Tigers catch UCI off base

Barry Faulkner

Fans were misplaying foul pops and the unofficial University of the

Pacific fight song “Eye of the Tiger” mysteriously echoed briefly

from the public-address system when the Tigers were at-bat late in

the game.

But the real proof that it was an off night for the locals Friday

night at Anteater Ballpark came from the host UC Irvine baseball

players, who struggled during a startling 2-1 loss to a UOP team that

entered on a nine-game losing streak, including six setbacks to open

the Big West Conference campaign.

UCI’s offensive futility, baserunning blunder and pair of errors,

one of which produced the game-winning unearned run, extended its Big

West losing skein to five and dropped the Anteaters, ranked No. 9 by

Collegiate Baseball and No. 16 by Baseball America, to 24-11-1, 2-5

in conference.

UOP (16-22, 1-6), which had lost 14 of its last 15, rode a

career-best pitching performance by sophomore right-hander Eric

Stolp, who earned his second win in seven decisions by shutting down

the Anteaters into the ninth inning. Stolp, making his fifth start of

the season, had not lasted more than 4 2/3 innings his previous

four. But, after stranding two runners in the first inning, he

allowed only four more hits, struck out three and walked none, before

surrendering the ball to closer Josh Schmidt with one out and a

runner on first in the ninth.

Schmidt had to work extra hard for his sixth save as senior Andy

Willick, a pitcher playing his first game at shortstop this season,

made errors on consecutive routine double-play grounders to give the

‘Eaters extended life.

Willick bobbled a ground ball near the second-base bag to allow

Mark Wagner to reach -- after R.J. Brown was hit by a pitch with one

out -- to put the tying run aboard.

Pinch-hitter Jaime Martinez followed with a hard grounder to

second baseman Octavio Amezquita, who flipped to Willick for the

force. Willick, however, air-mailed the relay throw to first for the

would-be final out, allowing Brown to score from second and Martinez

to reach second.

But Jordan Szabo, who was nailed easily trying to steal third with

two outs in the second, struck out to cap a disappointing evening for

UCI.

“That’s not how you start a series,” said UCI Coach John Savage,

who praised both starting pitchers, including UCI junior ace Brett

Smith, who, despite 12 strikeouts, dropped his second straight

decision, after opening the season 6-0.

“I thought Smith was as good as he has been all year, with 12

strikeouts and no walks,” Savage said. “But you’ve got to give it to

their starter. [Stolp] held us in check the whole night and really

should have had a shutout. He threw strikes, they played defense and

it was a good, clean college game.” Savage, however, admitted his

team was in a funk.

“For whatever reason, since the Long Beach series [a three-game

sweep by the 49ers last weekend at Blair Field], we haven’t swung the

bat real well. But, we’ll bounce back [today]. We have a lot of

experience and a lot of character. Our back is up against the wall

and we need to step up and play well for nine innings and come out

with a sense of urgency, offensively.” Savage said he could not

pinpoint the reason for his team’s lack of sharpness.

“I’m a coach, not a psychologist,” he said. “What do you say in a

2-1 game? I mean both guys pitched well, but when we strike out 14

guys and lose [reliever Steve Schroer fanned two in a perfect ninth],

it’s tough to take.”

Smith, who moved to No. 2 on the school’s career strikeout list

with 230, struck out seven of the first eight batters. But Pacific’s

No. 9 hitter, Nicholas Sekiya lined a home run just over the fence in

left to stun the crowd of 826, as well as Smith and his teammates. It

was Sekiya’s first homer of the season.

Amezquita doubled to open the fifth and scored when Smith fielded

a subsequent sacrifice-bunt attempt and threw wildly to third trying

to catch Amezquita, allowing him to score.

UCI threatened in the eighth when Danny McCarthy and Brett Dalton

singled. But, with two outs, left fielder Jordan Seiber retreated to

the fence and jumped to take Matt Fischer’s fly ball high off the

fence to extricate Stolp, who did not allow a runner to reach third

after the first inning, from the jam.

Matt Anderson went 2 for 4 to lead UCI’s six-hit attack.

“We dropped [Stolp’s] arm angle about two weeks ago and, for some

reason, it freed him up a little bit,” UOP first-year coach Ed

Sprague, a former major leaguer, said. “He has been able to throw

more pitches with less effort and he has been more consistent in the

strike zone. Before, he’d throw 20 pitches and he’d be sucking wind,

sweating all over the place. Tonight, he threw 101 pitches and he was

barely breaking a sweat.

“It’s our first win in a while [since April 1] and to beat a team

that has played really well this season, was a good confidence

booster for our kids,” Sprague added. “They were starting to really

get down on themselves.”

ZOTS -- The UOP series continues today and Sunday with both games

scheduled for 1 p.m. The pitching matchup for today pits UCI junior

Glenn Swanson (6-2, with a 4.32 ERA) against senior right-hander Andy

Willick (4-4, 5.49), while UOP freshman right-hander Mike Mathews

(1-6, 7.43) will face UCI freshman Justin Cassel (3-2, 1.89) Sunday

... UOP ace Alex Graham (4-1, 2.66) misses his normal Saturday start

with elbow tendinitis. UOP No. 3 starter Matthew Pena (1-0, 3.86) had

Tommy John surgery Tuesday and is out for the season.

*--*

Big West Conference

Pacific 2, UC Irvine 1

Score by Innings

UOP 001 010 000 - 2 5 2

UCI 000 000 001 - 1 6 2

Smith, Schroer (9) and Wagner; Stolp,

Schmidt (9) and Gottier. W - Stolp, 2-6. L

- Smith, 6-2. Sv - Schmidt (6). 2B -

Amezquita (UOP). HR - Sekiya (UOP).

*--*