Baseball gods love SoCal

Thank goodness UC Irvine defeated Wichita State 3-2. The Anteaters deserved it.

Not only did Irvine win its fifth straight postseason game -- three at Texas, two at Wichita State -- they did it despite having an out literally taken away from them.

Working with a 2-0 lead in the ninth, Irvine saw Wichita State's Derek Schermerhorn lead off with a single. The next batter, Damon Sublett, rolls a ball to shortstop. The throw to first baseman Taylor Holiday nearly pulled Holiday off the bag. The initial call was out and replays showed it to be correct.

However, the umpires, coerced by longtime Shockers coach Gene Stephenson, gathered and overruled the call, leaving the Shockers with first and second and no outs. The Shockers tied the game with two outs, but, thankfully, Irvine won it in its half of the ninth.