College Roundup : UC Irvine Slams Door on Fullerton

Ken Whitworth pitched a six-hitter to lead UC Irvine to a 5-3 victory over Cal State Fullerton in a Big West Conference baseball game Friday at Irvine.

Whitworth, a junior right-hander, allowed two runs in the second and one more in the fourth. But no Fullerton runner reached second base after the fourth. Whitworth retired the final 14 batters he faced. It was the team-leading fifth complete game for Whitworth (5-6). Irvine has scored 15 runs in his six losses.

Fullerton led, 3-0, after four innings, but Irvine rallied for two runs in the fifth and three more in the eighth to take the lead, 5-3.

In the eighth, Ed Luna and Al Rodriguez singled to start the inning for Irvine. Chris Gallego singled to score Luna and tie it, 3-3.

Sam Colarusso then replaced Fullerton starter Danny DeVille. Osmar DeChavez sacrificed and both runners moved up. Mike Goodcase was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Freddie Combs was hit by a pitch to force in a run and give Irvine a 4-3 lead. Colarusso threw a wild pitch to bring home Irvine’s final run.

DeVille took the loss for Fullerton (27-20 overall and 7-6 in conference play). Luna had three hits and extended his hitting streak to eight games for Irvine (17-29-1, 3-10).

In the California College Athletic Assn:

Cal State Dominguez Hills 2, Chapman 0--Rick Davis (7-5) pitched a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts for Dominguez Hills (14-25-1, 9-14) at Hart Park in Orange. Mike Grahovac had a fifth-inning single, and Jody Garcia had ninth-inning single for Chapman.