CORVALLIS, Ore. — The UC Irvine baseball team had six different players drive in runs in the first five innings and the Anteaters avoided elimination with a 17-7 romp over Tulane on Sunday afternoon at the Corvallis Regional.
UC Irvine (45-13) will play Oregon State in the nightcap. If the Anteaters win, a final game will be played on Monday to decide the regional championship with a berth in the super regionals on the line.
Caden Kendle doubled and scored on an Anthony Martinez single in the top of the first to give the Anteaters a 1-0 lead.
Tulane (36-26) took a 2-1 lead in its half of the inning. Teo Banks reached on an infield error and scored on a double by Brady Marget, who later scored on a balk by UC Irvine starter Danny Suarez.
The Anteaters used a sacrifice fly by catcher Abraham Garcia-Pacheco to tie the game in the second. They took a 4-2 lead in the third on an RBI groundout by Dub Gleed and a bases-loaded walk to Chase Call. A sac fly from Kendle in the fourth and a run-scoring groundout by Woody Hadeen pushed the Irvine advantage to 6-2.
The Green Wave loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the sixth but managed just one run.
UC Irvine put the game away with a nine-run seventh, sending 15 batters to the plate. Tulane pushed across four runs in the bottom of the ninth after being down to the last strike.
Ricky Ojeda (6-1) earned the victory after 3⅓ hitless innings in relief. He walked three and allowed one run with three strikeouts. Suarez left after surrendering two unearned runs on two hits, striking out five in 2⅔ innings.
Billy Price (3-3) took the loss after yielding four runs on six hits and a walk, retiring just seven batters.
UC Irvine has made two College World Series appearances – 2007, 2014. The Anteaters won back-to-back national championships in 1973-74 at the Division II level.
Tulane won regional titles in 2001, 2004-05. The Green Wave advanced to the CWS in 2001 and 2005.