Anteaters on the road for three vs. rival 49ers

Pitching figures to be at a premium when the UC Irvine baseball team opens a three-game series against Big West Conference rival Long Beach State tonight at 6:30 at Blair Field.

The Anteaters, who entered the week third in nation in team earned-run average (2.48), come in with a 2.57 staff ERA. UCI will give the ball to junior All-American Scott Gorgen tonight, who has found a statistical equal in 49ers senior Andrew Liebel.

Both Gorgen (5-2) and Liebel (3-1) enter with an ERA of 1.93, which is tied for second in the Big West, behind only UCI sophomore Christian Bergman (0.96).

Gorgen, in his seven starts, has allowed just 26 hits, while striking out 53 in 51 1/3 innings. He has walked 14 and opponents are hitting a paltry .147 against him.

Liebel, who has also made seven starts, has 53 strikeouts in 56 innings. He has allowed 46 hits, but has walked just six. Opponents are hitting .222 against him.

UCI (21-5, 3-3 in the Big West) is ranked No. 6 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Assn.

Long Beach State (18-12, 1-2), ranked No. 16, has lost nine of its last 10, all on the road in the last two weeks. The 49ers, however, are 12-3 at Blair Field this season.

The pitching matchups for the remainder of the series are: UCI sophomore Bryce Stowell (4-1, 1.96 ERA) vs. Vance Worley (3-2, 4.28) on Saturday at 2 p.m.; and UCI sophomore left-hander Danny Bibona (4-1, 3.15) vs.Jake Thompson (1-3, 4.75) on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

The Sunday game is scheduled to be televised on CBS College Sports Network (formerly CSTV).

The Anteaters may get an offensive boost as freshman second baseman-outfielder Ryan Fisher may return after sustaining a foot injury in the Cal State Fullerton series. Fisher, who has missed the last three games, is hitting .361, second on the team, and his 28 RBIs are the most on the squad.

UCI is also keyed, offensively, by sophomore first baseman Jeff Cusick (.407 with 15 RBIs), junior center fielder Ollie Linton (.343 with two homers, 19 RBIs and 24 steals), and sophomore Francis Larson (.330 with five dingers and 25 RBIs). Linton entered the week leading the nation in steals per game.

The Dirtbags are paced offensively by senior outfielder Jason Corder (.365 with eight homers and 32 RBIs) and junior first baseman Shane Peterson (.351 with two homers and 31 RBIs).

— Barry Faulkner