Dirtbags handle ‘Eaters

IRVINE — The UC Irvine baseball team ended its regular season with a whimper Sunday, managing just three hits while falling to Big West Conference rival Long Beach State, 5-0, at Anteater Ballpark.

Shawn Stuart allowed two hits in seven innings and Jon Maciel completed the shutout with two innings of one-hit relief to drop No. 24-ranked UCI to 39-16, 16-8 in conference.

UCI finished second in the Big West behind Cal State Fullerton and advanced to its sixth straight postseason by earning a berth in the Los Angeles Regional, beginning Friday at UCLA.

UCI, a No. 3 seed in the four-team regional, will open against Fresno State, Friday at 2 p.m.

Junior first baseman Jordan Fox went two for three to highlight a UCI offense that finished the regular season batting .299.

Junior Crosby Slaught allowed three runs on seven hits in 52/3 innings to absorb his second loss in nine decisions this season.

Jeff Yamaguchi went three for four for the Dirtbags, for whom Brennan Metzger and Mike Marjama also had two hits apiece and combined for three runs batted in.

It was 1-0 until Long Beach (29-27, 12-12) scored twice in the third to take command.