Anteaters rally to top UOP

STOCKTON — The UC Irvine baseball team scored seven runs in the final two innings to turn a 6-5 deficit into a 12-7 Big West Conference victory over host Pacific in the first of a three-game weekend series Friday at Klein Family Field.

Matt Morris’ pinch-hit, three-run double was the big blow in the Anteaters’ three-run eighth, which put the visitors on top, 8-6.

UCI then capitalized on four ninth-inning errors by the Tigers to score four runs and pull away.

The win ended a two-game losing streak for the No. 13-ranked Anteaters (32-14-1, 8-5 in conference).

UCI sophomore center fielder Ollie Linton went five for five with one RBI and two runs to pace the Anteaters’ 15-hit attack, which helped the visitors score runs in six different innings. It was a career high in hits for Linton.

Senior Dylan Axelrod allowed two hits and one run in three relief innings to earn the win and improve to 3-3. He came in for starter Scott Gorgen, who surrendered six earned runs on nine hits over five innings.

Eric Pettis worked a scoreless ninth for UCI, which is attempting to climb up the Big West standings by taming the last-place Tigers (13-38, 1-15).

UCI’s win, combined with UC Santa Barbara’s 8-3 loss to Long Beach State Friday, allowed the Anteaters to move ahead of the Gauchos into third place.

UCI now trails only Long Beach State (11-2) and UC Riverside (10-2) in the Big West standings.

UCI senior second baseman Cody Cipriano went three for four with a home run, his 10th of the season. He also scored four runs. His 10 homers ties him for second in UCI single-season annals. Bryant Winslow hit 10 dingers in 1991. The school single-season record is 12, posted by Chris Miller in 2002.

Senior first baseman Zach Robinson went two for three with an RBI for the winners, who received hits from eight players.

Pacific scored two runs in the first and another in the second to seize a 3-0 lead.

UCI got on the scoreboard with a run in the third, but UOP answered with a run of its own to push the lead back to 4-1.

UCI pulled even with one in the fourth and two in the fifth, but the Tigers scored two in the fifth to gain a 6-4 edge.

UOP finished with five errors.

Big West Conference

UC Irvine 12, Pacific 7

Score by Innings

UCI 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 3 4 - 12 15 1 UOP 2 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 - 7 12 5

Gorgen, Axelrod (6), Pettis (9) and Lowenstein; Akins (Carnevale (1), Wild (7), Rowse (8), Hovey (9) and Oliveira. W -- Axelrod, 3-3. L -- Wild, 1-8. 2B -- Orloff (UCI), Cipriano (UCI), Morris (UCI), Robinson (UCI), Baum (UOP), Haar (UOP). 3B -- Linton (UOP). HR -- Cipriano (10), Chamberlin (UOP), Walker (UOP).