UCI’s Historic Season Ends With 7-1 Loss to Oregon State at College World Series

OMAHA, Neb. --- Oregon State ended UC Irvine’s spirited run in the postseason with a 7-1 victory over the Anteaters Wednesday night in the College World Series. The game drew the second-largest crowd in CWS history with an attendance of 29,921 at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium.

The defending national-champion Beavers, 47-18 overall, improved to 3-0 in the CWS and will meet Thursday’s winner between Rice and North Carolina in the best-of-three championship series beginning Saturday.

Coach Dave Serrano’s fourth-ranked Anteaters finished the season with an overall mark of 47-17-1, the most wins in the program’s Division I history and the second-most overall in the Anteater record book (the 1974 NCAA Division II team was 48-8). UCI, grabbing the attention of the nation, went 2-2 in its first-ever NCAA Division I CWS appearance and was 7-2 in postseason games after winning the Round Rock Regional and the Wichita Super Regional.

Freshman Christian Bergman, making his third start of the season for UCI and his first in two months, pitched admirably in the spotlight of the CWS. He threw four innings and allowed no earned runs with Oregon State scoring four unearned runs in the third. Chris Hopkins scored from third base with two outs on a throwing error by UCI third baseman Tyler Vaughn and Mitch Canham followed with a two-run homer to right-center for a 3-0 lead. Darwin Barney singled, stole second and scored on a triple by John Wallace.

UCI got on the board in the top of the fourth inning as Cody Cipriano led off with a double down the left-field line and eventually scored on a two-out single by Ollie Linton.

Oregon State tacked on another run in its half of the fifth as Joey Wong led off with a double into the left-field corner and went on to score on a two-out single by Barney.

The Beavers added one run each in the seventh and eighth frames on respective singles by Barney and Canham.

Oregon State right-hander Daniel Turpen, who allowed one run and struck out five in eight innings of work, was replaced by Joe Paterson in the ninth and he retired the Anteaters in order to end UCI’s magical season.

Cipriano went 2 for 3 and scored UCI’s lone run as the Anteaters could muster just five total hits off the Beavers’ pitching.

Canham went 3 for 5 with three RBI for Oregon State and Barney also was 3 for 5 with a pair of RBI.

UCI was coming off back-to-back, extra-inning wins over Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State in elimination games as the Anteaters became the first team in CWS history to accomplish that feat.

UCI also set a CWS record with 12 hit batsmen in the team’s four games in Omaha.