Anteaters’ Etheridge brilliant again

WICHITA, Kan. — UC Irvine junior pitcher Wes Etheridge used the kelly green artificial turf infield at Wichita State as his personal pool table Sunday, allowing the Anteaters to pocket the program’s most meaningful Division I victory to date.

Etheridge, who favors the sinkerball, induced 17 ground-ball outs, turning true hops on the closely cropped turf into yet another truly amazing mound performance for the College World Series-bound Anteaters (45-15-1).

Led by Etheridge and sophomore starter Scott Gorgen, the UCI pitching staff has fashioned an earned-run average of 1.40 in five postseason games. Opposing teams are batting a combined .224 against the staff guided by Coach Dave Serrano.

Etheridge’s diving deliveries prompted Wichita State Coach Gene Stephenson, in his 30th season, to provide some unprecedented advice to his hitters.

“Etheridge was really good,” Stephenson said. “His sinker was falling away to left-handers and diving into right-handers. From the third inning on, I was telling my hitters things I had never told them before. I was telling them to swing under the ball. But we just couldn’t seem to get under his pitches.”

Serrano said that adjustment began paying dividends in the seventh and eighth innings, when the Shockers began making more solid contact.

“I don’t think it was a matter of Wes leaving balls up, as much as it was [Shockers hitters] making an adjustment,” Serrano said.

Etheridge, who exited with one out in the ninth, threw 95 pitches, 64 for strikes. He threw first-pitch strikes to 15 of the 31 he faced.

“[Etheridge] kept the ball down, and hid it pretty well,” Wichita State’s Tyler Hill said. “He tried to get ahead in the count, then throw it down by your ankles and hope you would chase. Just like [Gorgen] did [with his changeup Saturday].”

ERICKSON LEFT IN PEN

When it was time to go to the bullpen Sunday, Serrano elected to use freshman left-hander Tom Calahan, then senior right-hander Dylan Axelrod, who wound up getting the win.

Senior Blair Erickson, whose 13 saves this season upped his career total to an NCAA record 53, was warming in the bullpen as Axelrod got the final out of the ninth.

“We’re going with the guys who are hot,” Serrano said of his decision not to call upon Erickson, who failed in an attempt to nail down the regional-clinching win against Texas on Monday. “Blair has not been pitching very well. He hasn’t been throwing very well in the bullpen.

“The only thing I second-guessed is that maybe I should have went with [Calahan] for one more guy.

“I have a lot of faith in Dylan and I think Blair would [tell you] that he doesn’t feel good right now and, right now, we’re going to go with the hot hand. I thought both [Calahan and Axelrod] were ahead of [Erickson] on the depth chart.”

ANTEATERS’ NEW HABITAT

Serrano had cautioned his players after Saturday’s 1-0 victory not to start looking ahead to Omaha, especially, since Wichita State had recovered from an opening-game loss to win four straight and advance from its own regional last week.

But Serrano said after Sunday’s clinching victory that he didn’t follow his own advice.

“[Saturday] night I went online to look up the famous zoo in Omaha to see if they had anteaters and they don’t,” Serrano said. “But now they do.”

The Anteaters are scheduled to take a bus today from Wichita to Omaha, where they will prepare for the College World Series.

First-round games are Friday and Saturday at Rosenblatt Stadium.

APPOINTMENT FOR TAYLOR

The trip to Omaha helps UCI junior first baseman Taylor Holiday come closer to fulfilling an appointment he made in January to get a haircut at an Omaha salon.

Taylor, whose locks have been allowed to grow to nearly shoulder length because of his plans for a trim in Omaha — coinciding with the Anteaters’ participation in the eight-team College World Series — said his appointment is scheduled for June 26, the day after the national championship game.

Serrano typically requires his players to keep their hair closely cropped, and the rest of the team has had to comply.

HOLIDAY KEEPS IT GOING

Holiday, who extended his hitting streak to 22 games with a leadoff double in the UCI first inning, paces the ‘Eaters with a .416 postseason batting average (10 for 24).

Cody Cipriano has six hits in 20 at-bats (.300) and a team-leading seven RBIs in the regional and super regional.

Bryan Petersen and Matt Morris are both five for 16 (.313), and Morris is tied with Holiday for most runs scored in the postseason (seven).

Jeff Cusick is four for 10 with five RBIs, while Tyler Vaughn is five for 18 (.278) with three RBIs.

UCI is hitting .299 as a team against postseason pitching, but just .254 after a 13-0 regional-opening win over Wake Forest.

The ‘Eaters hit just .233 in Wichita.

“I give a lot of credit to the Wichita State pitchers [who came in with a staff ERA of 2.71] and their coaching staff,” Serrano said. “We pitched well, they pitched well. Both teams played great defense. But we are going to need to get the offense going if we want to continue and do something special in the College World Series.”

ALMOST MISTAKE FREE

The Anteaters had no postseason errors until Ben Orloff threw just wide to first base in the ninth inning, opening the door for two unearned runs for the Shockers.

Television replays of the play, on which Holiday stretched for the throw with the toes of his right foot slowly leaving the bag, was initially called an out, but later reversed.

TITLES IN THE BAG

While their baseball teams were among 14 teams still competing for an NCAA championship heading into Sunday, both UC Irvine and Wichita State had already collected national titles this season in other sports.

UC Irvine won the NCAA crown in men’s volleyball, while the Shockers were national champions in bowling, a club sport.

(H)ECK OF A FACILITY

In a nationwide poll of coaches and sports information directors to select the best collegiate ballparks, Wichita State’s Eck Stadium ranked seventh (coaches) and tied for sixth (SIDs).

The criteria were general aesthetics, facilities (dugouts, locker rooms), fan amenities, playing conditions and tradition.

Auburn ranked No. 1, while Hawaii (tied for sixth) and Stanford (ninth) were the only parks west of Nebraska to make the list.