BRIEFS

JORTH, U.S. TO COMPETE

Newport Harbor junior Clinton Jorth will play for the U.S. youth water polo team, ages 16 to 18, against the New Zealand youth team today and Sunday at Newport Harbor High.

The New Zealand team is making a stop on its way home from the Pan-Pacific tournament in Calgary, where Jorth’s team also played.

Admission is free for Saturday’s game at 6 p.m. and Sunday’s at 3 p.m.

Marina Coach Robert Lynn coaches the U.S. team.

UCI BASEBALL RANKED

The UC Irvine baseball team has been ranked No. 38 in the Baseball America preseason top 50.

The Anteaters were 36-24 last season, when they advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the second time as a Division I program.

Coach Dave Serrano’s Anteaters return 17 lettermen, led by All-Big West honoree Cody Cipriano, who hit a team-high .354 last season as a junior, and three-time all-conference pitcher Blair Erickson.

Erickson, a senior, is the program’s all-time saves leader with 40.

Additional returners include pitcher Scott Gorgen, the Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year in 2006 after going 7-5 with a 2.54 ERA. Named Freshman All-American by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, Gorgen allowed an opponents’ batting average of .234.

UCI’s 19-player recruiting class was ranked No. 14 by Baseball American and No. 22 by Collegiate Baseball.

UCI opens its season Feb. 2-4 with a three-game nonconference series at Cal.