UCI uptight in loss

NORTHRIDGE ? UC Irvine baseball coach Dave Serrano said his team played tighter than its ever-constricting margin for error Friday afternoon at Cal State Northridge.

The result was a 6-2 Big West Conference loss that will force the Anteaters (32-20, 7-9 in conference) to win their four remaining conference games to have a winning record in the Big West.

The Anteaters opened a 2-0 lead behind junior starting pitcher Justin Cassel, who had won three of his last four starts. UCI entered the game 27-3 this season when scoring first.

But after the Matadors (26-25, 6-10) answered UCI’s two-run third with a run of their own in the same inning, a one-out throwing error by freshman shortstop Ben Orloff opened the door for Northridge to produce two unearned runs in the fifth.

Another Orloff error led to an unearned run in the seventh and the Matadors put three hits together to add some insurance in the eighth, chasing Cassel, who lost for the first time since April 13 to fall to 6-8.

Northridge starter Chuckie Fick went eight strong innings to earn the win, yielding just five hits and overcoming four walks and three hit batters. He struck out four, but induced 18 ground-ball outs, including eight on which he recorded assists.

“This is one that got away from us,” Serrano said. “I’m not mad. I’m disappointed, because I don’t think we’re staying focused on what we need to do as a team. We’re becoming too result oriented. [The players] are trying too hard to get hits. They’re trying too hard to make good pitches and they’re trying too hard to make plays, now that it is getting crunch time.

“Not to boast or brag, but I’ve been a part of a lot of big, big games [as an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton]. I’ve been in national championships, regional championships and super regional championships. And it isn’t about trying harder or bringing a bigger game face to the field. It’s doing what you do every day and we’ve kind of gotten away from that a little bit.”

The Anteaters failed to capitalize on scoring opportunities in the first, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, stranding 11 baserunners ? including leaving the bases loaded in the fifth.

Freshman designated hitter Brock Bardeen doubled in Taylor Holiday and Cody Cipriano to put the visitors on top in the third inning. Cipriano doubled twice and was hit by a pitch, while Aaron Lowenstein doubled and Holiday singled.

Zach Robinson made the final out in the first, third and sixth innings, stranding a combined five runners in those at-bats.

With two outs and the bases loaded in the fifth, Danny McCarthy grounded out to the first baseman.

UCI’s seeming inability to perform under pressure was never more apparent than in the ninth inning, when Northridge reliever Craig Baker struck out the side to hand the Anteaters their third straight loss.

“We don’t come through in some big opportunities to score runs, we don’t make pitches when we have to and we don’t make defensive plays when we have to,” Serrano said. “You put all that together and it becomes a tough game. We need to get back to playing together, where not just one guy is going to win the game and not just one guy is going to lose the game. We need to continue to do what we do and keep things simple.”

Northridge designated hitter Kris Kasarjian went three for four with a pair of RBI singles, while Johnny Coit was two for four, including a two-run double, and also scored two runs.

UCI has two more games at Northridge (today and Sunday) before visiting UCLA on Tuesday and concluding the regular season with a three-game home series against conference foe UC Riverside (May 26-28). Serrano’s team will need to finish strongly to have any chance at securing a bid to the NCAA Regionals.

The Anteaters entered Friday tied with UC Riverside for fourth place, one game behind Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly opened a three-game series at Cal State Fullerton Friday night and Riverside began a three-game set against visiting Long Beach State.