UCI breaks skid with 2-0 shutout of Titans

IRVINE ? In the small-ball offense that is the hallmark of UC Irvine’s baseball team, Taylor Holiday seems, well, tailor-made with his speed.

Saturday, it also helped to be opportunistic.

Holiday scored both of the Anteaters’ runs in non-traditional ways, helping UCI blank No. 1-ranked Cal State Fullerton, 2-0, on Saturday night at Anteater Ballpark. The victory was the Anteaters’ first in Big West Conference play this season in five tries.

Zach Robinson drove in both runs for UCI, which received yeoman’s work from a trio of pitchers to snap the Titans’ eight-game winning streak.

Holiday broke the ice in the fourth inning, reaching on an infield single and going to third when Fullerton pitcher Lauren Gagnier threw the ball away down the right field line. Jaime Martinez’s fly ball to right field wasn’t deep enough to score Holiday, but Robinson followed with a deeper shot that allowed the speedster to cross home plate.

Two innings later, it was Holiday again at work. This time, he was plunked by Gagnier with one out. Martinez and Robinson then hit back-to-back singles to drive him in.

That would be all the offense UCI (19-14, 1-4 in conference) could muster against Fullerton, but it was enough for the Anteaters’ pitching staff, which had one of its finest outings of the season.

Scott Gorgen, coming off a loss against Long Beach State last Sunday, was on his game against the Titans. The freshman right-hander scattered five hits and two walks over 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven.

Gorgen, who picked up the victory to improve to 4-2, was aided by a pair of nifty defensive plays. With runners at second and third and one out in the third inning, third baseman Chad Lundahl snared a hard chopper by Blake Davis and threw home to get Fullerton’s Brandon Tripp caught in a rundown. Gorgen then struck out Brett Pill to end the inning.

In the fifth, Brock Bardeen made a sliding catch in left field to rob Tripp of an easy double.

Gorgen gave up a pair of singles to start the sixth inning, but was bailed out when shortstop Ben Orloff backhanded Pill’s grounder in the hole and threw out Justin Turner going to third. Bryan Harris then grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Gorgen was rolling until the seventh inning, when he gave up a bloop single and a walk with two outs. UCI Coach Dave Serrano went to the bullpen, summoning Glenn Swanson.

The senior left-hander, making just his second relief appearance of the season, got pinch-hitter Cory Vanderhook swinging to end the inning.

Swanson retired the first two batters in the eighth inning before giving way to closer Blair Erickson.

The junior proceeded to give up back-to-back singles to Pill and Harris, but closed the inning with the help of the bluff-to-third-throw-to-first pickoff move, which caught Harris napping off first base. With Harris in a rundown, Pill tried to score from third, but Erickson alertly threw him out at home.

Having extricated himself from that jam, Erickson was spot on in the ninth inning, striking out the side for his 10th save of the season and 37th of his career.

Cody Cipriano had two hits for the Anteaters, who have won two games against Cal State Fullerton (25-8, 4-1) this season. It was only the fourth conference win in 14 games against their Orange County rival since they revived their program in 2002.

It was also just the second time this season the Anteaters have won without scoring more than two runs. They are now 2-10 in those instances.

Gagnier took the loss for the Titans, winners of 15 of their last 17 games.

Dustin Miller (6-1 with a 3.40 earned-run average) will start for Cal State Fullerton in today’s series finale, starting at 1 p.m. Serrano hadn’t decided on a starter for UCI, though Dylan Axelrod and Gary Nakashima are both available.