PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland freshman starter Eli Morse was masterful on the mound and the Pilots brought the potential game-tying run to the plate with no outs in the bottom of the ninth, but the UC Irvine Anteaters escaped with a 3-0 win to open the non-conference series on Friday night at Joe Etzel Field.
Morse worked 7.0 strong innings, allowing just one run on five hits. The Portland native struck out seven and didn't issue a walk. The only run the Anteaters could produce against the righty came in the top of the first inning when Jake Palmer scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ryan Fitzpatrick.