‘Eaters take series

SAN LUIS OBISPO — The UC Irvine baseball team lost to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Saturday, but the Anteaters bounced back to win the Big West Conference-opening series with a 10-6 victory Sunday at Baggett Stadium.

Ben Orloff, Francis Larson, Ollie Linton and Sean Madigan drove in two runs each to help provide the win for UCI (19-3, 2-1 in conference), ranked No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball.

Cal Poly dropped to 9-14, 1-2.

Junior designated hitter Brock Bardeen and Larson, a sophomore catcher, each had a pair of hits, including a home run apiece. Orloff, a junior shortstop, went two for five, and junior left fielder Tony Asaro went two for three with two runs and an RBI.

Sophomore left-hander Daniel Bibona, UCI’s starter, pitched his longest outing of the season, going 6 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking three while allowing three runs on six hits. Closer Eric Pettis, a sophomore right-hander, earned his seventh save of the season after striking out one and walking one in 1 1/3 hitless innings.

The Mustangs got on the board first, scoring a run on a fielder’s choice and an RBI single from Luke Yoder in the bottom of the second.

Bardeen kicked off a three-run rally in the fourth, hitting a 2-0 pitch from Mustang starter Steven Fischback over the right-center field fence to put the Anteaters on the board, 1-0. Asaro extended the inning with a single and Madigan, a sophomore right fielder, tripled to right-center to plate Asaro.

Linton, a junior center fielder, followed with a sharp single up the middle to score Madigan as UCI took a 3-2 lead.

Larson extended the UCI lead to 5-3 with a two-run home run in the top of the fifth, his team-high fifth homer of the season. UCI scored again in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk, a sacrifice bunt and a two-run double by Orloff to take a 9-3 advantage.

However, after scoring a single run in the Mustang seventh, Cal Poly rallied for three runs in the eighth. A bunt single by Adam Melker put runners on first and second with two outs. Yoder drew a walk on a pitch that appeared to hit Yoder but was called a wild pitch and allowed Ryan Lee to score from second. Pat Pezet then drove a first-pitch offering from senior Tom Calahan through the right side to bring in two and close the margin to 9-6.

Pettis entered in relief and walked Logan Schafer, but struck out Brent Morel to end the inning.

Asaro delivered a sacrifice fly in the ninth to score freshman second baseman Ryan Fisher to cap the scoring for the Anteaters and Pettis retired the Mustangs in order to end the game.

The Anteaters play host to Cal State Fullerton and former UCI Coach Dave Serrano in a first of a three-game series Friday at 6 p.m.

— From staff reports

Big West Conference

UC Irvine 10,

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 6

SCORE BY INNINGS

Bibona, Dufour (7), Calahan (8), Pettis (8) and Larson, Lowenstein; Fischback, Eskew (7), Castner (8), DeVincenzi (9), Theophilus (9) and Thomas, Dorrell. W – Bibona, 4-1. L – Fischback, 3-2. Sv. – Pettis (7). 2B – Orloff (UCI), Cusick (UCI); Schafer (CP), Domingues (CP). 3B – Madigan (UCI). HR – Larson (UCI), Bardeen (UCI).