Morris helps UCI crack code

IRVINE ? Unlike the first 21 games played by the UC Irvine baseball team this season, the first cut was not the deepest in Sunday’s nonconference series finale at Anteater Ballpark.

After having lost the first nine games in which the opponent scored first and won the 12 times they had scored first, the Anteaters finally delivered a knockout counterpunch to top the Cougars, 3-2.

UCI (13-9) tied the score twice, with single runs in the seventh and eighth, then scored the game-winner in the ninth on Matt Morris’ two-out single.

“We broke the streak after being 0-9 when teams score first on us,” UCI Coach Dave Serrano said. “We talked about that before the game and I even told our team I hoped Houston scores first, so we can break that.”

The Cougars, bidding for a three-game sweep, obliged, as a throwing error by third baseman Tyler Vaughn produced an unearned run off UCI starter Scott Gorgen in the second inning.

But Gorgen, who typically starts on Saturday but was pushed back a day after throwing in relief Tuesday against USC, then threw five straight scoreless innings.

The Anteaters, who managed just five hits in each of the first two games and had three in the first six innings against Houston freshman Luis Flores, finally broke through in the seventh.

Josh Tavelli led off win a single and moved to second on Chad Lundahl’s sacrifice bunt. Freshman Brock Bardeen followed with a pinch-hit, RBI double into the right-field corner.

Houston wasted little time answering as junior Brad Lincoln, whose eighth-inning home run broke a 2-2 tie in a 3-2 win in which he pitched a complete game on Friday, again broke out his home-run trot.

Lincoln tomahawked a high fastball over the right-field wall for his fifth dinger of the season and a 2-1 Houston lead.

“That home run was all my fault,” said Serrano, the Anteaters’ pitching coach who calls pitches and location from the dugout. “I tried to get a fastball in on him and he did something special with it. Scott threw the pitch I wanted and he put it right where I wanted. But [Lincoln] hit it out.”

Gorgen, a freshman, struck out eight in eight innings and allowed only six hits. Though he did not figure in the decision, he lowered his staff-leading earned-run average to 1.96 in 41 1/3 innings.

“He was very, very good,” Serrano said of his emerging ace.

Cody Cipriano singled with one out in the UCI eighth before giving way to pinch-runner Morris. Morris went to second on a balk, then, after Jaime Martinez popped out, scored on Zach Robinson’s two-out single up the middle. It was the 17th RBI of the season for Robinson, matching Taylor Holiday for the team lead.

All-American junior closer Blair Erickson, who had not pitched since Tuesday, worked a perfect ninth, including two strikeouts.

Serrano said Erickson’s dominance regained the momentum and freshman Sammy Donabedian amplified it by working a walk to start the ‘Eaters ninth.

Donabedian was erased at second on Gary Dudrey’s sacrifice bunt attempt, but Dudrey moved into scoring position when Holiday was hit by a pitch. After Bryan Peterson flew out to left, Dudrey and Holiday executed a double steal on the first pitch to Morris.

Morris then went with a fastball low and away, driving it just past the second baseman, who was scrambling to his left, for the game-winning single.

“You love doing that stuff, absolutely,” Morris said.

Houston fell to 11-9 and the Anteaters averted what would have been the first time they were swept in a three-game series since late February of last season at Clemson.

Erickson earned the win to go to 2-0 this season. He now has 16 strikeouts in 13 innings.