UCI opens up in ninth

SAN LUIS OBISPO — When you win 18 of your first 20 baseball games, it usually involves a variety of means.

In the Big West Conference opener Friday night at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Irvine proved it not always uses distance but direction and, perhaps, more finesse than force that is needed to produce victory.

In the end, the Anteaters (18-2), ranked No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball, used more perseverance than punch to produce a 12-4 come-from-behind triumph over the Mustangs (8-13).

Cal Poly, however, opened a 4-0 lead through four innings, muscling up against UCI junior All-American pitcher Scott Gorgen, who came in with a sparkling 0.72 earned-run average.

Leadoff man Luke Yoder greeted Gorgen with a high home run over the center-field wall to give the hosts the lead. It was Yoder’s fifth homer of the season, but the first given up this year by Gorgen.

After Cal Poly starter Eric Massingham retired nine of the first 10 he faced, the hosts parlayed some booming extra-base hits, including another home run, into three more runs.

Pat Pezet opened the fourth with a double over the head of left fielder Francis Larson and, one out later, scored on a line-drive triple into the right corner by Brent Morel.

Wes Dorrell followed with a dinger over the right-field wall and the deficit was 4-0.

“Clearly they’re a real offensive club and so when they got a chance to hit a couple balls, they didn’t miss them,” UCI Coach Mike Gillespie said.

Gorgen, however, quickly settled down and the UCI batsmen began pecking away.

Ryan Fisher had a bloop double to lead off the UCI fifth. He went to third on a flyout and scored on a groundout by Brock Bardeen.

In the UCI fourth, the Anteaters began a two-out rally on consecutive singles by sophomore third baseman Casey Stevenson, sophomore first baseman Jeff Cusick and Fisher, a sophomore second baseman. Fisher’s hit plated Stevenson to make it 4-2.

Larson followed with a swinging bunt up the third-base line and Cal Poly’s J.J. Thompson threw wildly to first to allow another run to score.

Bardeen followed with a single through Massingham’s legs and into center field to drive in two and give UCI the lead for good.

Gorgen tied his career high by striking out 12 in eight innings, allowing six hits and four runs to see his ERA rise to 1.39. But, he was eventually rewarded with his fifth victory in six decisions as the Anteaters put together enough bloops, bouncers and betweeners, as well as benefiting from two errors that led to six unearned runs, to escape with the win.

UCI used five hits and another error to put up seven runs in the ninth, a rally capped by a booming bases-loaded triple by sophomore Tyler Hoechlin, who entered the game as a pinch-runner earlier in the inning. Hoechlin’s was the most muscular of 13 UCI hits, which were produced by nine different players against three Cal Poly pitchers.

“We did get some key hits, some real clutch hits even though they weren’t all scorched,” Gillespie said. “It was a real, real good win, especially the way the thing was looking in the sixth inning.”

Cal Poly lost shortstop Kyle Smith to a hand injury Tuesday, forcing them to move Morel from third to short, creating the opening filled by Thompson.

“And, of course, the new third baseman had to handle a couple of balls, and that was a big play in the game when [Thompson] threw the ball away at first base [in the fourth],” Gillespie said.

Stevenson forced another Thompson error in the ninth, when his safety squeeze bunt drove in a run and prolonged the inning.

Stevenson, in his first game after being cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse on Thursday, is a much-anticipated addition, according to Gillespie and his teammates.

“It was good, good news,” Gillespie said of the College of the Canyons transfer’s being cleared to play. “We felt all along that he would be an important player for us, if we could get him able to play. He has been working out with us and he really kept the faith. I have to admit I was less than optimistic. The thing was shaping up to be a disaster.”

Cusick went three for five and is now 22 for 43 in his last 10 games (.512), while Aaron Lowenstein and Ben Orloff also drove in runs with hits.

The series continues tonight at 6 and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Big West Conference

UC Irvine 12,

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 4

SCORE BY INNINGS

Gorgen, Avison (9) and Lowenstein; Massingham, Theophilus (9), Grening (9) and Thomas. W – Gorgen, 5-1. L – Massingham, 1-3. 2B – Orloff (UCI), Fisher (UCI); Pezet (CP). 3B – Hoechlin (UCI); Morel (CP). HR – Yoder (CP), Dorrell (CP).

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