UCI stymies Gauchos

IRVINE — Veteran members of the UC Irvine baseball team predicted things would come together in the final Big West Conference series with visiting UC Santa Barbara. The belief was that such a confluence of talent, attitude and commitment would allow the No. 14-ranked Anteaters to justify the high regard with which the national media has held them all season and take some serious momentum into the 64-team NCAA Tournament, for which they are expected to be an at-large entry when the field is announced today at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN.

And though a series-opening setback made these forecasts less than completely accurate, the Anteaters displayed both their strengths and their weaknesses as well as they have all season in a 2-0 series-clinching triumph in front of 930 at Anteater Ballpark Sunday.

Sophomore starting pitcher Danny Bibona worked through jams into the seventh inning and relievers Christian Bergman, Tom Calahan and Eric Pettis all did their part to record UCI’s eighth shutout of the season.

It is, however, the first time UCI pitching has blanked an opponent in 13 games, only the second time in the last 41 contests. But pitching, with a staff that posted shutouts in six of this season’s first 13 games and came into this week ranked No. 2 nationally in team earned-run average (2.88, which is now 2.87), is both this team’s strength and the largest part of its identity.

“It has been a real gratifying year and it’s not over,” said UCI Coach Mike Gillespie, who earned his 801st career Division I victory as his team improved to 38-16, 14-10 in conference. UCI finished behind co-champions Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton (both 16-8 in conference), tied with both UCSB and UC Riverside.

Long Beach State earned the conference’s automatic berth, having won the series against Fullerton. Both Long Beach and Fullerton will host a regional. UCI’s bid to host by Irvine was denied.

“Who knows where we’re going and who we’ll play,” Gillespie said. “But if you’re the other teams in a regional with this team, I don’t think you want to see this pitching coming into your region.”

Bibona, who improved to 8-3 by scattering six hits, striking out four and walking one in 6 1/3 innings, is also proud to be a part of this staff.

“We’re second in the nation in ERA and that takes every guy [on the staff],” Bibona said. “They always say pitching never slumps. I don’t know how true that is, but our pitching has been pretty consistent the whole way.”

Catcher Aaron Lowenstein, one of four Anteaters honored on Senior Day, was another generous with praise for the UCI hurlers.

“Our pitchers really stepped up today and picked up our hitters,” Lowenstein said. “If we can keep that type of lineup with those pitchers, we could be real effective. If they’re on, they could do the work and we’ll be playing for a while.”

Finally, Pettis, who struck out three in 1 2/3 innings to post his 15th save of the season, summed up Sunday’s stingy Irvine pitching by stating the obvious.

“Any time you throw a shutout, I think you should win the game,” Pettis said.

Bibona & Co., however, were not dominant. The Gauchos (35-21) saw their leadoff hitter reach with a hit six times, including doubles in the third and eighth innings. In two other innings, UCSB runners reached with one out.

But UCI third baseman Eric Deragisch nailed a runner at the plate in with one out in the second inning, double plays snuffed out rallies in the fifth and sixth and clutch strikeouts sent the hosts sprinting to their dugout in the second, seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

Calahan, who surrendered a bunt single on a would-be sacrifice to the first hitter he faced in the eighth, then fanned Chris Fox with runners at the corners. Pettis entered and struck out the Gauchos’ Nos. 3 and 4 hitters: junior Orange Coast College transfer Eric Oliver, as well as Mike Zuanich, who had been three for three.

Offensively, UCI matched UCSB’s nine hits, but had only one of the game’s four doubles. Ollie Linton, Jeff Cusick and Josh Tavelli each went two for three for the hosts and Tavelli’s leadoff double in the third resulted in the first run.

Deragisch moved Tavelli to third with a sacrifice bunt and Lowenstein laid down a successful squeeze bunt on the first pitch of his at-bat for all the hosts would need.

Ben Orloff scored an insurance run in the eighth after singling to lead off the frame. He advanced on a Cusick sacrifice bunt, went to third on a wild pitch and came home on Brock Bardeen’s pinch-hit sacrifice fly to left.

“We really pitched and those [Gauchos] really pitched,” Gillespie said. “If you get beat, 3-2, you think your offense [stinks]. But if you win, 2-0, you think you did just enough.”

For the 11th time in 13 weekend series, UCI did enough to win the series. The last two weekends, the ’Eaters bounced back to claim series wins after losing the opener.

UCI’s win, combined with Sunday losses by UC Davis and UC Riverside, allowed the Anteaters to climb from a fifth-place tie, into the three-way tie for third.

It also quelled concern that a possible fifth- or sixth-place finish might made it tough for the NCAA selection committee to award UCI one of 34 at-large berths in the field of 64.

“You never want to put the committee in that position to have to select you in front of teams that finished ahead of you,” said Pettis, whose 15 saves are two shy of the single-season record held by Blair Erickson. “But these last two games, we got a little bit of a good feeling going and, hopefully, we can ride that into the playoffs.

UCI will enter its third straight postseason having won five of its last seven, eight of its last 12 and 13 of its last 19.

It was the final home game of their careers for seniors Lowenstein, Calahan, Tavelli and Chris Lopez.

Big West Conference

UC Irvine 2, UC Santa Barbara 0

SCORE BY INNINGS

Huggins, Ford (8), Roenicke (8) and McMurray; Bibona, Bergman (7), Calahan (8), Pettis (8) and Lowenstein. W – Bibona, 8-3. L – Huggins, 8-3. Sv – Pettis (15). 2B – Zuanich (UCSB), McMurray (UCSB), Tavelli (UCI), DeAlba (UCSB).

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