Cal Poly drops baseball series opener to UC Irvine
May 11, 2013
UC Irvine homered off Cal Poly’s ace, stole home and cruised to 7-1 victory Friday night in game one of a late-season Big West Conference series in Irvine.
The Mustangs and Anteaters, ranked 22nd and 23rd in the nation respectively, entered the game tied for third place in the Big West Conference with nine games remaining.
Irvine hitters attacked Cal Poly ace Joey Wagman early and often, scoring two runs in the first inning and pounding out twelve hits off the senior right-hander, who lasted 6 1/3 innings and allowed five earned runs.
UC Irvine starter Andrew Thurman pitched a complete game, striking out seven and only allowing four hits.
Irvine third baseman Taylor Sparks led the Anteater offense with a first inning home run, a triple and a bunt single. Left fielder Jeff Stephens surprised Wagman with a successful straight steal of home in the fourth inning.
The Irvine cheering squad was led by a black-vested, long-haired fan with an affinity for chants like “Everybody bang your head!”
With the loss, Cal Poly (32-15, 11-8) fell one game behind Irvine (30-15, 12-7) in the conference standings. The Mustangs must win the remaining two games of the series to push back ahead of the Anteaters in the conference.
Saturday’s game and the series finale Sunday will both begin at 1 p.m.
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