UCI wins Big West finale

The UC Irvine baseball team began polishing what Coach John Savage

hopes will be a postseason resume Sunday by defeating visiting UC

Riverside, 4-2, in the Big West Conference finale for both teams.

The win improves the Anteaters to 34-18, 10-11 in conference and

leaves them tied with UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

for fourth place, one game behind UCR (33-25, 11-10).

Cal State Fullerton, which completed a sweep of second-place Long

Beach State Sunday, won the conference crown.

UCI, a candidate to fill what may be as many as four NCAA regional

bids for Big West schools, can help impress the selection committee

further when it finishes its season with a three-game series at

Washington, beginning Friday.

No. 13-ranked Washington (34-18-1, 15-9 in the Pac 10) is a

one-half game behind conference-leading Stanford (42-11, 14-7), after the Huskies completed their conference schedule Sunday. The other

eight Pac 10 teams will conclude conference play with a three-game

series next weekend.

UCI freshman first baseman Tim Stewart drove in the tying run in a

three-run fifth and the Anteaters added some insurance on a solo home

run by catcher Mark Wagner in the seventh to win the series over UC

Riverside, two games to one.

It was UCI’s fourth Big West series victory against seven

opponents, its 10th series win in 13 tries overall this season.

UCI starting pitcher Justin Cassel, a freshman, left the game

after 2 2/3 innings, after giving up two runs on four hits. Riverside

shortstop Brian Steinmeyer hit a solo home run in the second and

catcher Nick Salotti’s RBI double to left scored outfielder Matt

Cunningham for the 2-0 Highlander lead.

Freshman David Huff yielded just two hits in 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Sophomore Chris Nicoll then threw 3 1/3 inning of scoreless

relief, striking out four and surrendering just one hit to earn the

victory and up his record to 7-4.

UCI sophomore third baseman Matt Anderson led off the fifth inning

with a single and advanced to second on outfielder Jordan Szabo’s

single to left.

After a double play, Anderson scored from third on outfielder

David Kennedy’s clutch single.

Kennedy stole second and Wagner was hit by a pitch to set the

stage for Stewart.

Junior outfielder Andy Amara drove in the eventual game-winner

with a bloop single to right.

Freshman closer Blair Erickson got the final four outs to collect

his 17th save.

Stewart and Szabo were 2 for 3 to pace UCI’s nine-hit attack,

which included a single by senior second baseman Matt Fisher, the

lone honoree on Senior Day.

*--*

Big West Conference

UCI 4, UC Riverside 2

Score by Innings

UCR 011 000 000 -- 2 8 0

UCI 000 030 10x -- 4 9 1 Torres, Bills (5), Hoff (8) and Salotti;

Cassel, Huff (3), Nicoll (5), Erickson

(8) and Wagner. W -- Nicoll, 7-4. L --

Torres, 1-4. Sv -- Erickson (17). 2B --

Cunningham (UCR), Festa (UCR), Salotti

(UCR), Stewart (UCI). HR -- Steinmeyer

(UCR), Wagner (UCI).

*--*