Erickson sets saves record

IRVINE — UC Irvine senior closer Blair Erickson saved the game Saturday night, but he also saved the drama.

Known almost as much for his propensity to throw a scare into both dugouts, as for throwing his trademark darting slider, Erickson’s NCAA career record 50th save in the Anteaters’ 3-2 Big West Conference triumph over visiting Cal Poly San Luis Obispo came surprisingly sans suspense.

Erickson, who tied former USC standout Jack Krawcyzk for the record with his 49th save Tuesday at UCLA, retired the conference-leading Mustangs in order Saturday, before 1,085 at Anteater Ballpark.

He fanned the first hitter, induced a flyout on the eighth pitch of the next at-bat, then got pinch hitter Kyle Carson to pop to second baseman Cody Cipriano to spark a jubilant celebration by his teammates, who sprinted from the dugout to surround Erickson behind the mound.

“I’ve had a tendency to make things a little bit interesting, over the years,” Erickson said with a smile after preserving Wes Etheridge’s ninth win in 10 decisions this season. “The bottom line is, we got a win and it’s a big win, because we’re looking up at these [Mustangs] right now and we’ve got to take every game like it’s our last game.”

The relevance was not lost on UCI Coach Dave Serrano, who handed the ball over to Erickson after Etheridge finished off the eighth inning in which Cal Poly scored a run to close to within 3-2.

“It’s not always easy with Blair,” said Serrano, who saw Erickson fail to secure what would have been his 49th career save April 5 at Cal State Fullerton (he hit a batter and walked two more before exiting in a game UCI eventually won). “Tonight was as easy as it comes with him. He usually has to fight his way out of a jam. Fortunately, tonight, with a one-run lead, we didn’t have to deal with that.”

Serrano smiled when asked about Erickson’s flair for the dramatic.

“Blair just has a knack for ... he has taken years off my life,” Serrano said with a laugh. “But that’s OK, as long as he is securing saves for this team and this program. As long as he does that, I’ll be a happy guy.”

Erickson, who notched his 10th save of the season while lowering his ERA to 2.57 and upping his strikeout total to 20 in 14 innings, said he, too, is happy to have the record behind him.

“I’d be lying to you if I said [pursuing the record] wasn’t on my mind or on my shoulders,” Erickson said. “It feels good to get it over with, so this team and I can move on and continue to go out there and closing out games for us.”

Erickson said he felt better against Cal Poly (19-18, 6-2 in conference) than he had in recent outings.

“I had a stretch [after earning save No. 48 on March 11], where I came in and [the ball] wasn’t going in the zone,” Erickson said. “It’s hard to have confidence when you have outings like that. Just getting a win is good for this team and, more importantly, me getting my confidence, going out there and being able to throw strikes and put the ball where I want it. I don’t know what [the problem] was, but I’m glad that it’s out of there.”

UCI (25-9-1, 5-3), ranked No. 17 by Baseball America, scored in the first when Taylor Holiday singled to lead off the inning, moved to second on a Ben Orloff single, went to third on a double steal and scored on Matt Morris’ sacrifice fly.

UCI added two in the fourth on RBI singles by Jeff Cusick and Ollie Linton and rode Etheridge’s heavy sinker and changeup from there.

Etheridge, who opened the season 8-0, but had picked up a loss and a no-decision in his previous two starts, allowed eight hits and two earned runs in eight innings. He struck out seven.

“Wes did what Wes does,” said Serrano, who saw Etheridge produce 15 outs on ground balls.

Orloff went three for four to pace the winners’ nine-hit attack.

The series concludes today at 1 p.m.

Serrano, who before coming to UCI was a pitching coach for nine seasons at Cal State Fullerton, tried to put Erickson’s record in perspective.

“It’s a special night for him and for us, because we won the game,” Serrano said. “It’s special for us to see him get the saves record. In college baseball, I think that’s a huge record to have. It’s a great tribute to Blair.”

Big West Conference

UC Irvine 3,

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 2

Score by Innings

CPSLO 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 - 2 8 0

UCI 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 x - 3 9 2

Leonard, Theophilus and Dorrell, Thomas; Etheridge, Erickson (9) and Larson, Lowenstein. W -- Etheridge, 9-1. L -- Leonard, 2-4. Sv -- Erickson (10).