Linton's hit in 10th carries UCI over ASU

Anteaters to meet Beavers in bracket finals; Sun Devils sent home

Ollie Linton's base hit to right in the bottom of the 10th brought home Matt Morris from third base as UC Irvine edged fifth-seeded Arizona State 8-7 Tuesday evening at the College World Series in front of 29,034 fans at Rosenblatt Stadium. The Anteaters became the first team to win consecutive extra innings games at the College World Series.

UCI (47-16-1) will face defending national champion Oregon State on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in the bracket finals. The Anteaters must win on Wednesday to force a second game on Thursday. The Sun Devils finish their season with a 49-15 record.

Morris had a one-out single in the 10th for UCI and stole second. An intentional walk and a base hit loaded the bases, setting the stage for Linton’s heroics.

The Anteaters scored four in the bottom of the eighth to knot the score at 7-7. Three walks loaded the bases before Ben Orloff was hit by a pitch, Cody Cipriano had a run-scoring single and Morris delivered a two-run double.

Taylor Holiday scored on a balk in the bottom of the fourth to give UCI an early lead. Petey Paramore’s leadoff homer in the top of the fifth tied it at 1-1. Francis Larson’s RBI double with two outs in the bottom of the fifth brought home Linton from first and gave the Anteaters a 2-1 edge. Eric Sogard’s run-scoring single in the top of the sixth made it a 2-2 game. Cipriano’s two-out homer to right in the bottom of the sixth put UCI on top 3-2. ASU took its first lead with a pair in the top of the seventh as Andrew Romine had an RBI groundout and Sogard added a run-scoring single to give the Sun Devils a 4-3 advantage. ASU exploded for three in the top of the eighth as Romine had an RBI single and Ryan Sontag added a pinch-hit two-run double to push the Sun Devils’ lead to 7-3.

ASU had a chance to score in the top of the 10^th with the bases loaded and one out, but a double play ended the threat.