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Lions Upset No. 5 UC Irvine, 11-3
March 3, 2009
IRVINE, Calif. - The LMU baseball team (8-2) upset No. 5 UC Irvine (5-3) by a count of 11-3 on Tuesday night on the road at Anteater Ballpark. The Lions pounded-out the 11 runs on 16 hits en route to the victory. The win came in LMU's first game against a ranked opponent this season, and extended the Lions' winning streak to four games. Junior Angelo Songco and freshman Shon Roe paced the Lion offense, totaling four and three hits, respectively. Songco finished 4-for-5 with a two-RBI double, three runs scored and three RBI. Roe, who started the game 0-for-2, finished with three hits and two runs scored. Senior T.J. Bernardy collected a two-RBI single in his only at bat on the night, extending his hitting streak to five games. Junior Brad Bauer, who entered the game batting 1.000, went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI out of the designated hitter spot. Freshman Ramiro Carreon dealt the first three innings, allowing three runs on five hits and striking out three batters. Junior Jordan McClintick was stellar as the first reliever out of the Lion bullpen, tossing two and two-thirds scoreless innings and striking out two batters en route to his first victory of the season. Chris Eusebio entered and recorded the final out in the sixth before pitching a scoreless seventh inning, turning the ball over to junior Jeremy Burrell. Burrell pitched the final two scoreless innings for the Lions, closing the door on the Anteaters and striking out three batters along the way. LMU relief pitchers have now tossed 48 and two-thirds innings, allowing just 17 runs (16 earned) and striking out 48 batters to the tune of a 2.96 ERA. In addition, four of the Lions' eight wins belong to relief pitchers this season.
Catcher Francis Larson led the Anteater offense in the loss, finishing 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI. Tony Asaro had the other UC Irvine extra-base hit, tripling to leadoff the three-run third inning. Cory Hamilton got the start and pitched four innings, allowing just two hits and an unearned run before exiting and not factoring in the decision. Nick Hoover, who fell to 0-2 with the loss, surrendered three runs before Brock Bardeen allowed another six (five earned) over two innings of work. The Lions scored seven runs in the seventh inning or later in the victory, shutting out UCI over the same span. With those seven runs, LMU has now outscored its opponent 35-5 in seventh innings or later this season. Included in that mark is a 16-1 advantage in the seventh, and a 14-2 advantage in the eighth. LMU struck first in the game in the second inning, benefiting from a Hamilton throwing error and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Trevor Gee. Songco singled to get the ball rolling before Ollie Enos singled to put runners at first and second. Bauer attempted to sacrifice the runners 90 feet, but instead popped up the bunt down the third base line. Hamilton attempted to catch the ball in the air, but instead the ball kicked off the heel of his glove and rolled into foul territory. Songco, who broke back to second upon seeing the ball in the air, was caught between second and third, but an errant throw to third base allowed all runners to reach safely, setting the table for Gee's sacrifice fly to left field. Irvine answered for three runs in the bottom of the third, taking a 3-1 lead. Asaro tripled and scored on a Casey Stevenson single before Ben Orloff singled-home a run two batters later. After a stolen base and a strikeout for the second out, Larson split the gap in right centerfield to plate the final run. The Lion sixth yielded three runs as Songco doubled-home Ryan Wheeler and Ryan Hawthorne. Following a wild pitch that moved Songco to third, Enos collected a RBI-single to cap the scoring run. LMU exploded for five more runs in the seventh as Hawthorne's RBI-double scored Roe, who had singled to start the frame. Wheeler followed by being hit by a pitch before Songco collected another RBI with a single into right centerfield. With runners at second and third and two out, Bauer sent a base hit into centerfield to score two more Lion runs. Gee hit a ball in front of the mound on the ensuing play, where Bardeen fielded and promptly threw the ball away, allowing the fifth and final run to cross the plate. The Lions scored two more insurance runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by a two-RBI single through the left side of the infield by Bernardy. LMU will return to action on Friday when it plays UC Santa Barbara at 2:00 p.m. The Lions and Gauchos will play a four-game series at UCSB's Caesar Uyesaka Stadium over the weekend. |
