Cesar’s palace at UCI

Barry Faulkner

The UC Irvine baseball team had its ace on the mound and, perhaps,

more offensive opportunities than anyone facing Long Beach State

All-American pitcher Cesar Ramos could have hoped for Friday night.

But Ramos and the No. 13-ranked 49ers played their trump card in

junior shortstop Troy Tulowitski, who came up with enough big hits to

overcome all manner of little ball and pitching supremacy in the

visitors’ 3-2 Big West Conference victory before 867 at Anteater

Ballpark.

“I told our guys we could not have asked for any better than to

have a man on second with our Nos. 3 and 4 hitters up [in the sixth]

and then to have guys on first and third with the top of our order up

[in the eighth],” UCI Coach Dave Serrano said.

But both times, Ramos, who earned his fourth straight victory (the

previous three all complete-game efforts in which he yielded a

combined 13 hits and three earned runs), was up the challenge.

Ramos, who said his four-game stretch is the best of his sterling

career, struck out No. 3 hitter Matt Anderson and induced a liner to

short by cleanup hitter Mark Wagner to post a zero in the sixth.

Ramos retired three straight hitters in the eighth, after Chad

Lundahl ripped a ground ball between the third baseman’s legs that

was scored a double and Brett Dalton followed with a single to put

runners at the corners with no outs. Lundahl scored on Cody

Cipriano’s one-out comebacker, which may have been a double play had

not Ramos bobbled it before throwing to first.

And Long Beach State closer Neil Jamison slammed the door shut

with a perfect ninth to earn his ninth save and boost Ramos’ record

to 7-3.

Tulowitzski,a preseason All-American who started last summer for

Team USA, put the visitors (23-10, 4-0 in conference) ahead with an

RBI triple in the first.

After the Anteaters (14-14, 1-3) tied it with a pair of singles by

Wagner and Erik Jonhson, a sacrifice bunt by Jaime Martinez and an

RBI groundout by Danny Miramontes in the second, both Ramos and UCI

junior Chris Nicoll controlled things from the bump.

Nicoll, who outdueled All-American Ricky Romero April 1 in the

‘Eaters’ 5-1 conference-opening victory at Cal State Fullerton,

retired 14 straight after Tulowitzki’s triple.

But Nicoll dropped a relay an accurate underhand flip from first

baseman Martinez on a push bunt to open the Long Beach sixth and No.

9 hitter Steve Velazco came around to score to put the Dirtbags ahead

for good.

A sacrifice bunt and a pop-up followed the Nicoll error and

Serrano instructed Nicoll to walk Tulowitzski intentionally to put

runners at first and second with two outs.

But cleanup hitter Sean Boatright lined an RBI single to right to

plate Velazco and Tulowitzki, who missed 20 games this season with a

broken left hamate bone, drove his team-leading second home run of

the season just over the right-field wall for a valuable insurance

run in the eighth. It was Tulowitzski’s second homer of the week.

Nicoll surrendered five hits and two earned runs in eight innings,

walking two and striking out three. Ramos also gave up five hits and

two earned runs, walking none and striking out eight.

“Deciding to play Ramos and Tulowitzski was the best decision I

made all night,” Long Beach Coach Mike Weathers quipped afterward.

“You’re always looking toward your best players and those are two of

the best players at their positions in the country. We were hoping

they would get an opportunity to do something and do it. Tulowitzski

sure did that for us tonight and Ramos came through again on the

mound.”

Weathers also had praise for Nicoll.

“We didn’t get many opportunities tonight, because Nicoll is

good,” Weathers said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be a high scoring

game because neither team has been scoring a lot of runs. Those are

the games when a big hit like Tulowitzski’s or an error, or something

... But we were good enough to win.”

It was UCI’s third straight loss and Long Beach’s fifth straight

win.

“Not to point fingers, but if we get that out on that push bunt

and don’t drop the ball, that’s a big run in this game,” Serrano

said. “[And offensively], it’s just a matter of us getting our guys

in the right position, then having the confidence to drive them in.”

ZOTS - With injuries to pitchers Glenn Swanson and Jimmy Alstot,

UCI Coach Dave Serrano said he will use All-American closer Blair

Erickson earlier in the game, if situations dictate ... UCI entered

Friday’s game 6-3 against teams ranked in the top 25. Long Beach

State entered ranked No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball ... The series

continues tonight at 6 and Sunday at 1 p.m. UCI sophomore Justin

Cassel (3-2 with a 3.88 ERA) is scheduled to start tonight against

49er junior Marco Estrada (5-0, 1.83). Long Beach is scheduled to

start sophomore Jared Hughes (3-2, 3.20) Sunday against a UCI starter

to be determined.

Big West Conference

Long Beach State 3,

UC Irvine 1 Score by Innings

*--*

LBSU 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 - 3 6 0

UCI 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - 2 5 2

*--*

Ramos, Jamison (9) and Jones; Nicoll, Schroer (9) and Wagner. W -

Ramos, 7-3. L - Nicoll, 4-2. Sv - Jamison (9). 2B - Lundahl (UCI). 3B

- Tulowitzki (LB) . HR - Tulowitzki (LB).