Anteaters edge Tigers

IRVINE — One hit in his last 10 at-bats may not have been enough to call a slump, but UC Irvine leadoff man Ollie Linton was beginning to think there were a few extra fielders turned loose when he stepped into the batter’s box.

Evidence of same came in the third inning of Sunday’s Big West Conference baseball game against visiting Pacific, when Linton drove a ball into right-center field that typically would have rolled to the wall for a triple. Linton, however, was out when right fielder Mike McKeever, positioned almost directly in line with the second baseman in the alley, easily hauled in the liner.

But Linton didn’t get to be a preseason All-American and an All-Big West performer with a team-leading 63 hits without making adjustments. So, when he batted with one out and a runner on second in the eighth inning of a 1-1 deadlock, Linton hit it where McKeever wasn’t.

This time, Linton pulled a 3-2 curveball over a leaping first baseman and down the line for a game-winning RBI double that helped the No. 13-ranked Anteaters remain in position to contend for the conference crown.

UCI (33-13, 10-8 in the Big West) is now tied for fourth with UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis. Cal State Fullerton (15-6 in conference) is atop the standings, followed by UC Riverside (12-6) and Long Beach State (11-7), with two weeks left in the regular season.

UCI visits UC Davis for a three-game series beginning Friday, then closes out the conference slate with a three-game set with visiting UCSB, May 23-25.

“I couldn’t find a hole there for a while,” said Linton, a junior center fielder. “It was like there were too many guys on the field.”

There were barely enough runners on base to keep the Mother’s Day crowd of 438 interested Sunday, as UCI starter Danny Bibona and UOP counterpart Tyler Waldron kept opposing hitters at bay most of the game.

UCI staked Bibona to a 1-0 lead in the second, when Francis Larson opened the inning by being hit by a pitch. Sophomore left fielder Dillon Bell followed with a single up the middle and a fielder’s choice grounder that forced Bell at second left runners at the corners.

Sean Madigan, a sophomore right fielder making his first start in weeks, lined a single to center to drive in Larson and momentarily ruffle Waldron.

But the Pacific freshman right-hander settled down, retiring the next 13 in a row, before UCI junior shortstop Ben Orloff beat out a bunt single in the sixth. Waldron, who posted his third complete game, then retired four straight, before the fateful eighth.

“[Waldron] is good,” UCI Coach Mike Gillespie said. “The numbers don’t tell us that [Waldron entered with a 2-5 record and a 6.07 earned-run average], but we know what we saw.”

Linton also praised Waldron, who allowed just four hits, walked one and struck out four.

“He was dialed in the whole game and throwing all his pitches for strikes,” Linton said. “He’s a strong pitcher with a bright future ahead of him.”

Bibona, a sophomore left-hander, blanked the last-place Tigers (11-37, 3-18) through six, but was touched for a leadoff homer by McKeever in the seventh. He allowed just five hits in 7 1/3 innings.

After posting his sixth strikeout to open the eighth, which elevated his pitch count to 110, Bibona was lifted for sophomore Christian Bergman.

Bergman, making his first appearance since April 20 due to arm soreness, retired both hitters he faced to collect his fifth win in seven decisions.

Sophomore Eric Pettis, tagged with his second loss in a disappointing 10-9 setback in 10 innings Saturday, rebounded by striking out all three he faced in the ninth for his conference-leading 13th save.

Gillespie praised all three of his pitchers, noting that Bergman will likely resume his role as a mid-week starter when the ’Eaters play host to UCLA and former coach John Savage on Tuesday at 6 p.m., then visit Loyola Marymount Wednesday at 3 p.m. in nonconference action.

“I thought Bergman threw with a little bit of zip,” Gillespie said of the conference ERA leader (now 1.39 in 45 1/3 innings). “He had a little giddy-up on his fastball and it’s good to have him back.”

Pettis said he was happy to have a chance to pitch again 24 hours after Saturday’s heartbreaking loss.

“When the results don’t go your way, you just want to get the ball back,” Pettis said. “You’ve just got to stay with the process and see what happens.”

Bell was seven for 14 in the series with three RBIs, while Madigan, a freshman All-American last season, was three for five with an RBI in each of the three games.

Big West Conference

UC Irvine 2, Pacific 1

SCORE BY INNINGS

Waldron and Oliveira; Bibona, Bergman (8), Pettis (9) and Larson. W – Bergman, 5-2. L – Waldron, 2-6. 2B – Ching (UOP), Linton (UOP). HR – McKeever (UOP).

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].