Three-hitter keys UCI win

Barry Faulkner

UC Irvine senior pitcher Steve Schroer hopes Saturday was not a case

of saving his best for last. But his three-hit shutout to key the

Anteaters’ 11-0 win over Big West Conference baseball visitor Cal

Poly San Luis Obispo was easily his career day as a collegian.

The win evened the regular-season-ending series at 1-1 and

strengthened UCI’s case for an NCAA regional bid.

Most believe UCI (31-24, 10-10 in conference), which can finish no

higher than fourth in the Big West, needs to defeat Cal Poly (35-20,

13-7) today at 1 p.m. to have a chance at earning its second straight

postseason bid.

For Schroer, who spent his first three years in the bullpen but

became a starter when injuries created a void in the rotation this

spring, it was his 11th start of the season and his 89th career

appearance at UCI. He had never before gone past seven innings,

including his days as the ace at San Clemente High.

“You come into college and you want to be a starter, but I came in

and I wasn’t,” said Schroer, who faced just four more than the

minimum, struck out seven and walked just one to win his third

straight start and improve to 7-5. “But I did pretty well as a

reliever and I became kind of accustomed to that. When I first began

starting [this season], I just wasn’t comfortable. But the more you

do it, the better you get.”

Schroer could not have been much better Saturday. After he worked

out of a first-and-third jam in the first, when center fielder Ollie

Linton tracked won a deep two-out fly ball just shy of the wall, Matt

Cooper, who doubled with one out in the fifth, was the only Mustang

to advance past first base.

Schroer, who benefited from two double plays, has gone a combined

22 1/3 innings his last three starts, striking out 15 and fashioning

a sterling 1.21 ERA in that stretch.

“He was dominant [Saturday],” said UCI Coach Dave Serrano, who is

also the team’s pitching coach. “Besides the team win and the team

playing so well, the special part of the day for me was that that was

Steve Schroer’s senior day. He is a young man who has given his heart

and soul to this program for the last four years. He’s a fierce

competitor who has strived to have a good year and he has.”

UCI will honor 10 seniors today with a pregame ceremony and

Serrano, despite the significance of the game, said he will honor a

previous commitment to play all members (except Schroer) of the

program’s first “graduating class” since the school ended a

nine-season hiatus to resume playing baseball in 2002.

“I told our pitchers in our pregame meeting that today was Steve’s

senior day, not [Sunday] like the rest of us,” Serrano said.

“[Schroer] was up to the challenge and he’ll remember this day for a

long time.”

The day was memorable in other ways as well as the Anteaters hit

two home runs and battered four Mustang pitchers for 13 hits.

Junior catcher Mark Wagner, who figures to be drafted in June,

went 3 for 5 with five RBIs, including a two-run homer, his fourth of

the season.

Junior first baseman Jaime Martinez also went deep for his

team-leading fifth dinger and was 3 for 5 with three runs and two

RBIs.

“The two home runs are out of character for us,” Serrano said.

“I’m kind of wondering if the groundskeepers moved the fence in on

us.”

Junior Erik Johnson went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, senior Danny

Miramontes had two hits, and senior Brett Dalton walked twice, scored

two runs and extened his hitting streak to 14 games with a

fourth-inning single.

Sophomore Justin Cassel, who leads Anteater pitchers with nine

wins, will start today’s series finale against Cal Poly sophomore

Gary Daley (5-2 with a 4.91 ERA).

“I’d be very shocked if we didn’t come out with a good attitude

[today], because there are a lot of special people putting on the

uniform together as a team for the last time in this ballpark,”

Serrano said.

Big West Conference

UC Irvine 11,

Cal Poly SLO 0

Score by Innings

*--*

CPSLO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 2

UCI 2 0 3 0 2 3 0 1 x - 11 13 1

*--*

Shull, Fien (5), Roquet (6), Reed (8) and Blumenthal, Woodcox (8);

Schroer and Wagner. W -- Schroer, 7-5. L -- Shull, 8-7. 2B -- Cooper

(CP), Anderson (UCI), Martinez (UCI), Johnson (UCI), Linton (UCI). HR

-- Wagner (UCI), Martinez (UCI).