Wolf Pack bullpen lets one slip away
BY DARRELL MOODY
Appeal Sports Writer
RENO - Nevada lost a game it should have won on Saturday, and coach Gary Powers took full blame for the Wolf Pack's second consecutive loss to open the 2008 season.
Sophomore Chris Garcia hurled seven brilliant innings of one-hit shutout baseball in his collegiate debut before leaving the game with a 6-0 lead because he was on a pitch count.
Powers went to the bullpen with disastrous results.
In a scene reminiscent from last year, UC Irvine battled back for eight runs in the final two innings off Pack relievers Derek Achelpohl and Stephen Bautista to claim an 8-7 come-from behind win Saturday afternoon at snowy Peccole Park.
It wiped out a sensational effort by Garcia and a solid offensive effort by the Wolf Pack, who outhit the visiting Anteaters 13-7.
"I take full blame for this loss," Powers said. "We had a six-run lead and I gave a couple of guys an opportunity to prove what they could do."
Neither Achelpohl nor Baustista proved much.
With one out and a runner at second in the top of the eighth, Achelpohl hit two batters, including one on an 0-2 pitch, to load the bases. Ollie Linton followed with a two-run single and Ben Orloff hit a two-run double to make it 6-4. Ryan Fisher, the star of Irvine's opening-day win, singled to right, slicing the lead to 6-5 before Francis Larson grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Nevada did tack on an insurance run in the eighth to make it 7-5 when Brock Bardeen dropped Matt Bowman's two-out fly ball, which allowed Jason Rodriguez to score.
For some unknown reason, Achepohl came out to start the ninth, and immediately got into hot water.
He walked pinch hitter Sean Madigan on five pitches and then hit Bardeen to put runners at first and second with no out. Eric Deragisch, the first batter Bautista faced, sacrificed runners to second and third. On a 1-2 pitch, Dillon Bell doubled home Madigan and Bardeen, tying the game at 7. Tyler Hoechlin followed with another double, snapping the tie and giving the Anteaters their first lead of the game.
"One guy (Achlepohl) goes in and hits two guys," Powers said. " I made the decision to send him back out there (after the 15-minute snow delay). I should have given the ball to Stephen and let him try to close out the game at the start of the ninth. Bautista should have gone in.
"Derek is a better pitcher than he showed today. I shouldn't have had Stephen have to try and clean up the miss. Give credit to Irvine. They took advantage of opportunities and kept going."
Despite the shortcomings in the bullpen, Nevada still had a shot to win or tie the game in the last of the ninth.
With one out, Kevin Rodland sliced a triple to left, which got by Bell, who took a bad angle on the ball. Tyson Jaquez chased a ball out of the strike zone for the second out and then David Ciarlo rolled out to third base to end the game.
"It (the pitching change) gave us an opportunity," Irvine coach Mike Gillespie said. "I understand why he had to take him (Garcia) out."
Coaching mistake or not, this one had to be tough to stomach.
"I don't think I've ever been in this tough of a loss," Rodriguez said. "We had the game. We played great the whole game. We hit the ball and played well defensively."
"We just have to be able to finish," said Jason Sadoian, who went 3-for-5 and figured in two big Nevada rallies.
Nevada snapped a 12-inning scoring drought when Rodriguez hit an opposite-field homer to left off Bryce Stowell. An infield single by Rodland and a single by Jaquez gave the Pack a 3-0 lead after four innings.
A sacrifice fly by Shaun Kort and a run-scoring single by Terry Walsh made it 5-0 in the fourth. Walsh's hit chased Stowell from the mound. Kyle Necke retired the side without further damage.
A run-scoring double by Sadoian made it 6-0 in the sixth. Irvine averted a big inning when Kort left the bases jammed when he flied out to left.
The lone hit Garcia allowed as a double to Deragisch, and the young lefty went on to retire 14 of the next 15 hitters.
"That was one of the toughest losses I've ever had as a team," Garcia said. "I had hit 100 pitches. We have confidence in everyone of the guys (in the bullpen) to get the job done.
"I felt good. I was getting ahead and controlling the count. I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. The guys were doing a good job of keeping me calm."
Powers didn't seem surprised by Garcia's effort.
"He's been pitching like that (the whole time). He did his job."
By his own admission, Powers didn't do his.
NOTES: Weather permitting, the teams will play today at noon with Nevada's Mario Rivera opposing Christian Bergman ... Bowman was hit three times with pitches ... To show you how effective Garcia was, first baseman Kort had 11 putouts in the first seven innings and 16 for the game ... Nevada will visit Stanford Tuesday at 3 p.m. with Kyle Howe expected to start. Nevada will leave the following morning for a tournament in Frisco, Texas which includes Dallas Baptist, University of Texas-Arlington and Alabama.
• Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling (775) 881-1281