Irvine’s run comes to end, 7-1
And so, a baseball program was born.
The record books will state that UC Irvine lost to Oregon State, 7-1, Wednesday night at the College World Series and that the Anteaters’ season ended, but this was more of a beginning.
Irvine captured the hearts of fans with a magical postseason run, ripping through some of college baseball’s elite, and somewhere along the way, the program that was resurrected only five years ago became a national power.
“Look out nation,” Irvine second baseman Cody Cipriano said. “It’s amazing what this 2007 team has done, not just for the baseball program, but for UC Irvine. I think we moved mountains this year.”
The final game was a loss -- a lopsided one against the defending national champions -- but the path that got Irvine to that game will be remembered longer than the final result.
Included in the run were five consecutive one-run games, a 13-inning epic that was the longest game in College World Series history and consecutive extra-innings victories in the series -- the first time any team had done that.
Irvine knocked off stalwarts Texas, Wichita State and Cal State Fullerton along the way and became the adopted team of Omaha.
“Where we go from here is hopefully up,” Coach Dave Serrano said. “We haven’t reached the top yet. We made it to Omaha and finished in the final four and we’re very proud of that, but if I felt that this program has reached the top, then I should walk away. We only put a dent in what this program is capable of doing.”
Six years ago, UC Irvine had no baseball team. It was cut in 1992, but the student body voted to reinstate the sport for the 2002 season. Five years later, the Anteaters set a team record for victories, finished higher in Big West Conference play than any other Anteaters team and rampaged through the postseason.
And Serrano said he would be around to see it through. The young coach will be a hot commodity over the summer, especially at Tennessee, a Southeastern Conference team where Serrano served as pitching coach for two seasons.
“I am the coach at UC Irvine,” said Serrano, who added that he has not been contacted by Tennessee. “I am committed to building this program.”
After consecutive emotional, extra-innings victories in their last at-bat, the Anteaters (47-17-1) were flat against Oregon State.
The Beavers (47-18) scored four runs with two out in the third inning, a rally started by a hit batsman, extended by a throwing error and highlighted by a two-run home run by Mitch Canham.
Irvine scored in the top of the fourth to make it 4-1, but the Anteaters went hitless over the last five innings.
“It’s so tough when you’re going through these marathon games and you’re on such an emotional rollercoaster and then they come out and put that four spot up and it’s like someone knocked the wind out of you,” Cipriano said. “I think we had a hard time bouncing back from that.”
The victory sent Oregon State back to the national championship series. The Beavers will await the winner of tonight’s game between Rice and North Carolina.
The Anteaters will hop on a charter flight home and there, first baseman Taylor Holiday said, they will celebrate.
“Now we’ll get a chance to sit back and realize what this week was all about,” he said. “It was rolling on emotions and floating on cloud nine.”
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North Carolina 6, Rice 1--Dustin Ackley hit a three-run home run and the Tar Heels (56-14) staved off elimination and forced another game today against the Owls (56-13) with a berth in the championship series on the line.
* RESULTS AND SCHEDULE, D8