteaters even. Two

throwing errors on a sacrifice bunt attempt produced the go-ahead run and

junior center fielder Jon Horwitz capped the rally, as well as a sterling

offensive performance, with an RBI single.

Junior right-hander Paul French, who came on with one out in the

eighth, worked a scoreless ninth to earn the victory and improve to 4-4.

Horwitz finished 5 for 6 with four RBIs to help the Anteaters, on a

six-game winning streak, leapfrog the 49ers (26-15, 8-4), as well as Cal

State Fullerton, in the conference standings. Combined with Cal State

Fullerton’s third straight loss Sunday to Cal State Northridge, UCI moves

percentage points ahead of the Titans (10-5 in conference) into second

place, trailing only Northridge (12-3).

After Long Beach opened the scoring with a run in the first, UCI

scored three in the second and the fourth to take a 6-1 edge.

UCI’s lead was only 7-6 after a three-run sixth for the 49ers and,

after UCI scored once in the seventh, Long Beach moved ahead with a

three-run eighth.

Freshman second baseman Brett Dalton (3 for 4) and freshman first

baseman Matt Anderson (2 for 6) both drove in two runs for the winners,

who also received single RBI from Chris Miller and R.J. Brown.

French was the fifth reliever to follow starter Glenn Swanson in the

game that lasted nearly five hours.

UCI hosts Orange County rival Cal State Fullerton for a pivotal

three-game series, beginning Friday.

BIG WEST CONFERENCE

UC Irvine 11, Long Beach State 9

UC Irvine 030 301 103 - 11 17 2

Long Beach State 100 203 030 - 9 13 4

Swanson, Koehler (6), Raulinaitis ((6), Koller (7), Tripoli (8),

French (8) and Miller; Weaver, Demaria (4), Muniz (8), Jamison (9),

Alliston (9) and Davis. W - French, 4-4. L - Jamison, 1-1. 2B - Horwitz

(UCI), Brown (UCI), Guthrie (UCI), Hofius (LB), Davis (LB) 2. 3B - Reed

(LB). HR - Randel (LB).