Utah Baseball Swept by UC Irvine

Sunday, February 25

Irvine, Calif.

1:00 PM

University of Utah

2-11

UC Irvine

10-2-1

Utah

UC Irvine

2/25/2007 12:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Feb. 25, 2007

Box Score

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine used a five-run seventh inning to defeat the Univerity of Utah baseball team 11-7 Sunday afternoon at Anteater Ballpark. The win for the Anteaters gave them a sweep in the three-game series, while Utah lost its seventh straight.

Utah (2-11) held leads of 2-1 and 3-2 in the first six innings. Going into the seventh, the contest was knotted up at 3-3. Ute reliever Kerr Foster allowed a single to start the seventh and was relieved by Geoff Wolfgramm. The Anteaters quickly loaded the bases on a hit batsman and a single.

Wolfgramm forced in UC Irvine's fourth run with another hit batsman. That brought Bennett Askew out of the Utah bullpen. A UCI single pushed another run across to make it 5-3. It was the Anteaters' Aaron Lowenstein who came up with the big blow, clearing the bases with a three-run triple to right-center. Brett Bruneel, the third Utah pitcher used in the inning, recorded the final two outs of the frame. But the damage had been done and the Anteaters held an 8-3 lead.

Utah got three runs back in the top of the eighth. Second baseman Corey Shimada ripped a one-out single. Ute third baseman Jay Brossman then pounded his third home run of the season over the left-field wall, pulling Utah back within three. Right fielder John Welsh doubled with two outs and made it 8-6 when designated hitter Jesse Shriner singled to left field.

But UC Irvine tagged Bruneel for three unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth to grab an 11-6 lead. Utah pushed one run across in the ninth, when catcher Cody Guymon scored on an RBI single off the bat of center fielder Nate Burnham. But 11-7 was as close as Utah would get.

In the top of the third, Utah took a 2-1 lead. Shimada tallied an RBI single and Brossman lifted a sacrifice fly to left in the frame. UC Irvine tied it 2-2 with a single run off Utah starter Eric King in the bottom of the fourth. The Utes regained the lead, 3-2, in the top of the sixth. Brossman doubled down the left-field line and scored on a Dustin Hennis single. The Anteaters tallied a run of their own in the bottom of the sixth to tie things at 3-3 and set up their big seventh inning.

Brossman had two of Utah's 11 hits on the day, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Shimada was 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI, while Welsh was 2-for-4 with a run scored. UC Irvine was paced at the plate by Lowenstein, who went 3-for-5 with four RBIs.

King had another solid outing on the mound for Utah, allowing just two earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of work. But the Ute bullpen struggled, allowing eight runs in 2 2/3 innings. Foster (0-2) suffered the loss, allowing one run in two-thirds of an inning. Daniel Bibona (1-0) worked 1 2/3 innings of relief for UC Irvine to pick up the victory. Blair Erickson struck out the only two batters he faced in the ninth to pick up his sixth save for the Anteaters.

Utah is back in action again March 8 in the first of a three-game series at Southern Utah.

-UU-