Anteaters Walking it Off!

In their first appearance at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, the University of California at Irvine baseball team has become the first team to win back to back elimination games in extra-innings. For the third time in four games, the UC Irvine - Anteaters, have won a game in their final at bat. The dramatic wins have taken UCI from the cusp of elimination to just two games away from the College World Series Championship.

Late Tuesday evening, Irvine centerfielder Ollie Linton singled with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning to give UC Irvine an 8-7 victory over Arizona State (49-15) in a College World Series elimination game. The Anteaters rallied to beat the team that put them in the elimination bracket 3 days ago (ASU won 5-4 on June 16th). Facing a 7-3 deficit going into the eigth inning against the Arizona State Sun Devils, Irvine rallied to tie the game. The 'Eaters began the inning by drawing three straight walks. A hit batter and an RBI single would cut the lead to two. An double would drive two more in, but base runner Cody Cipriano (a second baseman who has hit a school record 14 home runs this season) would be called out at third for making contact with the third base coach (Coach's Interferrence). A double play would kill the inning, preserving the tie for ASU and setting the stage for the dramatic win in the tenth inning.

On Monday, UC Irvine played the longest game in College World Series history, beating the Cal State Fullerton Titans (the 'other' Orange County team) by a score of 5-4. It took the Anteaters & Titans five hours & 40 minutes to play 13 innings, beating the old CWS mark for the longest game by 40 minutes (in 1981 Oklahoma State and Arizona State played a five hour game). However, the win was bittersweet for Irvine head coach Dave Serrano, as he played for and coached under Fullerton head coach George Horton. But winning the game made sure the Anteaters would spend another day in Omaha (allowing Irvine to avenge the earlier loss to ASU).

UC Irvine (47-16-1) must now beat defending College World Series Champion Oregon State on Wednesday and again Thursday to win their bracket and reach the best-of-three championship round. If the Anteaters have enough magic to beat the Beavers, they can make UCIs first Championship appearance.