RIVERSIDE — The UC Irvine baseball team gave new meaning to the term seventh-inning stretch Friday. And, like a rubber band pulled to its limit, the Anteaters' bullpen snapped to help host UC Riverside claim a 7-5 Big West Conference triumph at the Riverside Sports Complex.
The win drops UCI, ranked No. 21 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Assn., to 16-7, 0-2 in conference. It's UCI's worst start in conference play since 2006, when it lost its first four and six of its first seven against Big West competition. That year, the Anteaters won 10 of their final 14 conference games to finish third and advance to the first of six straight NCAA Regional appearances.
Rebounding as effectively this season, however, will prove difficult without the aid of a reliable bullpen, which was the Anteaters' clear weakness Friday.