NOTEBOOK:Morris' heroics go largely unsung for UCI

OMAHA, Neb. — Matt Morris was the Forrest Gump of the UC Irvine Baseball team this postseason, which ended with a 7-1 loss to Oregon State Wednesday at Rosenblatt Stadium.

While Bryan Petersen (two) and Ollie Linton (one) have had game-winning hits to help the Anteaters produce their final three victories, and Taylor Holiday and Cody Cipriano had been slugging home runs and collecting media attention, Morris, a senior left fielder, was sparkling on the periphery.

In Tuesday's come-from-behind, 8-7 win over Arizona State, Morris doubled in two runs to tie the score, 7-7, in the eighth inning. In the 10th, he singled, stole second and later scored from third on Linton's RBI single.

In Monday's 5-4 triumph over Big West Conference rival Cal State Fullerton, Morris' fourth hit of the game would have plated Holiday with the game-winning run, had not Titans' left fielder Josh Fellhauer thrown perfectly to catcher John Curtis, who tagged out Holiday. The single to left followed an intentional walk to Cipriano.

Morris watched from first base as Petersen followed with a single to drive in Cipriano, sparking yet another wild celebration following a walk-off victory.

In the College World Series-opening 5-4 loss to Arizona State, Morris singled in the fourth inning to start a streak of five consecutive hits that helped the Anteaters take a brief 4-3 lead. He scored the second run of the inning.

It doesn't stop there.

In the June 10 win at Wichita State that wrapped up a Super Regional sweep, Morris started the winning rally in the ninth with a one-out single. In what Coach Dave Serrano called an incredible play, Morris anticipated a ball in the dirt and bolted for second, advancing though the wild pitch bounced only a few feet away from the Shockers' catcher.

He then scored on Petersen's RBI double over the right-fielder's head, but was congratulated only briefly, before the team dogpiled on Petersen behind second base.

He drove in the first run of the game that day with a successful safety squeeze bunt in the first inning, and he doubled and scored the second run in the fourth.

In the same game, Morris made a heroic diving catch of a would-be hit in left-center. He and center fielder Linton were running full speed toward the ball, when both dived. A major collision was avoided when Linton dived behind Morris. Morris said Linton's shoulder connected with his left hip, but neither player was injured.