UCI steals a win from Aggies

DAVIS — UC Irvine junior Eric Deragisch, attempting to steal home, knocked the ball loose from UC Davis catcher Jake Jefferies to score the eventual game-winning run in the Anteaters’ wild 4-3 Big West Conference victory Saturday at Dobbins Stadium.

Deragisch singled to left to begin the eighth inning, and was sacrificed to second by Aaron Lowenstein. After Ollie Linton was hit by a pitch and a strikeout, Ben Orloff’s two-out walk loaded the bases and set up Deragisch’s dramatics.

Both teams are now 11-9 in conference — tied for fourth — headed into today’s rubber match.

No. 11-ranked UC Irvine (35-15) got on the scoreboard first with an unearned run, as Dillon Bell scored on Sean Madigan’s RBI groundout in the second inning. Bell had singled to lead off the inning, reached second on a failed pickoff attempt and was bunted to third.

The Aggies (32-20) responded in the fifth, stringing together three straight singles for a run, the last one an RBI by Ty Kelly.

UCI took a 3-1 lead in the seventh, when junior pinch hitter Brock Bardeen hit a two-run homer to right, his fourth of the year. But UC Davis again answered, with Kelly delivering a run-scoring double then scoring on Ryan Scoma’s single.

Trailing, 4-3, in the ninth, UC Davis got runners on first and second with one out. But ’Eaters closer Eric Pettis scored the win, getting a pair of fly-ball outs to end the game. Pettis improved to 4-2 after going three innings, surrendering a run on three hits.

Freshman Crosby Slaught made his first start of the year, in place of Bryce Stowell (food poisoning). Slaught limited the Aggies to a run and six hits in four strong innings. Slaught escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first, then retired seven in a row before getting out of another bases-loaded situation in the fourth.

UCI reliever Tom Calahan pitched two innings, giving up a run on three hits.

Aggies starter Brad McAtee faced just two over the minimum through six innings, but suffered the loss after giving up the leadoff single to Deragisch in the eighth. McAtee gave up four runs on six hits, striking out three.

UC Davis hosts the finale of the three-game set today at 1 p.m.  

Big West Conference

UC Irvine 4, UC Davis 3

SCORE BY INNINGS

Slaught, Calahan (5), Pettis (7) and Lowenstein; McAtee, Suiter (8) and Jefferies. W – Pettis, 4-2. L – McAtee, 7-4. 2B – Kelly (UCD). HR – Bardeen (UCI).