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.
 
Morse followed the opening frame with six straight scoreless innings, and only one UCI baserunner reached second after that first inning. But UC Irvine (8-4) starting pitcher Andrew Pallante, a stellar sophomore, matched Morse pitch-for-pitch as the game settled into a pitcher's duel. Pallante tossed 8.0 scoreless innings, yielded just five hits, and registered eight K's.
 
Tate Budnick relieved Morse to begin the top of the eighth inning, and the senior righty retired the Anteaters in order. UC Irvine was able to add a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth, which came on RBI singles from Jacob Castro and Mike Peabody.
 
The Pilots responded by getting the first two hitters on base to begin the bottom of the ninth, with Beau Brundage and pinch hitter Chris Arpan each earning a walk. But UCI's Jordan Bocko then came out of the bullpen to spell reliever Taylor Rashi, and Bocko recorded three straight strike outs to end the game and give him his first save of the year.
 
Pallante (3-0) claims the victory to stay perfect on the season, while Morse (1-2) is saddled with the hard-luck loss.
 
Brundage led the Pilots (4-9) with a pair of hits, and Castro had two hits for the Anteaters, who held a slight 7-5 edge in that category.
 
Tomorrow the Pilots and Anteaters will play a double header, with the first game slated to start at 3 p.m.