Anteaters tabbed for third in Big West

UC Irvine’s baseball team, with 22 lettermen, including seven of

nine position starters and four of five starting pitchers returning,

has been picked to finish third in the Big West Conference baseball

chase by the circuit’s coaches.

Cal State Fullerton, ranked as high as No. 7 in the nation by

Collegiate Baseball, is seen as the team to beat for the title, with

defending champion Long Beach State rated No. 2.

Leading the UCI roster are Big West All-Conference selections Matt

Anderson and R.J. Brown and seniors Jon Horwitz and Chris Klemm.

Anderson will be a sophomore first baseman, Brown a sophomore

utility player, Horwitz a senior outfielder and Klemm a senior

outfielder.

The Anteaters were a near-unanimous choice for a third-place

finish after finishing the 2002 season 33-26 with a 14-10 Big West

mark to tie for fourth place with Fullerton.

Fullerton returns three All-Big West players who are preseason

All-America choices by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America.

They are junior outfielder Shane Costa and junior right-handed

pitchers Wes Littleton and Chad Cordero.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Santa Barbara are considered UCI’s

nearest challengers.

Cal Poly boasts the return of All-Big West choices Scott Anderson

(shortstop and Kyle Wilson (catcher).

Santa Barbara has three sophomores pacing the attack in

right-handed pitcher Eric Posthumus, second baseman Chris Malec and

outfielder Matt Wilkerson. All three earned Freshman All-America

honors from Collegiate Baseball.

Coaches poll: 1. Fullerton (5) 62; 2. Long Beach St. (3), 59; 3.

UC Irvine, 46; 4. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 33; 5. UC Santa Barbara,

31; 6. UC Riverside, 25; 7. Cal State Northridge, 21; 8. Pacific, 12.