College Baseball: Aztecs rally past ‘Eaters
A bullpen is the term used to describe a starting pitcher’s throwing session between starts. At UC Irvine, however, there may be a need for those bullpens to take on the more traditional meaning.
The Anteaters, one might suggest, might want to utilize their bullpens as their bullpen.
“We just need to have complete games from [weekend starters Elliot] Surrey, [Matt] Esparza and [Evan] Manarino,” UCI Coach Mike Gillespie said after current “closer” Kyle Davis allowed five runs in the ninth inning of a 6-2 nonconference loss to visiting San Diego State on Tuesday. “Then they have to divide [pitching duties for] the Tuesday game.”
Ironically, the late-inning failure negated what had been an encouraging night for the non-weekend starters.
Freshman Alonzo Garcia threw four shutout innings in his first collegiate start. And sophomore Sean Sparling also posted zeros in 2 1/3 inning.
After junior shortstop Mikey Duarte doubled in two runs with two outs in the seventh to erase a 1-0 deficit, Sparling was in line for what could have been the first win of the season for a UCI reliever.
Davis, who has one of his team’s two saves this season, worked a scoreless eighth inning, stranding two runners to protect the narrow advantage.
But the Aztecs (12-1) produced four of their 13 hits in the ninth to drop UCI to 3-8 and leave it searching for answers out of the pen.
“It is very concerning,” Gillespie said of the relief pitching drought. Tuesday was the second time UCI had surrendered the winning run in the ninth inning this season. And it marked the third time the ‘Eaters have lost after leading beyond the sixth inning in 2015.
Garcia now has not allowed a run in 7 1/3 innings this season and may have asserted himself as the fourth starter. He had walked three in 3 1/3 innings coming in, but walked none Tuesday, while allowing three hits and striking out one.
“I’m happy with Garcia and Sparling,” Gillespie said. “Their stuff is limited, so they have to throw strikes and throw strikes with all their pitches. And they did that, so I liked that.”
Gillespie also praised Duarte’s clutch double – a one-hop liner off the left-field fence on a 1-1 pitch with the bases loaded in the seventh. A potential third run was thrown out easily at the plate on the 7-4-2 relay of Duarte’s double, but Davis made the lead stand up at least through the eighth.
UCI had a runner thrown out at the plate in the second inning also, after sophomore designated hitter Andrew Martinez slugged a drive off the top portion of the left-field fence for a two-out double.
Three straight singles against freshman Matt Majors gave the Aztecs a 1-0 lead in the fifth. But UCI pitchers left 10 runners on base through eight to help frustrate the red-hot visitors, who have now won eight in a row.
With UCI leading, 2-1, San Diego State loaded the bases with one out in the ninth. After a sacrifice fly to left tied the score, 2-2, Seby Zavala then ripped an arching liner toward the left-field line that freshman left-fielder Keston Hiura tracked while retreating in a full sprint toward the corner. Hiura made a diving backhanded attempt and appeared to have the ball. But it squirted loose as he tumbled to the grass and rolled into the bullpen and the Aztecs seized a 4-2 advantage. The visitors then tacked on two more runs.
Brian Heldman earned the win in relief to improve to 3-0 and CJ Saylor worked a scoreless ninth for San Diego State.
Junior first baseman Mitchell Holland was two for three to lead UCI’s eight-hit attack.
Steve Pallares and Brody Westmoreland each had three hits, while Danny Sheehan and Alan Trejo added two apiece for the winners.
UCI begins a three-game series at UT San Antonio on Friday at 4 p.m.
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Nonconference
San Diego State 6, UC Irvine 2
SCORE BY INNINGS
SDSU 000 010 005 – 6 13 0
UCI 000 000 200 – 2 8 0
Reyes, Oakley (7), Erickson (7), Heldman (7), Saylor (9) and Zavala; Garcia, Majors (5), Sparling (5), Davis (8), Moore (9) and McClanahan. W – Heldman, 3-0. L – Davis, 0-1. 2B – Martinez (UCI), Duarte (UCI). 3B – Zavala (SDSU).