College Roundup : UC Irvine Rallies to Defeat Pepperdine, 4-3

UC Irvine used six consecutive singles in the sixth inning to defeat Pepperdine, 4-3, in a nonconference baseball game Saturday at Anteater Field.

The Waves (7-8) scored first when Chris Martin reached base on an error in the fourth inning. Gary Kukaua followed with a home run to give Pepperdine a 2-0 lead.

In the sixth, John Seeburger’s single with the bases loaded drove in Irvine’s first run. Doug Kline followed with a run-scoring single, and Osmar DeChavez’s single scored two to give Irvine a 4-2 lead.

Craig Brink (3-2) got the victory for Irvine, pitching 6 innings, giving up seven hits and striking out two. Doug Simons (1-1) took the loss, giving up nine hits and striking out one in eight innings.

Steve May came on in relief in the seventh with the bases loaded, two out and a run in. The freshman pitcher got Pepperdine’s Jim Doyle to pop out to second, and in the last two innings, he struck out three batters to pick up his second save.

The Anteaters got nine hits, led by a trio of players with two apiece. Stacey Parker went 2 for 4, DeChaves was 2 for 4 with a pair of RBIs and Jeff Oberdank was 2 for 4 (his fifth straight multiple hit game).

Richard Barnwell and Rick Hirtensteiner were both 2 for 5 for Pepperdine, which had eight hits.

In other nonconference baseball games:

Cal State Fullerton 5-15, International University 1-8--Senior second baseman Mike Ross hit a two-run home run in the first game and went 5 for 5 with three runs scored and four RBIs in the second to lead Fullerton (11-6) over USIU at Titan Field.

Shane Flores had three hits and three RBIs, Keith Kaub had two hits and three RBIs and Rex Peters scored four runs in the second game for Fullerton. Paul Johnson (2-1) got the victory, and Wally Trice (2-2) took the loss.

The first game only went seven inning because of a coaches’ agreement. Huck Flener (2-1) had five strikeouts in the victory. Roddy Wilburn (0-3) took the loss for USIU (3-10-1).

Chapman 10, Cal Lutheran 4--Bryan Beals hit a first-inning home run and Chris Cutliff went 2 for 5 with a triple and three RBIs to help the Panthers (7-9-1) snap their seven-game losing streak.

Chapman starter David Bird (2-2) allowed eight hits and four runs in six innings at Hart Park. Cal Lutheran starter Greg Minick lasted four innings, giving up eight hits and all 10 Panther runs. Cal Lutheran fell to 4-7.

In men’s tennis:

Chapman 5, Ball State 1--Chapman advances to today’s consolation championship against Weber State at the Nevada Las Vegas Invitational. Chapman, top-ranked in the NCAA Division II rankings, is 5-4.