‘Eaters picked fourth

The UC Irvine baseball team was picked to finish fourth in the Big

West Conference preseason coaches’ poll.

The Anteaters are led by second-team All-Big West Conference

selection Brett Smith, a pitcher who recorded a team-high and was

fifth in the conference with eight wins, and Collegiate Baseball

“Louisville Slugger” Freshman All-American Mark Wagner, a catcher who

earned the honors after recording a team-high 19 doubles and 31 RBIs.

Cal State Fullerton garnered five of the first-place votes to

finish at the top of the poll, followed by Long Beach State which

collected three first-place votes.

UC Riverside finished third in the voting with 46 votes and UC

Irvine totaled 38 votes.

The Anteaters face Pepperdine Feb. 10 in Malibu to open the

season.