IRVINE, Calif. --- The final home game of head coach
Mike Gillespie's career had all the drama and more in a 4-3 walkoff win Sunday afternoon over UC Riverside in Anteater Ballpark.
The teams were matched up evenly heading into the bottom of the ninth tied 3-3.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had gone hitless all week, ripped a single into left field to lead off the inning.
Mike Peabody pinch-ran for him and reached second on
Matt Reitano's successful sacrifice. A wild pitch would put Peabody 90 feet away, and
Mikey Filia would reach out a flip a ball into short left field scoring Peabody for the 4-3 walkoff victory.
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The teams were deadlocked through seven innings as starters
Taylor Rashi and Cole Percival shut down the offenses. Rashi threw a career high 112 pitches going 7.2 innings while striking out a career high seven hitters and allowing just three hits. Percival matched him through six innings striking out five while scattering five hits and a walk. Each pitcher had only allowed one run leaving the teams tied 1-1.
The Anteaters (31-22, 12-9) broke through in the bottom of the eighth loading the bases with nobody out. Reliever Jared Morton gave the 'Eaters their first lead on a wild pitch scoring
Christian Koss who had led off the inning with his team-leading third triple.
Nick Anderson returned to the plate to belt out his program record ninth sacrifice fly of the season giving UCI the 3-1 lead. The 'Eaters would leave the third runner on base after a failed squeeze attempt keeping the margin at two runs.
The Highlanders (19-30, 7-14) came out firing in the top of the ninth with three straight hits off closer
Jordan Bocko to immediately erase the two-run lead tying things at 3-3. Bocko would recover nicely with two immense strikeouts leaving the go-ahead runs on base as the game headed into the bottom of the ninth tied.
The win for head coach
Mike Gillespie was his 209th as an Anteater head coach in Anteater Ballpark in his 317th game at home. Including his trips as a USC head coach, he finishes with a 212-110 record in 322 career games at Irvine. His final game was full of patented Skip coaching which included the 'Eaters first run of the game which started with a
Brendan Brooks single. The Anteaters would then bunt in three consecutive at-bats as Fitzpatrick sacrificed him to second,
Matt Reitano popped up a bunt single that third baseman Nathan Webb attempted to make a spectacular play on, and then
Mikey Filia laid down the perfect safety squeeze allowing Brooks to slide in around the tag to tie things at 1-1 in the third.
The win in the home finale went to Bocko, his fifth of the year, despite allowing a pair of runs in his 1.1 innings of work. Morton drew the loss for UCR with the winning run coming home as unearned and given up by Hazahel Quijada.
Brooks and Filia registered the game's only multi-hit games with Filia putting up his first multi-RBI game in his career and stole his third base as well.
UC Irvine finishes the season with a 16-13 home record on their second walkoff of the year.
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The season finale commences next weekend with a trip to UC Davis. The 'Eaters currently stand in a tie for second in the Big West being mathematically eliminated from a Big West title. The series gets going on Thursday, May 24, with a 2:30 p.m start. The proceeding games take place Friday at 2:30 p.m. and Saturday at 12:00 p.m.
