COLLEGE WORLD SERIES NOTEBOOK:Morris’ heroics go largely unsung for UCI

OMAHA, Neb. — Matt Morris was the Forrest Gump of the UC Irvine Baseball team this postseason, which ended with a 7-1 loss to Oregon State Wednesday at Rosenblatt Stadium.

While Bryan Petersen (two) and Ollie Linton (one) have had game-winning hits to help the Anteaters produce their final three victories, and Taylor Holiday and Cody Cipriano had been slugging home runs and collecting media attention, Morris, a senior left fielder, was sparkling on the periphery.

In Tuesday’s come-from-behind, 8-7 win over Arizona State, Morris doubled in two runs to tie the score, 7-7, in the eighth inning. In the 10th, he singled, stole second and later scored from third on Linton’s RBI single.

In Monday’s 5-4 triumph over Big West Conference rival Cal State Fullerton, Morris’ fourth hit of the game would have plated Holiday with the game-winning run, had not Titans’ left fielder Josh Fellhauer thrown perfectly to catcher John Curtis, who tagged out Holiday. The single to left followed an intentional walk to Cipriano.

Morris watched from first base as Petersen followed with a single to drive in Cipriano, sparking yet another wild celebration following a walk-off victory.

In the College World Series-opening 5-4 loss to Arizona State, Morris singled in the fourth inning to start a streak of five consecutive hits that helped the Anteaters take a brief 4-3 lead. He scored the second run of the inning.

It doesn’t stop there.

In the June 10 win at Wichita State that wrapped up a Super Regional sweep, Morris started the winning rally in the ninth with a one-out single. In what Coach Dave Serrano called an incredible play, Morris anticipated a ball in the dirt and bolted for second, advancing though the wild pitch bounced only a few feet away from the Shockers’ catcher.

He then scored on Petersen’s RBI double over the right-fielder’s head, but was congratulated only briefly, before the team dogpiled on Petersen behind second base.

He drove in the first run of the game that day with a successful safety squeeze bunt in the first inning, and he doubled and scored the second run in the fourth.

In the same game, Morris made a heroic diving catch of a would-be hit in left-center. He and center fielder Linton were running full speed toward the ball, when both dived. A major collision was avoided when Linton dived behind Morris. Morris said Linton’s shoulder connected with his left hip, but neither player was injured.

The catch garnered Morris his most significant attention in weeks when it was later deemed the No. 1 web gem, on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight program.

Morris finished 12 for 35 in the postseason (.343), with five RBIs and eight runs scored, the latter two ranked second on the team.

For the season, Morris hit .339 with six homers and 54 RBIs, which trailed only Cipriano’s 60. Morris’ 48 runs rank third on the squad.

Despite his under-the-radar status, the unassuming Morris, who was drafted in the 23rd round by the New York Yankees earlier this month, said he was completely happy to let his teammates flood the spotlight.

“I don’t care about the spotlight,” he said after Tuesday’s win. “That’s for the other guys. I just try to stay quiet and help the team win, that’s what I’m all about: helping this team win. I love these guys.

“I’m actually happy Petey was able to share the spotlight [Tuesday] with Ollie.”

HELPING, NOT HURTING

UC Irvine third-base coach Greg Bergeron drew some criticism for cautiously holding runners at third in the eighth inning comeback against Arizona State Tuesday

It appeared from the press box that both Holiday (who later scored) and Cipriano (who was called out after touching Bergeron’s arm in his attempt to stop after being held up by the coach), could have scored on base hits.

But Serrano defended Bergeron, who has directed the aggressive small-ball offense all season. Additionally, Petersen and Morris have both said that Bergeron’s wisdom and inspiration helped them deal with clutch situations in Omaha in which they succeeded to help the Anteaters win.

“Before my at-bat [Tuesday, in which Morris doubled in two runs with the bases loaded to tie the game in the eighth inning against the Sun Devils], Bergy came over to me during the pitching change and told me ‘This is what being a senior is all about,’ ” Morris said. “He told me to have fun, stay aggressive and stay controlled.”

HOME RUN HISTORY

Cipriano, drafted in the ninth round by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays earlier this month, hit two home runs in Omaha to finish with 14, the school single-season record. Cipriano wound up with 21 career dingers, tying Jaime Martinez who hit the last of his 21 homers last year, for the school career record.

FORMER PIRATES’ PROGENY

Andrew Romine, a switch-hitting junior shortstop for Arizona State who went three for five with two RBIs against UCI Tuesday, is the son of former Orange Coast College standout Kevin Romine.

The elder Romine, who played seven seasons as an outfielder in the Major Leagues, primarily with the Boston Red Sox, helped OCC win the state championship in 1980. That season, Romine hit .381 with four homers, 29 RBIs, 25 stolen bases, 49 runs, 61 hits and 11 doubles. At the time, all those numbers were single-season records for the Pirates.

Andrew Romine was drafted in the fifth round (178th overall) by the Angels earlier this month.

BARRY FAULKNER can be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.