College Baseball: Gophers hold off ‘Eaters
Not since the November election has there been two rivals less representative of bipartisanship.
Minnesota, representing the left, used eight left-handed hitters in its starting lineup to prevail over a UC Irvine team with eight right-handed-hitting starters, 9-8, in a nonconference baseball game on Saturday at Anteater Ballpark.
The Gophers, the 2016 Big Ten regular-season champions, scored three runs in each of the first three innings, then held on in the season opener for both teams.
UCI junior preseason All-American Keston Hiura cleared the bases with a sixth-inning double that drew the Anteaters within a run.
But the hosts, who were one for seven with runners in scoring position before Hiura’s big double, never had a runner reach second base in the final three frames.
Minnesota senior relievers Tim Shannon and Brian Glowicki closed out the victory with 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Glowicki, who struck out two, including Hiura, during a perfect ninth, earned the save, the seventh of his career.
UCI, which only has two left-handed pitchers, planned to start junior lefty Cameron Bishop, their most successful returning starter who had been slated to get the Friday night start. But Bishop strained an oblique muscle during his bullpen workout on Wednesday and won’t be available until next week at the earliest, UCI Coach Mike Gillespie said.
UCI freshman Cole Spear, the fourth of seven Anteaters pitchers, threw three scoreless innings and Gillespie said the Orange Lutheran High product was the most impressive of the bullpen brigade.
Spear allowed two hits and struck out three.
Lefty Miles Glazier, Sean Sparling and Kaz Akamatsu all threw scoreless relief innings for the hosts.
Huira was two for four with three runs batted in, while senior right fielder Adam Alcantara went three for three with a triple and one RBI.
Senior center fielder Evan Cassolato was two for four and junior first baseman Ryan Fitzpatrick, a transfer from Saddleback College, launched a two-run home run in his first at-bat in the first inning.
UCI trailed, 3-2, after the first, 6-3 after the second and 9-5 after the third.
UCI freshman starter Andre Pallante threw first-pitch strikes to the first seven hitters he faced. But he did not record an out until his 32nd pitch and surrendered six runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings. He exited having thrown 55 pitches.
Junior Alonzo Garcia allowed three hits and two runs on two-thirds of an inning and Chris Vargas allowed one run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning, until Spear stopped the bleeding.
“When they get one, they can’t get two, and when they get three, they can’t get six, and when they get six, they can’t get nine,” Gillespie said. “Somebody has to put a stop to it and we didn’t do that [the first three innings].”
The two teams close out their series on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Nonconference
Minnesota 9, UC Irvine 8
SCORE BY INNINGS
Minn 333 000 000 – 9 15 1
UCI 212 003 000 – 8 9 0
Galbreath, Hanson (4), Shannon (6), Glowicki (9) and Stemper; Pallante, Garcia (2), Vargas (3), Spear (4), Glazier (7), Sparling (8), Akamatzu (9) and Guenette, Reitano (9). W – Galbreath, 1-0. L – Pallante, 0-1. Sv – Glowicki (1). 2B – Coffey (M), Hiura (UCI), Smith (M). 3B – Smith (M), Alcantara (UCI). HR – Fitzpatrick (UCI), Estrada (M).
Twitter: @BarryFaulkner5
