‘Eaters strand runners

Barry Faulkner

After a night of missed opportunities, the UC Irvine baseball team

might find solace in the notion that it still has a chance to impress

the NCAA tournament selection committee the next two days.

Of course, by leaving 10 runners on base and hitting into four

double plays in a 6-3 Big West Conference series-opening loss to

visiting Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Friday night, the Anteaters left

themselves little other choice.

The loss, however, insured the Anteaters (30-24, 9-10 in

conference) no better than fourth place in a conference that some

believe will capture only three of the 64 berths available in next

week’s NCAA regionals.

And, now, UCI also has to worry about finishing ahead of UC

Riverside, which began the weekend tied for fourth, but facing three

home games against first-place Cal State Fullerton, the defending

NCAA champion.

Still, UCI Coach Dave Serrano expressed satisfaction with his

players’ attitude for Friday’s game and also took the opportunity to

make a pitch for a fourth Big West team in the postseason.

“For the first time in a while, that was a game we showed up and

were ready to play,” Serrano said. “The attitude was in place and we

were committed to winning. They were committed to the right thing,

it’s just that we didn’t get the results.

“We’ve put ourselves in this situation and we have no one to blame

but ourselves that we’re scratching and clawing just to get in [the

postseason] . But even if we weren’t in the situation we are, I think

the Big West is very deserving of having four teams [in the

regionals]. Whether that happens or not, I don’t know. I think we at

least have to take one [of the remaining two]. And it sure would help

us to take two.”

Serrano said Cal Poly deserves a berth, so if the Anteaters are to

get their second consecutive regional bid, it will have to be as the

conference’s fourth representative.

Cal Poly (35-19, 13-6) appears poised to earn the school’s first

postseason berth as a Division I program. The Mustangs, who entered

the Division I ranks in 1995, last made the postseason in 1993, when

they were the runner-up in the Division II World Series.

Whether the NCAA selection committee takes three or four from the

Big West, Friday night came down to Cal Poly turning two.

The UCI frustration might have been exemplified by its fourth

inning, in which Jaime Martinez, Erik Johnson and Matt Anderson began

the rally with consecutive singles to load the bases.

Sophomore third baseman Tim Wojcik followed with a drive to the

right side. But Mustang first baseman Bret Berglund snared the liner

in the air on his way to the bag, enabling him to easily complete a

rally-quashing double play.

Double plays ended the ninth and the second innings and also

erased a leadoff single by Anderson in the sixth.

Cal Poly, meanwhile, scored one in the first, two in the second

and one in the third to take advantage of what Serrano said was UCI

junior ace Chris Nicoll’s worst stuff of the season.

Anderson, who went 3 for 3 with a walk, blasted his fourth home

run of the year over the right-center-field fence in the second and

Martinez smacked an RBI single in the fifth to keep the Anteaters

within reach.

Both teams scored single runs in the eighth and Cal Poly added

another in the ninth.

Then Brett Dalton, who extended his hitting streak to 12 with a

first-inning single, walked to open the UCI ninth.

Danny Miramontes followed with a single to put runners at the

corners, but a shallow flyout to right and a 6-4-3 double play ended

the threat to give Cal Poly starter Garrett Olson his 12th win in 16

decisions and up closer Mike Bille’s conference-leading save total to

13.

Nicoll, who struck out six in eight innings to tie Brett Smith for

the second-most single-season strikeouts in school history (113),

fell to 6-4.

“Things just didn’t go our way and sometimes that happens,”

Serrano said. “Cal Poly did everything it needed to do to win the

game tonight, but [the Mustangs] got some breaks.”

Big West Conference

Cal Poly SLO 6,

UC Irvine 3

Score by Innings

*--*

CPSLO 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 - 6 12 0

UCI 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 - 3 12 1

*--*

Olson, Bille (8) and Blumenthal; Nicoll, Koehler (9), Erickson (9)

and Wagner. W -- Olson, 12-4. L -- Nicoll, 6-4. Sv -- Bille (13). 2B

-- Walker (CP), Blumenthal (CP), Alexander (CP). 3B -- Roberts (CP).

HR -- Anderson (UCI).