The offense of No. 21 UC Irvine had no answer for a pair of Portland pitchers on Friday night, losing 2-0 to the visitors at Anteater Ballpark in Irvine.
Travis Radke and Billy Sahlinger limited the Anteaters (7-2) to five hits while registering 14 strikeouts. Radke had 11 of the strikeouts during his 62/3 innings.
Andrew Thurman turned in a solid start for UC Irvine, scattering five hits and four walks while striking out four in his 62/3 innings. Catcher Ronnie Shaeffer had two hits for the Anteaters, who stranded 11 runners.
Portland (3-7) scored both of its runs in the top of the first on singles by Beau Fraser and Chet Thompson after Thurman surrendered a leadoff walk to Kramer Scott and a two-out pass to Jeff Melby.
The teams play a doubleheader starting at noon today.
Seattle 5, Long Beach State 4: The 49ers (5-5) committed four errors, undermining an 11-hit output and Shane Carle's strong start, and lost to the Redhawks (2-8) at Blair Field.
Carle pitched six innings and did not allow an earned run while notching five strikeouts.
Grant Newton's solo home run in the top of the eighth proved to be the winning blow for Seattle.
Jeff McNeil went 3-for-4, and Juan Avila and Ino Patron each were 2-for-5 for Long Beach, which plays host to the Redhawks again today at 2 p.m.
No. 12 UCLA 6, Wright State 3: The Bruins rode a five-run second and a strong start from junior Adam Plutko to a victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles.
Plutko picked up his second victory after allowing three runs in six innings. David Berg struck out two in the ninth for the save.
Kevin Kramer went 3-for-4 with two RBI, a run and two stolen bases to lead the UCLA offense.
Pat Valaika hit a three-run home run to cap the second-inning surge. His blast followed Brian Carroll's RBI fielder's choice and Kramer's run-scoring single.
The teams meet again today at 2 p.m.
USC 9, Fresno State 1: Five Trojans had multiple hits and starting pitcher Bobby Wheatley did not allow a run in seven innings at Beiden Field in Fresno.
AJ Ramirez had three hits, scored a run and drove in a run, and Blake Lacey, James Roberts, Kevin Swick and Garrett Stubbs added two hits apiece for USC (6-3), which had 14 hits. Lacey and Roberts drove in a pair of runs each, while Stubbs tripled and scored twice.
Wheatley scattered six hits and walked one while getting three strikeouts.
The teams will play again today at 6:30 p.m.
- Wolf-dog Leeloo's DNA test results are in: Her future hangs in the balance
- New leg in the works for 4-year-old whose prosthetic was stolen at the beach
- Photos: Deadheads gather at Irvine Meadows one last time
- Fire truck collides with pedestrian in Costa Mesa
- Pacific City's 516-unit luxury complex coming into focus