Mayne Keeps Streak Going as Fullerton Wins

Brent Mayne continued his record hitting streak Sunday, but it took an unlikely set of circumstances for him to do it. Mayne extended both his Cal State Fullerton and Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. record to 26 games.

Mayne singled home Jason Rolish in the bottom of the 10th inning as Cal State Fullerton defeated UC Irvine, 6-5, in a PCAA baseball game in front of 250.

But it was an at-bat he was lucky to get. Fullerton had to blow a 5-2 lead in the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. Mayne had been hitless in his first four at-bats. He had flied out four times, one good for a sacrifice before getting another chance in the 10th inning.

Keith Kaub doubled to the fence in right-center field with one out off right-hander Kevin Kandalaft. Kaub was then replaced by pinch-runner Rolish. Mayne, a left-hander, then figured to be walked intentionally.

But after a meeting on the mound, Irvine elected to pitch to Mayne who grounded a 1-0 pitch up the middle for a single. Rolish stumbled around third base but recovered to score the winning run without a throw.

“I guess they should have walked me,” Mayne said. “I thank him (Irvine Coach Mike Gerakos) pitching to me. I really feel badly that I got the hit . . . I didn’t get any good pitches to hit all day but it seems like I’ve got 18 million lives and I just keep getting lucky.”

When reporters went over to the Irvine side to ask Gerakos about pitching to Mayne, pitching coach Robin Dreizler answered instead.

“That was my decision all the way,” he said. “I really thought we could get him out with the way our pitcher was throwing. We didn’t plan on giving him anything good to hit and had the count gone, 2-0, then, sure, we would have walked him.”

Fullerton starter Mark Beck took 14 strikeouts and a 5-2 lead into the ninth inning. But he gave up a leadoff single to Jeff Oberdank who had four hits. He walked Mike Fay and allowed an RBI single to John Seeburger to score Oberdank. Doug Kline then singled home Fay and Larry Cochell, Fullerton coach, removed Beck.

“I may have left him (Beck) in too long,” Cochell said. “He was throwing pretty well but sometimes you just have to make a switch to change the momentum of the inning.”

Cochell brought in left-hander Huck Flener to face left-hander Gordon Staab but Flener hit Staab with his only pitch to load the bases with no one out. Erik Silvey then replaced Flener.

Silvey got pinch-hitter Osmar DeChavez to pop to third baseman Shane Floes in foul territory. Marcus Robinson then hit a medium-depth fly ball to left-fielder Greg Mannion. Mannion appeared to have a chance to get Seeburger at the plate, but his throw was off line and late, and Irvine tied it, 5-5.

Fullerton second baseman Mike Ross went behind the base to glove a ground ball hit by Don Nicholson and get a force out at second base for the final out of the inning.

Silvey (3-0) retired the side in the 10th inning then became the winner on Mayne’s hit. Kandalaft (5-2) took the loss to snap his three-game winning streak.

Fullerton had taken a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning on Ross’ RBI single and Mayne’s sacrifice fly.

Fullerton added three more runs in the fifth inning. Mark Razook and Bobby Jones singled. With one out, Rex Peters, Shane Flores and Ross had RBI singles and Fullerton led, 5-1.

Irvine (26-23-1, 5-9) plays at Fullerton (33-11, 11-3) tonight at 7 p.m. in a makeup of Saturday’s game, which was rained out.