College Baseball: Play ball

Amara Aguilar

Probably the most noticeable thing about the UC Irvine men’s

baseball roster is what isn’t there.

It looks something like this: Freshman ... Freshman ... Junior ...

Freshman ...

The list goes on and it doesn’t change much. UCI doesn’t have any

seniors, just one sophomore and not a single player with Division I

experience.

The Anteaters’ roster is unusual because baseball is back after a

10-year hiatus. The program was dropped in 1992 because of budget cuts,

but this season UCI makes a fresh start with new uniforms, a new field,

new players, new coaches and a new focus.

“Our team is made up mostly of very young players,” UCI Coach John

Savage said. “We have a majority of freshmen and junior college players.

When we recruited this team, we really wanted to build a foundation in

terms of young players.”

The players are young, but have plenty of potential because the

Anteaters have grabbed some of the hottest prospects around.

Part of the reason is, if anybody knows how to make a pitch, it’s

Savage.

The former pitching coach and recruiter at USC has meticulously chosen

players he hopes will fit in to what the Anteaters aim to accomplish in

their opening season.

“We were looking for a person who wanted to face a challenge because

we knew that this would be such a huge challenge,” Savage said. “This is

a first-year program playing such a good schedule that we knew that we

had to get the right guys the first year so we can build for the years to

come.”

Savage, a former minor league pitcher, has recruited a handful of

solid, young pitchers.

Topping the list is freshman right-handed pitcher Brett Smith, who was

drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 21st round of the 2001 draft.

Smith went 7-1 with a 1.68 ERA as a senior at Sonora High. He struck

out 102 in 90 innings and batted .458.

“We are looking at him to be one of the starters,” Savage said. “We

think he has a huge chance to have a big career, certainly not only at

Irvine, but at the professional ranks.”

Junior right-hander Paul French will also be a main contributor on the

mound. He was drafted out of high school in the third round by the

Anaheim Angels in 1998. After a stint at Arizona State, French pitched at

Sacramento City College and went 5-1 with a 2.67 ERA in more than 34

innings. He struck out 42.

“We are very excited about French,” Savage said. “He has three pitches

-- a fastball, curveball and change-up. His pitches are between 88 and 92

miles per hour with a good curveball. We’re looking for him to be one of

our front-line guys.”

Freshman left-hander Glenn Swanson out of San Diego Morse High and

junior right-hander Sean Tracey from Citrus College will also be part of

the Anteaters’ up-and-coming pitching staff.

“Swanson has untapped potential. It’s unlimited,” Savage said. “He’s

really catching on and really has a chance to be a front-line Division I

starter. Tracey will be one of our leaders on the pitching staff.”

Other freshmen pitchers include Jimmy Alstot, Michael Koehler and Jon

Koller.

Backing up the pitchers in the infield will be junior starting catcher

Chris Miller, junior third baseman Steve Guthrie, junior second baseman

Effren Trejo and either freshman Jaime Martinez or freshman Matt Anderson

at first. Junior Chris Klemm will lead UCI in outfield.

“We think Trejo, Guthrie, Klemm and Miller are the four older guys who

really need to get this thing going in terms of experience, in terms of

establishing their roles on the team as leaders,” Savage said. “They need

to step up early in the first 13 or 14 games because the freshmen are

freshmen and the nerves are going to be there so we need to have some

leadership.”

Miller will be a big threat offensively for UCI. While playing for

Cuesta College he was an All-American and was second on the team with a

.639 slugging percentage. He led the squad with 20 doubles and 71 RBI.

Guthrie, out of Palomar Community College, will also lend offensive

support and be an anchor defensively. He was a 28th-round pick by the

Colorado Rockies in the June 2000 draft and a two-time Defensive Player

of the Year at Palomar. He also had a .975 fielding percentage.

Klemm and Trejo will also be depended on to step up behind the plate.

“The offensive guys we’re looking at are Klemm, Miller, Guthrie and

Trejo to help us get through the early part of the season and hopefully

our freshmen will catch up to those guys and take the ball and run with

it,” Savage said. “The only leadership we can look to right now is the

older player, not that he has that much experience at this level, but

just because of his age and maturity.”

The Anteaters will face their first test of the season Friday when

they host the University of San Diego in a nonconference game at 7 p.m.