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SAN DIEGO — The silver lining of UC Irvine’s 7-4 nonconference baseball loss on a cloudy, gloomy day at the University of San Diego Tuesday was not lost on Anteaters Coach Mike Gillespie.
But, by the time Gillespie gained encouragement from a strong eighth inning from freshman reliever Matt Summers, it was already too late to salvage his mood, which had turned downright stormy.
“I see a day like today, quite truthfully, and it’s a humbling game,” said Gillespie, whose No. 3-ranked Anteaters (23-10) had won four straight coming in.
“I don’t like it. I don’t think it’s OK. It wasn’t a miserable performance, with us kicking the ball around or throwing it away. But I’m frustrated.”
It was mostly pitching that let UCI down, as Noel Avison, Brock Bardeen and Corey Hamilton each gave up at least two runs apiece to the Toreros (24-13), who outhit the visitors, 13-9, and had six of the game’s seven extra-base hits.
“We needed a real good pitching performance and we didn’t get it from a couple guys who have given us good pitching performances,” Gillespie said. “And USD can hit. [The West Coast Conference co-leaders] have won 24 games now. And, I think we saw pretty good midweek pitching from them.”
Still, Gillespie was troubled by what he viewed as a general lack of intensity from his team, which having earned a three-game lead in the Big West Conference standings with an 8-1 start, might have been feeling a little fat and sassy.
“I don’t think we’ve had many days where we just were flat and not ready and not intense,” Gillespie said. “I don’t think it’s fair to say that just because we lost. But as I sat there and watched it, I certainly didn’t feel much electricity there, or much energy, I can tell you that. I don’t think it’s OK.”
What was perhaps better than OK was the work of Summers. The two-way prospect from Arizona struck out two and allowed one hit in a scoreless inning. It was only the third outing of the season for Summers, who had been slowed by a knee injury that caused him to miss most of preseason preparation, as well as the first 19 games.
