UCI seniors seek reward

Barry Faulkner

Having bought into a then-dormant UC Irvine baseball program four

years ago, nine Anteater seniors are hoping their golden collegiate

parachute drops them somewhere in the middle of a June dog pile.

And, if there are times when the celebration ritual that caps each

College World Series becomes too abstract to fathom, they need only

tap the memory of the man at the front of their dugout -- Coach Dave

Serrano.

Serrano, who steps in after John Savage laid a foundation of

success before moving on to UCLA, helped Cal State Fullerton win a

national championship in 2004. The Titans’ pitching coach and

recruiting coordinator was named national assistant coach of the year

not long before he was named to guide a UCI program that reached the

NCAA Division I regional for the first time in school history last

spring.

The aforementioned nine seniors are among 25 returners, 20 of whom

are upperclassmen, from a team that opened 22-6-1, en route to a 34-23-1 record that included losses in 10 of its final 13 games. The

final two losses came in the South Bend (Indiana) regional, giving

the program a postseason pedigree and, perhaps, an appetite for

greater achievement.

“I inherited a very experienced team and a very good team,” said

Serrano, who does not hesitate to cite pitching as the squad’s

strength. “These guys have been through the wars and it’s very good

that they’ve experienced a regional atmosphere like they did last

year.”

The lone senior on last year’s unit, second baseman Matt Fisher,

was a 33rd-round pick of the New York Mets, while junior ace Brett

Smith (chosen 42nd overall by the Yankees) and junior outfielder

Jordan Szabo (a free-agent signee with the Phillies) have also gone

on to the professional ranks.

But talented veterans abound and Serrano believes a handful of

promising newcomers could also contribute.

The Anteaters are ranked No. 36 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 40

by Baseball America. They were picked to finish behind Cal State

Fullerton and Long Beach State in the Big West Conference preseason

coaches’ poll.

“I’m cautiously optimistic, but we must stay healthy,” said

Serrano, who in eight seasons at Fullerton saw 24 of his pitchers

drafted.

Serrano, while overseeing the program, will work with the pitchers

and orchestrate the defensive schemes.

New assistants Sergio Brown (hitting), Chad Baum (catchers and

bunting) and Greg Bergeron (infield and hitting) are also part of the

coaching transition.

Closer Blair Erickson, whose 17 saves not only broke the UCI

single-season mark but vaulted him atop the school’s career saves

list, made seven All-American teams in 2004 and shared Freshman of

the Year laurels awarded by Collegiate Baseball.

Erickson, who struck out 51 in 31 1/3 innings after not pitching

at all during his senior year of high school, anchors a staff that

appears to have good balance between starters and relievers.

Junior Chris Nicoll, who will start Friday’s 1:30 p.m. opener at

Cal, went 7-5 with a 3.49 ERA last season, fanning 71 in 80 innings.

“I think Nicoll will be a pretty good draft pick this year,”

Serrano said of the right-hander named to the Cape Cod League’s

Top-30 prospect list last summer.

Senior Glenn Swanson, the staff’s only lefty, is 16-18 in 43

career starts as an Anteater. Drafted in the 37th round by the Red

Sox last season, he’ll likely sit out the Cal series with some elbow

soreness, though Serrano is counting on him to be a workhorse.

Swanson was 6-4 with a 5.51 ERA last season, then posted a 2.81

ERA with 50 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings in the Cape during the

off-season.

Sophomore Justin Cassel, 4-3 with a 3.93 ERA in 66 1/3 innings

last season coming off All-American recognition at Chatsworth High,

will start Saturday in Berkeley.

With Swanson sidelined, Serrano said 6-foot-7 senior Michael

Koehler or senior Jimmy Alstot, who made their 32 combined

appearances exclusively in relief last season, could open the season

in the rotation.

Serrano said the addition of a split-fingered fastball has

bolstered Koehler’s effectiveness and Alstot opened last season as

the closer, before being quickly overtaken by Erickson.

Steve Schroer, whom Serrano believes would be a closer in many

programs, comes of an impressive junior campaign in which he compiled

a 2.14 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings. He was 4-2 with one

save and could get some mid-week starts in addition to his role as

Erickson’s primary setup man.

The pitching staff also includes senior Nash Robertson, as well as

two-way candidates Cody Cipriano, a sophomore, and Bryan Petersen, a

freshman who helped Chatsworth win national prep titles the last two

seasons.

Offensively, the Anteaters will hope to reward their pitchers more

consistently. Last season, UCI lost 17 games by three or fewer runs,

while 21 of its wins came by no more than three. UCI hit .288 as a

unit last season, up 25 points from 2003. But the ‘Eaters were still

out-homered, 37-36, by their opponents.

Serrano believes a season of healthy production from thumpers Matt

Anderson, Erik Johnson, Jaime Martinez, Mark Wagner, Tim Stewart and

R.J. Brown, could help better last year’s 5.7 runs per game.

Anderson , a senior third baseman, hit .336 with six homers and a

team-leading 42 RBIs last season. Only Szabo had a higher average

among the regulars and only Martinez matched Anderson for the team

lead in dingers.

Anderson, in two seasons at UCI with a redshirt year in between,

has hit a combined .359 with nine homers, 86 RBIs and 166 hits.

Another season of that statistical model would put him No. 3 on the

school’s all-time hits list (249).

Martinez, a 6-5, 240-pounder plagued by back problems, hit .315

with 21 RBIs in 92 at-bats, less than half Anderson’s total. If

healthy, he will add to a rotation at first base-designated hitter

that includes Stewart and Brown.

Stewart hit .302 in 53 at-bats last season and won the Northwoods

League batting title (.346) last summer.

Wagner, a junior catcher, started 51 games last season and made

the all-regional team. He hit .286 with four homers and 34 RBIs.

Johnson, (.288, four homers and 31 RBIs) was leading the team in

RBIs, when he was lost for the year with a mid-season wrist injury.

He will play center field, Serrano said.

The loss of Fisher and shortstop Kyle Ryckebosch, who committed

just seven errors in 45 games as a sophomore, but left the program to

pursue a job opportunity, leaves a void in the middle infield.

Seniors Brett Dalton and Gregg Wallis could emerge at second,

while Chad Lundahl, who had a tough freshman season (hitting just

.189 with 11 errors in 36 games), will be looked upon to step up at

short after a solid fall. Lundahl, a decorated performer at Thousand

Oaks High, made just 10 errors in four varsity seasons there.

Dalton started 39 games, mostly at first base, and hit .271 in 155

at-bats last spring, while Wallis had most of his 55 at-bats as a

pinch-hitter. Both drove in 11 runs last season, while Fisher knocked

in 39.

The outfield situation holds uncertainty, though Serrano hopes

consistent corner starters will emerge through a competitive funnel

of candidates.

Junior Gary Dudrey (a team-high 11 steals last season), senior

Daniel Miramontes, sophomore Cipriano (.341 in 41 at-bats in 2004),

senior David Kennedy (.325 in 80 at-bats), senior Andy Amara (.300 in

70 at-bats), junior Danny McCarthy, Petersen, and freshman Ollie

Linton could all get early looks.

Serrano said Wallis, a left-handed hitter, and/or Dalton could

also find their way to an outfield spot, while junior college

transfer Spike McDougall could be a factor if he makes an expected

February return from a torn labrum.

UCI debuts at home with a three-game series against Washington,

beginning Feb. 11. The ‘Eaters begin conference play April 1 at Cal

State Fullerton.

“I don’t know where we’ll fall with wins and losses, but I just

know this is a special group of young men, some of whom have been

together from a program restarted by Coach Savage and his staff

[after a 10-year hiatus],” Serrano said. “They’ve started this

program and they want to go out on a good note. We’re hoping for

special things for them down the line.”