UCI extends stay

OMAHA, Neb. — In a game without precedent in the 61-year history of the College World Series, it was déjà vu that helped UC Irvine extend its baseball season with a 5-4 victory over Cal State Fullerton in an elimination game Monday at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Junior right fielder Bryan Petersen, who doubled in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth June 10 to clinch the super regional at Wichita State and propel the Anteaters to their first appearance in the College World Series, lined a walk-off single to center to cap the 13-inning marathon that lasted a record five hours, 40 minutes. By the time it was over, only about 8,000 holdovers remained from a crowd announced at 16,451.

Petersen’s single was the biggest of a handful of clutch hits that allowed the No. 4-ranked Anteaters (46-16-1) to eliminate the Titans (38-25) and move to today’s elimination game against No. 3-ranked Arizona State (49-14) at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.

The winner of today’s game will need two more victories over defending national champion Oregon State (46-18) to advance to the best-of-three championship series against the winner of the other four-team bracket.

“It definitely helped having been in that situation before,” Petersen said of stepping to the plate after Taylor Holiday was thrown out trying to score from second on a single to left by Matt Morris.

“I was definitely more nervous for that at-bat in Wichita,” said Petersen, who was drafted in the fourth round by the Florida Marlins on June 7, the first of eight Anteaters to be selected.

Fullerton, with four national titles in 15 appearances in Omaha, took the lead three times in an attempt to avoid leaving Rosenblatt without at least one victory for the first time in its last nine trips.

Matt Wallach, who went three for three with a homer and drove in four runs April 6 in his first encounter with UCI starter Wes Etheridge, his battery mate as a catcher at Cypress College last season, opened the second inning with a homer to right field to put the designated visitors on top.

UCI pulled even when Morris singled to open the fourth, advanced on a walk and a Sean Madigan single, then scored from third when Aaron Lowenstein was hit by a pitch, the first of a record six hit batsmen in the game for the ‘Eaters.

After four Fullerton singles produced two runs off Etheridge in the fifth, UCI leadoff man and sparkplug Taylor Holiday put a charge into the home dugout by launching the ninth pitch of his at-bat off Fullerton starter Jeff Kaplan into the right-center-field bleachers for a two-run, game-tying homer.

“We were kind of in the doldrums before Taylor hit his homer,” UCI Coach Dave Serrano said. “But when he got one into the jet stream, I think it helped allow our guys to believe they could get this thing done.”

That belief was further strengthened when senior second baseman Cody Cipriano hit the 14th pitch of his at-bat to start the seventh into the same spot where Holiday’s homer had landed. The blast, his 13th of the season, set a school single-season record he had shared with Chris Miller (12 dingers in 2002). It also forged a 4-4 tie that both bullpens made hold up into the 13th.

UCI relievers Tom Calahan and Dylan Axelrod combined for seven scoreless innings, during which the Titans managed just two hits.

Axelrod, who has not allowed a run in three postseason appearances, spanning 6 1/3 innings, fanned six of the first nine hitters he faced and finished with seven strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

Calahan, who stepped in for Etheridge in the seventh, surrendered one hit in 2 1/3 innings. Calahan, however, walked three and hit Corey Jones with the bases loaded in the seventh to produce the Titans’ fourth run.

The bullpen, clutch hits and a 15-hit attack paced by Morris (four for seven), helped UCI, overcome six errors. The ‘Eaters came in ranked No. 4 nationally in fielding percentage and had committed just three errors in their first six postseason games.

UCI pitchers also issued six walks and hit two batters, but repeatedly exercised damage control.

“That was a typical game in our conference,” Serrano said. “Both teams had a lot of opportunities and both teams worked out of a lot of jams. But we stuck together in this. We could have deflated when Holiday was thrown out [in the 13th], but we stayed with each other, like we have all year, and we found a way to get it done.”

Holiday who reached in five of seven plate appearances, was hit by a pitch for the third time to open the 13th.

Cal State Fullerton Coach George Horton was ejected for arguing that Holiday intentionally moved his left arm into the inside pitch, a ploy Holiday later admitted.

Holiday went to second on Ben Orloff’s sacrifice bunt, then Cipriano received an intentional walk to bring up Morris.

Morris laced a ground ball through the left side, but left fielder Josh Fellhauer charged, scooped and threw a strike to catcher John Curtis, who tagged out Holiday in plenty of time.

Petersen watched the play from about 15 feet behind home plate, then stepped up and delivered.

Petersen, who was hitting a season-low .291 on May 18, is 17 for 42 since (.405). He is five for his last 10 with four RBIs, including a two-run triple in Saturday’s 5-4 College World Series-opening loss to Arizona State. He is 10 for 25 in the postseason (.400),

“[Assistant Coach Greg Bergeron] told me toward the end of the regular season that I was going to have to come through in the clutch for us to get where we wanted to go,” Petersen said. “I guess he knew what he was talking about.”

Serrano said the victory was bitter-sweet, because it meant the end of the season for Fullerton and Horton. Serrano played at Fullerton and worked for eight seasons there under Horton, before taking over at UCI in 2005.

The two coaches kidded one another throughout the game and exchanged hugs afterward.

“I told him I loved him and he told me the same thing,” Serrano said. “He also told us to go on and win the whole thing.”

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

College World SeriesKaplan, Jorgenson (7), Harris (8), Birosak (13) and Curtis; Etheridge, Calahan (7), Axelrod (9) and Lowenstein, Larson. W -- Axelrod, 6-4. L -- Birosak, 0-1. 2B -- Jones, Ch. (F); Petersen (UCI). HR -- Wallach (F); Holiday (UCI), Cipriano (UCI).

Elimination game

UC Irvine 5,

Cal State Fullerton 4

13 innings