Gorgen peaking at right time for Anteaters

ROUND ROCK, Texas — This time last year, then-UCI-freshman pitcher Scott Gorgen said he was suffering from the rigors of his first college baseball season.

This season, most of the suffering when he takes the mound is experienced by opposing hitters.

Gorgen threw his third straight complete game to help the Anteaters defeat Texas, 3-1, Saturday in the NCAA Regional at Dell Diamond.

On the heels of back-to-back shutouts, Gorgen allowed five hits and one run, a solo homer, to improve to 11-2. He threw 109 pitches, 76 for strikes, walked three and struck out two to lower his earned-run average to 2.91.

He has produced all five of the Anteaters’ complete games this season, but said fatigue or arm soreness have yet to be an issue.

“I’m feeling great,” Gorgen said. “I feel like it’s the middle of March again. Last year, at this time, my shoulder was starting to bother me and I was starting to get the aches and pains. But I feel stronger than ever out there, now.”

Gorgen has thrown 117 2/3 innings this season in 18 appearances, including 17 starts. Last season, he totaled 110 innings over 19 appearances, including 17 starts.

Gorgen, the Big West Conference Freshman Pitcher of the Year in 2006 and a first-team all-conference performer this season, earned glowing praise from Texas Coach Augie Garrido after Saturday’s gem.

But the compliment he’ll remember most, he said, came from UCI Coach Dave Serrano, who compared him to former Cal State Fullerton ace Jason Windsor.

Serrano was the Cal State Fullerton pitching coach in 2004, when Windsor, now with Triple-A Sacramento in the Oakland A’s organization, allowed just 23 hits and three earned runs in 44 postseason innings, spanning six appearances, to lead the Titans to the 2004 College World Series title.

Windsor closed Fullerton’s title-clinching victory over Texas with eight shutout innings after allowing two runs in the first.

Serrano, who with that game, as well as Saturday’s regional triumph over the Longhorns had supervised winning pitchers in his last two meetings with teams coached by Garrido, for whom Serrano played at Cal State Fullerton in 1986, identified a common theme.

“I think I just had two horses on the mound in those games,” said Serrano, as Gorgen, seated nearby in the postgame media conference, smiled broadly.

“That’s huge praise,” Gorgen said. “Coach is someone I’ve looked up to since I got recruited to come here, two years ago. And I’ve had the opportunity to meet Jason Windsor, when he came down to [UCI to] throw a couple bullpens before spring training. And [being compared to him] is a huge compliment. I was at home in high school watching the 2004 College World Series, so that’s about the highest compliment I can get.”

ANOTHER ACE TRUMPED

Gorgen, who has several notches on his belt this season after out-pitching several notable aces from opposing teams, including 2006 National Pitcher of the Year Wes Roemer from Cal State Fullerton, added another to his list of victims Saturday.

Texas junior right-hander Adrian Alaniz is the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in 2007 and was named second-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball.

Gorgen also had success against Texas sophomore outfielder Kyle Russell, a first-team All-American and the Big 12 Player of the Year who hit his nation-leading 28th home run in the team’s regional-opening win over Brown Friday.

Russell, hitting .338 with 71 RBIs, was hitless in three at-bats against Gorgen Saturday.

SCORE FIRST, WIN LATER

UCI and Gorgen benefited from more first-inning scoring Saturday, as Taylor Holiday opened the game with a triple, then trotted home on a line single to left by Ben Orloff.

“We’re a pretty good team when we score first,” said Serrano, whose Anteaters are now 27-4-1 when they open the scoring, including a 4-0 first-inning lead in Friday’s 13-0 romp over Wake Forest.

“[Scoring first] is something our guys just seem to feed off and it’s always a big feat for us when we do that,” Serrano said.

MISSED FACE TIME

Holiday was unavailable to the media after the game, as he was being tended to by a doctor, after sustaining a small, but deep gash on his face, between the cheekbone and jawbone, Serrano said. Holiday was spiked by a base runner near first base in the sixth inning.

Taylor stayed in the game and will be ready for today’s action, Serrano said.

SCOREBOARD SURPRISE

Though UCI is now 2-4 in regional play, it has outscored its six combined regional opponents, 30-22. Friday’s 13-0 thumping of Wake Forest gave UCI a combined 27-21 advantage.

Three of the four previous regional losses were one-run verdicts against Notre Dame (2003), a well as UCLA and Missouri (2006).

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