Relief pitchers lead UCI

IRVINE — So far this season, the pen is mightier than the rotation for the UC Irvine baseball team.

That trend held true Saturday night, even when the rotation borrowed from the bullpen to give former reliever Wes Etheridge his first start. Etheridge was solid through five innings and left with a 3-2 lead.

But when visiting Utah rallied to tie the score in the seventh off Cole Hathcock, the bullpen was, once again, willing to prove it had the starters’ back.

Anteaters relievers Dylan Axelrod, Tom Calahan and Blair Erickson combined for three shutout innings to help the hosts rally for a 5-3 nonconference victory at Anteater Ballpark.

The win extended UCI’s unbeaten streak to nine (including a tie at Loyola Marymount). It also gave the Anteaters (9-2-1) their third straight series victory.

In the last six games, all victories, the UCI pen has posted a 1.30 ERA in 34 1/3 innings, with 20 hits allowed, five walks and 36 strikeouts.

Calahan, the ‘Eaters’ situational left-hander, fanned left-handed hitting Dustin Hennis, the Utes’ cleanup hitter, on three pitches to close out the seventh with the potential go-ahead run on second base.

Calahan worked a perfect eighth, then was rewarded with his first Division I victory, as the Anteaters scored twice in the eighth to pave the way for Erickson’s fifth save this season, the 45th of his career.

Erickson is one shy of tying the Big West Conference career saves record, set by Long Beach State’s Gabe Gonzalez from 1992 to ’95.

It was the seventh win this season recorded by a UCI reliever. Ace starter Scott Gorgen owns the other two.

Junior third baseman Tyler Vaughn helped Calahan pocket the win, singling up the middle with two outs and runners on first and second in the eighth. The at-bat took a turn when Utah reliever John James threw two balls, then was pulled in favor of Brett Bruneel.

“That hadn’t happened to me before [changing pitchers in the middle of an at-bat],” Vaughn said. “It took me a couple pitches to see it, because [Bruneel has] kind of a different arm angle. I just tried to get a pitch to hit and fight something off and I got a base hit.”

Taylor Holiday followed with a looping single to center to add an insurance run.

Vaughn said the bullpen’s consistency has helped the offense relax in tight, late-inning situations.

“Our bullpen is fantastic right now,” Vaughn said. They’re coming out, pounding the zone and getting guys out. That makes it a lot easier on us [hitters], knowing that [the bullpen is] going to get stuff stopped and they’re going to shut the door for us.

“And, I think we have plenty of faith in our offense, too,” Vaughn said. “We feel like if one guy doesn’t get it done, then the next guy is going to do the job.”

Calahan, a starter in high school and at Santa Ana College, said his performance was all in a night’s work.

“I’m just doing my job,” said Calahan, who admits to no greater confidence facing a left-handed hitter than a right-hander.

“A hitter’s a hitter,” he said. “It’s my job to get them out.”

Calahan said he was particularly pleased to pick up Etheridge, his roommate.

UCI Coach Dave Serrano said the bullpen’s work early this season has been amazing, but the lack of consistency from the starters is a concern.

“The bullpen just keeps doing it,” Serrano said. “It makes it fun. For the first time in my three years, I feel like we have some situational guys I can go to. Calahan adds a huge dimension to our bullpen. It makes it fun when you can shorten the game like that for your starting pitching. Coincidentally, we’ve had shorter starting stints and that’s a problem in my mind. As much as we’re excited about things with this team, that’s a fear of mine that we’ve got some issues there. I thought Wes threw well, but he wasn’t like he has been coming out of the bullpen. I’m going to give him another [starting] opportunity, but he’s so valuable to that bullpen.”

Freshman Reid Suitor, who is 2-0 in three relief appearances, will get the start in the series finale today at 1 p.m.

Senior outfielder Matt Morris led UCI’s eight-hit attack by going two for four. He extended his hitting streak to 11.

Bryan Petersen drove in two runs, while Ben Orloff drove in another for the winners.

Utah fell to 2-10.

Nonconference

UC Irvine 5, Utah 3

Score by Innings

Utah 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 - 3 7 2

UCI 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 x - 5 8 1

Trinnaman, James (7), Burneel (8) and Shriner; Etheridge, Hathcock (6), Axelrod (7), Calahan (7), Erickson (9) and Larson, Lowenstein (9). W -- Calahan, 1-0. L -- James, 0-1. Sv -- Erickson (5). 2B -- Lowery (U).