High drama at UCI

IRVINE — Some forgot where their hearts were at Anteater Ballpark Friday.

Shortly after Dave Serrano’s introduction drew a smack of boos and cheers in his return since leaving UC Irvine in September to coach at Cal State Fullerton, there was confusion.

Some UCI fans had to gather themselves amongst a record crowd of 3,176.

The man who lifted the Anteaters last season to new heights, an NCAA Division I College World Series appearance, then a third-place finish, stood like everyone else. Proud.

But for a moment, a couple of UCI fans during the national anthem began to put their hands in the air in disbelief instead of over their hearts. They looked toward right field instead of left field, where the American flag flew above the scoreboard.

On the fifth deck, the top of the parking structure behind the right-field wall, a Titans’ flag flew atop a vehicle. An orange “F” with a blue background stood out more than the red, white and blue in the opposite field.

The “F” even lured more eyes than the huge 436 sign on the side of the garage.

No one came close to hitting the ball that far, but the Titans tried in the top of the third inning, making Serrano’s emotional return a success.

Josh Fellhauer blasted a two-run home run to right field and Erik Komatsu hit a solo shot down the line, helping CSUF, ranked No. 25 by Baseball America, to a 12-5 Big West Conference victory over No. 5 UCI.

Immediately after each homer the Titans’ fan watching the game from the top of the parking garage grabbed his flag and waved it frantically. He stopped after the inning, taking it down.

But the Titans (17-9, 3-1 in conference) weren’t about to surrender anything to the Anteaters (19-4, 2-2), especially against UCI All-American starter Scott Gorgen.

Gorgen was one of the more outspoken players when Serrano bolted to his alma mater after three years at UCI. This after Serrano denied a week before that he was pursuing the opportunity to lead a powerhouse program that he helped as an assistant in his last season in 2004 win a national title, giving the Titans four in their history.

Gorgen actually considered transferring from UCI to another school, but he said in October that he “didn’t want to be Coach Serrano and just bail on” his team.

On Friday, it was Gorgen (5-2) bailing on the Anteaters earlier than he wanted. He blamed it on him trying to be “too perfect.”

The junior lasted six innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits. UCI’s best chance to beat its former coach laid on his right arm. Gorgen couldn’t wait for this start against UCI’s rival and against Serrano.

“We came out amped up, maybe too amped up, and it hurt us,” said Gorgen, who struck out three. “I’m not going to say that it wasn’t a little weird seeing [Serrano] on the other side. We thought we were over it.

“It affected us. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves. I wasn’t my usual self.”

Fans expected a better outing. One jubilantly walked into the ballpark, settling near the grass area above the visitors’ dugout, hoping to get Serrano’s attention. He held a hand-made paper sign with “GORGEN WILL MAKE YOU PAY!”

Serrano never saw it. What he did see was his Titans chase the 5-foot-10 ace.

Sure Serrano said “there was some stuff said” to him throughout the nine innings. None publishable in a newspaper.

Once Serrano said he dropped his bags in the dugout, emotions stirred up. He called the ballpark “a neat place” twice, trying to convince the half-dozen reporters, more than the usual covering a UCI game, that it was just another game. To Fellhauer it was a Super Regional.

The sophomore center fielder led things off for CSUF, going three for five with three runs batted in the first of game of the three-game series.

“We had no pressure at all because all the fans were on Coach Serrano’s case,” Fellhauer said. “We just played relax.”

Almost as if the Titans were at home. They had their flag on display. Maybe the guy on the top of the garage took it down before it got dark because CSUF was in control.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].