IRVINE, Calif. --- Taylor Sparks hit a walk-off home run over the left-field wall in the bottom of the ninth to lift UC Irvine to a 3-2 win over Japan Railroad in an exhibition game Tuesday at Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark.

Sparks, facing southpaw Hirotaka Suzuki with one out, jumped on a 1-0 pitch and hit the scoreboard for his first home run of the season. The freshman also figured in the scoring for UCI in the fourth with a two-out RBI double off reliever Isoroku Yumoto and finished the day 2 for 4 with two RBI and a run scored.

The Anteaters, playing an industrial-league team from Japan, got their first run on a sacrifice fly from Connor Spencer to score Jeff Stephens, who had walked and reached third on a fielder's choice and an error.

UCI's pitching staff held off Japan Railroad for seven innings but Yuhta Suzuki hit a two-out single up the middle off reliever Sebastian Santos to score Kazuya Takeuchi from second. Japan Railroad then tied the game in the ninth, cashing in a leadoff single from Kazuki Endoh with a clutch double to right from designated hitter Yusuke Ohmae to tie the game.

Nick Hoover earned the win in the exhibition game after retiring the final two batters in the ninth in relief of Josh Derry.

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