That kind of pressure hardly fazes the UC Irvine closer, who has thrived in save situations more than any reliever in NCAA history.

"When I'm running in from the bullpen, the thing I most enjoy is the overall trust my teammates have," said the senior right-hander from Fair Oaks, Calif. "They work hard for 8½ innings to get me the ball. That's one thing I like, that responsibility. The game is in my hands. Call it selfish or whatnot, but that's what I love about it. They're going to have to beat me to beat our team."

And that hasn't happened too often in Erickson's four college seasons. He pitched a perfect ninth last Saturday to preserve a 3-2 win over Cal Poly for his NCAA-record 50th career save. Erickson, who added another save yesterday against Southern California, surpassed the mark set by the Trojans' Jack Krawczyk from 1995-98.

"It really hasn't hit me yet," Erickson said. "I haven't really had much time to sit and think about it. I'm still focused on what we set out to do this year, and that's getting to the College World Series."

After the record-setting save, he shared high-fives and hugs with his excited teammates, who knew they had witnessed college baseball history.

"It really was how I'd wanted it to be," said Erickson, who's 11-for-11 in save opportunities after returning to school despite being drafted in the 10th round by St. Louis last year. "They really didn't make a big deal out of it. It was just another win."

Not quite. Not when you're the best college closer.

"Hopefully, I can get a few more and make breaking this as tough as possible," Erickson said with a laugh.

Coach Dave Serrano helped develop future major leaguers Chad Cordero, Kirk Saarloos and Adam Johnson while at Cal State Fullerton.

"I still don't think he's reached his full potential," Serrano said. "He has great ability and has as good stuff as any closer I've ever been around."

In 18 appearances, Erickson has a 2.45 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 14 2-3 innings while helping the Anteaters into the Top 25 with a 26-10-1 record. If there's one knock on Erickson, it's that he sometimes struggles to find the plate consistently. He has 11 walks this season, and 87 in 139 1-3 career innings.

"I've learned to become more confident in him than probably even he is sometimes," Serrano said. "When I hand him the ball, it's to finish the game and it's with all the confidence in the world that he's going to nail it down."

After getting his eighth save on March 11 against Nevada, Erickson waited nearly a month before tying the record on April 10 against UCLA.

"When he got the tying save, you could just see the relief in his face and his first comment to me when I congratulated him was, 'That was the toughest save I've ever had to get in my life,'" Serrano said. "Not coincidentally, when he got the save against San Luis Obispo, he was much better than I had seen him the previous two weeks in his appearances. I think tying the record and now breaking it is going to put him at ease."

Erickson's journey to become the most prolific closer in college baseball history started on the basketball court, of all places. During his senior year at Jesuit High School, Erickson played in an intramural game when he went up for a layup and came down awkwardly on his left foot and tore three ligaments.

He had a screw inserted through the bone to help the ankle heal, and missed his entire senior season. When he got to UC Irvine, he still didn't have the stamina required of a starting pitcher. Then-coach John Savage put Erickson in the bullpen, and the freshman quickly seized the closer role.

"That really fits my mentality to come in for an inning where I can just let it loose and then be ready for the next game," said Erickson, who enters home games to "Voodoo Child" by Jimi Hendrix. "I want the ball every game. That's just how I am. And I think that's how every closer sees it."

ATLANTIC SUN SURPRISES: Lipscomb and Campbell showed that teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference are no pushovers.

Lipscomb beat Vanderbilt, ranked No. 1 in several national polls, 5-3 on Tuesday night, and Campbell upset No. 2-ranked North Carolina 7-5 in 11 innings.

The Atlantic Sun has been surprisingly successful against top-ranked teams this season. Mercer defeated Miami twice in February when the Hurricanes were ranked No. 2. Jacksonville also sent No. 1 Florida State to its first loss on March 21, stopping the Seminoles' school-record 23-game winning streak to start the season.

OUCH!: The hitters in South Florida's lineup should probably invest in ice packs.

The Bulls were hit by two pitches in a 10-5 victory over Central Florida on Tuesday night, setting the school record with 65 this season.

Joey Angelberger took a pitch on the elbow in the second inning, giving him eight this season _ second to Addison Maruszak's 16. J.C. Suarez was hit on the foot in the eighth to break the Bulls' previous record set two seasons ago.

SIDELINED SEMINOLE: Florida State will have to play without one of their top run-producers for a while.

Left fielder Dennis Guinn, who has hit .309 with four homers and 33 RBIs, tore the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the Seminoles' 8-5 win over Virginia Tech on Sunday. He's out indefinitely.

MEATY MATCHUPS: College World Series runner-up North Carolina, ranked as high as No. 2 in national polls, is at Florida State, which is No. 1 in at least one major poll, for a three-game series this weekend. ... Another big ACC matchup features Virginia at Clemson, with both teams ranked in the Top 10 in most polls. ... Texas is at Nebraska for three games in a matchup of highly competitive Big 12 rivals. ... UC Riverside travels to Big West-leading Cal Poly in a showdown of two of the top offenses in the conference.