‘Eaters get last laugh

Barry Faulkner

Sometimes the numbers don’t compute and the best-laid plans don’t

work out as expected. But sometimes the best thing to do is laugh,

shrug, breath deeply and hope for the best.

Friday night appeared to be one of those times for the UC Irvine

baseball team, which came away with a 3-1 victory over nonconference

visitor UC Davis, despite looking like a team stuck in the lower half

of the Big West Conference standings.

The Anteaters (26-21) committed three errors, hit into three

double plays, had one runner caught stealing, failed to execute in

two sacrifice-bunt situations and gave the Aggies (23-23) a run with

two errors that broke a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh

inning.

But as UCI Coach Dave Serrano fumed midway through the seventh, an

extended version of “God Bless America,” performed by a barbershop

quartet, left both coaches and UCI players at least three minutes

more than usual to take a deep breath and also take control of their

destiny.

“It was ugly but we’ll take it,” Serrano said after winning for

only the second time in the last five games and ending a two-game

losing streak. “We’ve been scratching and clawing for everything we

can get and we got that one.”

Davis struck first with a one-out Kirby Lukas single and, after a

strikeout, a hit batsman against UCI starter Chris Nicoll. With

runners at first and second, Nicoll threw into center field while

trying to pick Lukas off second.

Center fielder Ollie Linton charged and lobbed a throw toward

second in an attempt to get the trail runner. But the ball sailed

high and toward the first-base line, where catcher Mark Wagner broke

away from the plate to field it. With the plate uncovered, Lukas

scored from third. Wagner threw to third in time to nail the trail

runner, but the run had already crossed.

“Maybe it was the ‘God Bless America’ that took about 10 minutes

out of the inning that got us to relax,” Serrano said of the

immediate aftermath of Davis’ lone run. “I was pretty hot after those

two throws were thrown away. We basically gave them that run.”

It was symptomatic of recent struggles for UCI, which has

committed eight errors in the last two games.

But if the top of the seventh was a reminder of what had been

going wrong for the ‘Eaters, the bottom of the inning was a ringing

example of how to overcome such misfortune.

Danny Miramontes, after falling behind 0-2 on a pitch he thought

was a ball, singled through the right side to start the rally.

Catcher Mark Wagner showed bunt on the next pitch, but pulled back

and yanked a single inside the third-base bag to put men on first and

second.

Enter 6-foot-5, 240-pound cleanup hitter Jaime Martinez, who,

keeping with Serrano’s penchant for what he calls “the inside game,”

was asked to deliver his third sacrifice bunt of the season.

Martinez, however, buckled while attempting to stab at a breaking

ball for strike one, then bunted a 2-1 pitch foul.

“He almost looked like he was joking up there,” Serrano said of

Martinez’s bunt attempts.

Martinez, however, got the last laugh.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it down, so I just stepped out of

the box, took a deep breath and told myself to forget about it and

move on,” Martinez said.

What followed was a two-run double into the right-center-field

gap.

After Davis pitcher Dave McKae dropped Matt Anderson’s subsequent

sacrifice bunt attempt for an error, Gregg Wallis bunted foul, before

swinging away and singling to left to plate Martinez.

It was more than enough for Nicoll, a junior right-hander who

struck out 10, allowed just five hits and did not walk a batter in

eight innings to improve to 6-2. Davis’ only run was unearned.

Sophomore Blair Erickson fanned two in the ninth for his ninth

save and a much-needed victory for the hosts.

“We needed this win, because things haven’t been going the way we

wanted them to,” Martinez said. “We got past that (top of the)

seventh inning, moved on and got the victory.”

Serrano said moving on and having fun could be the key to what

must be a strong finish if the Anteaters, who entered the weekend in

fifth place in the Big West, are to earn an NCAA regional bid.

“I said to the team and I have to remind myself that you have to

have fun and you have to enjoy being around each other,” Serrano

said. “That’s the only thing that’s going to get us over the hump and

get us through these next few games we have left to hopefully reach

what we have out in front of us and that’s the regional berth.”