LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount went to extra innings for just the third time in series history, and
Nick Anderson took over on the mound and with the bat to pull the 'Eaters to the 6-5, 11th-inning victory Tuesday night at Page Stadium.
Anderson was held in check until he took the mound in the ninth inning of a 5-5 game from the DH position. He allowed just two baserunners in his three innings of work striking out six Lions along the way to lock down the game thanks to his doing with the bat in the top of the 11th.
After a one-out walk to Chrisitan Koss, Anderson launched a ball high off the 30-foot wall in left field bringing Koss all the way around to break the tie for good and make it 6-5.
UCI (3-1) took multiple leads throughout the night starting with a run in the second on a
Brendan Brooks full-count groundout, and two-run innings in the fifth and seventh each started by solo home runs, but LMU (0-4) countered each time tying the game up from a wild pitch, an errant throw to the pitcher, and finally a line drive home run to make it 5-5 in the seventh.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was the only Anteater with a two-hit game driving home
Mike Peabody each time.
Konnor Zickefoose knocked his first home run as an Anteater, and was joined by
Cole Kreuter's first home run of the season. LMU got two-hit games from Billy Wilson, who provided the two-run home run, and Ryan Ruley.
Alonzo Garcia got the start for UC Irvine after missing all but two games in the 2017 season. He left with a lead in the fifth inning allowing one earned run over 4.1 innings pitched. Anderson struck out six of the 11 Lions he faced to earn his first win as an Anteater.
LMU got its best night on the mound from freshman Josh Robins allowing one hit and no walks over three scoreless innings from the eight through the 10th. C.J. Fernandezeespicked up the loss allowing a run in the 11th.
UCI improves to 3-1 on the young season, and will play a second straight weekend series in Anteater Ballpark starting Friday night at 6:30 p.m. against another WCC regular season titleholder from a year ago, Gonzaga.
