UCI, Slaught get best of UCR

RIVERSIDE — There has been little sense of security for the UC Irvine baseball team in recent weeks. If it’s not shaky defense that has kept Anteaters Coach Mike Gillespie on edge, it has been a listless offense and/or a less-than-reliable middle relief corps.

So, when it came to securing a nonconference victory Tuesday night at UC Riverside, Gillespie wasn’t about to apologize for parlaying, among other things, some key bloop singles, a freshman walk-on reliever, and even a hidden-ball trick, into a 10-4 triumph.

“For the last 20-plus games, we’ve been in a .500 or split type of deal,” Gillespie said. “So there is no game that is not important. Obviously, what happens on the weekend is more important, nobody disputes that. But our chance to get into the playoffs is really heightened by what our nonconference record is. We’ve just got to get ourselves somewhere in conference, so that our nonconference record can matter.”

The win upped the No. 13-ranked Anteaters record to 31-12 with 11 regular-season games left, nine of those against Big West Conference foes. But at 8-7 in conference, they remain in sixth place, heading into a three-game home conference series with Pacific that begins Friday.

Also looking to improve his position Tuesday was freshman right-hander Crosby Slaught, who entered with no decisions, a 4.26 earned-run average and a .357 batting average against.

But after replacing Matt Dufour with two on and no outs in the fifth and the score tied, 3-3, Slaught worked a career-high three innings, allowing just two hits and one unearned run, to earn his first collegiate victory, as well as a little greater respect from those who hand out the playing time.

“I thought Slaught was really key,” Gillespie said of the 6-foot-5 Santa Barbara High product, who fanned a career-high three. “He came in and threw strikes and I thought his stuff was really good. I thought his slider was pretty good tonight. He jumped up a lot of notches. I think he’s a guy who may start one of our mid-week games next week [UCI plays host to UCLA on Tuesday and visits Loyola Marymount on May 14.”

Slaught got his first out on a sacrifice bunt, then struck out Joey Gonzales, whose solo home run off the scoreboard in right-center field erased a 3-2 UCI lead in the third against starter Tom Calahan.

After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Slaught induced Highlanders cleanup hitter Aaron Wible to fly out to center to end the threat.

He retired the next four he faced, including two strikeouts, before back-to-back singles put him back in the stretch position. After a diving catch by second baseman Casey Stevenson on a pop to shallow right center recorded the second out, Slaught, perhaps showing his inexperience, threw to first on a pickoff play, though no one was holding the runner. The ball sailed into foul territory, allowing a run to score and advancing a runner to second. But, as the dust was settling, junior shortstop Ben Orloff paid him a visit with a trick up his sleeve.

“We’ve run the hidden-ball trick a few times now [the most recent in the eighth-inning of a 3-3 tie against New Mexico on April 25],” Slaught said. “[Orloff] came up to me and just gave me a nod and a whisper and I tried to play it off.”

Orloff, with the ball in his glove, returned to short and Riverside leadoff man Carl Uhl began leading off second. Orloff quickly moved toward Uhl and tagged him for the third out.

Orloff, who has become the team’s leading hitter, was also a big part of the offense for the Anteaters. Having moved recently from the No. 2 to the No. 3 spot in the order, Orloff, hitting .388 since opening the season four for 26, had two singles, walked twice and scored three times. He drove in Ollie Linton, who doubled to lead off the game, in the UCI first to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

With the game knotted at 3-3, Bell drove in Orloff with the second of his two RBI singles, in the sixth inning that also included a two-run bloop single by senior catcher Aaron Lowenstein.

UCI tacked on three runs in the ninth, including an RBI single by sophomore designated hitter Tony Asaro, to help sophomore closer Eric Pettis breeze to his conference-leading 12th save.

Pettis, who entered with two on and one out in the eighth, fanned four in 1 2/3 innings.

Linton was two for five with a stolen base as the ’Eaters had 10 hits against six UCR hurlers.

“We got some hits that weren’t exactly smoked, but we don’t turn those back,” Gillespie said.

Said Slaught, “ We’ve had some guys who have stepped up for us and I’m trying to do the same.”

Nonconference

UC Irvine 10, UC Riverside 4

SCORE BY INNINGS

Calahan, Dufour (3), Slaught (5), Lopez (8), Pettis (8) and Lowenstein; Orozco, Smith (3), Platt (6), Waite (6), Penny (7), Kelly (9) and Opdyke, Pellegrino (7). W – Slaught, 1-0 . L – Platt, 2-3. Sv – Pettis (12). 2B – Linton (UCI), Opdyke (UCR) . HR – Gonzales (UCR).

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