Gorgen brilliant in ‘Eaters’ win at Fullerton

FULLERTON — Six days after his first collegiate complete game, UC Irvine sophomore right-hander Scott Gorgen flirted with complete domination Thursday at Cal State Fullerton.

Flirtation turned out to be a theme for the No. 23-ranked Anteaters in a wild 2-1 Big West Conference baseball victory over the No. 12-ranked Titans before 1,967 at Goodwin Field.

After Gorgen, the Freshman Pitcher of the Year in the Big West Conference last season, outdueled junior Titans ace Wes Roemer, named the National Co-Player of the Year last year by Collegiate Baseball, for 8 1/2 innings, UCI Coach Dave Serrano elected to go with former All-American closer Blair Erickson to start the bottom of the ninth.

Erickson, trying to tie the NCAA record for career saves (USC’s Jack Krawcyzk had 49 from 1995-98), hit the first batter on a 3-2 pitch and walked the next two to load the bases with Irvine on top, 2-0.

Serrano then yanked Erickson in favor of Dylan Axelrod.

Fullerton junior Matt Wallach, the son of former Titans star and big leaguer Tim Wallach, who was a catalyst in the Titans’ ninth-inning comeback victory Sunday at Cal State Northridge, hit Axelrod’s second pitch off the plate for an infield single to drive in a run.

With runners at second and third, Axelrod’s 1-1 pitch to Khris Davis skipped through the legs of catcher Aaron Lowenstein for a wild pitch.

Fullerton pinch runner Dennis Gerbasi tried to score from third, but Lowenstein retrieved the ball from the backstop and threw to Axelrod covering home in time for Axelrod to tag out Gerbasi for the first out.

Davis struck out swinging for the second out and Axelrod induced freshman Corey Jones to ground out to second to end the game and spark a wild Irvine celebration. It was the first save of Axelrod’s career.

“This night was about Scotty Gorgen and our team overcoming stuff,” Serrano said. “Being a part of this [Cal State Fullerton] program a long time [He was an assistant for nine seasons before taking over at UCI], I’ve been in that [Fullerton] dugout many times when we’ve left opposing teams on the field [with a ninth-inning comeback].”

Gorgen allowed four hits through eight shutout innings, striking out eight and walking none. He came out to warm up before the ninth, but Serrano said he thought better of sticking with Gorgen (6-1).

“We’ve gone with our All-American closer all year long,” Serrano said. “My coach in the bullpen said he was throwing unbelievable, we had a two-run lead, so we had a little cushion. But [Erickson, who last had a save opportunity on March 11] came in and just didn’t pitch well. Every person sitting in the seats was second-guessing my decision [to pull Gorgen], including myself. But we’ve done it all year long. As good as Scotty was, if the leadoff guy gets on and we end up losing that game, I would have kicked myself.”

Roemer (4-4) showed some of his 2006 form, retiring the final 23 UCI hitters in a row to finish with 7 2/3 hitless innings.

“That was a toe-to-toe matchup with two guys who were on it,” Serrano said of Gorgen and Roemer. “Scotty threw great and Wes Roemer threw great.”

The difference was two early runs by the Anteaters (22-7-1, 3-1 in conference), who moved into a tie for first place with Fullerton (18-11, 3-1) and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

UCI’s Matt Holiday led off the game with a double into the gap in left center. After a Ben Orloff sacrifice bunt moved Holiday to third, Cody Cipriano’s fly to right carried over a retreating outfielder’s head for an RBI triple.

The Anteaters scored again in the second when Matt Morris reached out to line a 2-2 pitch into center field for a single to start the inning. One out later, Ollie Linton’s bunt single down the third-base line and the two advanced on a double steal.

Aaron Lowenstein’s ground ball to a diving first baseman drove home Morris and Gorgen had a 2-0 advantage.

Gorgen, who called his outing the best of his UCI career, was also backed by a few key defensive plays from third baseman Tyler Vaughn. He charged to field a bunt and narrowly threw out Joe Scott for the second out in the third. In the fourth, Vaughn lunged to his left to short-hop a bouncing ball headed for the hole. He sprung to his feet and threw out Evan McArthur.

Big West Conference

UC Irvine 2,

Cal State Fullerton 1

Score by Innings

UC Irvine 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 4 0

CS Fullerton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 5 0

Gorgen, Erickson (9), Axelrod (9) and Lowenstein; Roemer and Curtis. W -- Gorgen, 6-1. L -- Roemer, 4-4. Sv -- Axelrod (1). 2B -- Holiday (UCI). 3B -- Cipriano (UCI).