2007 BASEBALL PREVIEW:Anteaters hope to continue to rise

Though UC Irvine baseball coach Dave Serrano said his team opens the season under the radar, the third-year head man expects the Anteaters to register more than a minor blip on the national landscape over the next four-plus months.

“We haven’t received much recognition [a No. 38 preseason ranking by Baseball America and a prediction to finish third in the Big West Conference by the league’s coaches] and we probably don’t deserve recognition,” Serrano said.

“But we like what we have in our house. I really like the chemistry on this team and I believe there is something special about this team we’ve assembled.”

For the first time, the assembled roster reflects more of Serrano’s recruiting preferences than those of predecessor John Savage, now at UCLA.

To wit: Serrano said this year’s lineup is as athletic as he has had. Six of the nine projected position-player starters (including the designated hitter), have excellent base-stealing capabilities, which will fuel a small-ball attack that produced 107 steals and 90 sacrifice hits last season, both school records.

“Speed never slumps,” said Serrano, who learned his small-ball techniques as an assistant to George Horton at Cal State Fullerton. “From what we’ve seen in fall ball, we’re going to be able to put a lot of pressure on our opponents’ pitching staff and defense. It’s going to be nonstop hit and run, steal, delayed steal, drag bunting and push bunting. We’re going to be exciting on the bases and I think that will allow us to be consistently productive, offensively, even when we’re not banging the ball around the ballpark.”

The Anteaters, 36-24 last season — the second-best win total in the program’s 18 Division I seasons — on their way to their second appearance in the NCAA regionals in three seasons, may have to score more to overcome a youthful pitching staff, particularly the starters.

Scott Gorgen, last year’s Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year and a member of several freshman All-American teams, returns to anchor the staff as the Friday starter.

“He’s a very quality college pitcher,” Serrano said of the 5-foot-10, 183-pounder, who did not pitch until his senior year of high school. “I’m not sure he could stack up as a Friday guy, with some of the other guys we’re going to face around the country. But I’ll stack him up against any of those [Friday starters] because he’s so competitive.”

Gorgen was 7-5 with a 2.54 ERA in 2006, on his way to earning second-team all-conference laurels. He struck out 87 and allowed 93 hits in 110 innings.

Gorgen was scheduled to compete in the Cape Cod League last summer, but he stayed home to attend summer school. Serrano said Gorgen’s arm benefited from the rest.

“He needed some time off after last year,” Serrano said. “We even cut back his throwing in the fall. By the end of February, we feel like he will be at full strength.”

Gorgen is the most experienced member of a starting rotation that must replace Justin Cassel (7-9 with a 3.43 ERA over 99 innings and Glenn Swanson (9-4 with a 2.86 ERA over 91 1/3 innings).

Cassel signed as a seventh-round pick with the Chicago White Sox, while Swanson, the school’s career leader with 298 strikeouts, signed with the Texas Rangers.

Freshman Daniel Bibona, a 5-11, 160-pound lefty out of Santa Margarita High, is the projected Saturday starter. The Sunday starting spot is being contested between Cypress College transfer Wes Etheridge and senior Dylan Axelrod.

“Bibona is extremely polished for a freshman,” Serrano said. “He has the moxie of Glenn Swanson and a tremendous mound presence well beyond his years. He’s a crafty lefty with a sneaky fastball and he’s going to win a lot of college baseball games.”

Etheridge, 8-1 with eight saves and a 2.65 ERA last season at Cypress, started just twice in his 30 appearances. Serrano, who calls Etheridge’s stuff filthy, says the consistent movement on his pitches prevents hitters from getting good swings.

Axelrod was 3-3 with a 4.59 ERA in 28 appearances last season, including one start. He fanned 43 and allowed 57 hits in 49 innings.

“We’re not going to be an overpowering pitching staff, so we might take our lumps early,” Serrano said. “But when our young pitchers grow up, we have a chance to be a pretty good baseball team.”

In the field, that team will be led by senior Cody Cipriano, the team MVP in 2006 when he hit .354 with four home runs, 36 RBIs, 16 steals and 31 runs.

Cipriano, a second-team all-conference performer who was shifted from first to second early in the conference season last year, has settled at second base.

He is expected to be a team leader, as well as a top run producer, who will hit third in the batting order.

“[Cipriano] has gotten much stronger and his plate discipline is much better,” Serrano said. “But if we get the same kind of year out of him that we got last year, I’d be fine with that.”

Cirpriano’s double-play partner is sophomore shortstop Ben Orloff, who earned the Best Defensive Player and Hustle-Attitude-Mentality awards at last year’s team banquet.

“He’s the David Eckstein of our team,” Serrano said. “He has tremendous savvy on the field.”

Orloff hit .217 with 16 RBIs in 2006. He did not have an extra-base hit, but led the nation with 26 sacrifice hits.

Junior Tyler Vaughn is slated to open at third base, while first base is a battle between seniors Zach Robinson and Josh Tavelli, freshman Jeff Cusick, and sophomore Pepperdine transfer Tony Asaro.

Robinson, who transferred from Point Loma Nazarene last season, had 27 RBIs in 115 at-bats, though his 32 hits did not include a homer. He had 18 homers and 63 RBIs to earn NAIA All-American honors in 2005 and hit 17 home runs with 69 RBIs as a senior at San Diego’s Horizon High. But Robinson, who lost 30 pounds in the offseason and is listed at 6-3, 270, has seen his power vanish since he came to UCI.

“I haven’t seen it yet,” Serrano said of Robinson’s fence-clearing ability. “But the main thing is, he’s a run producer. He is as smart a hitter as we have on the team.”

Tavelli, expected to fill a utility role, hit .296 with 10 RBIs and eight steals last season, while Cusick, out of Santa Margarita and the younger brother of USC junior Matt Cusick, an All-Pac-10 infielder, has been among the most impressive of the freshmen, Serrano said.

Vaughn, who transferred from Nebraska before last season, hit .195 in 77 at-bats. But Serrano said those numbers were the result of a sore wrist that plagued Vaughn the entire season.

“The injury really affected his bat speed and his strength,” Serrano said. “We didn’t know how serious it was, until he came back healthy in the fall and we saw what kind of player he was and how the ball jumped off his bat.”

Junior Aaron Lowenstein is the incumbent behind the plate (.246 with 12 RBIs in 122 at-bats). But he is expected to be pushed by impressive freshman Francis Larson and sophomore Sammy Donabedian, who missed most of last year with an injury.

“Larson [out of Esperanza High] has a chance to be a superstar,” Serrano said. “When he figures it out defensively, he’ll be the complete package. We’re hoping that’s by midseason.”

Serrano loves his depth and athleticism in the outfield, where Junior Taylor Holiday returns with the most experience.

Holiday, a transfer from Arizona State, hit .286 last season and his 67 hits were second to only Cipriano’s 68. Holiday’s 18 extra-base hits included two homers and he drove in 31 runs, while scoring a team-high 48. He also had 15 steals and is expected to provide a spark in the leadoff spot.

Holiday can play either center or left, but Ollie Linton, a sophomore who redshirted in 2006, may occupy center field most of the time, Serrano said.

The 5-8, 160-pound Linton hit .306 with 19 RBIs, 28 runs and 14 steals in 2005. He was a second-team All-Star in the New York Collegiate League over the summer, after hitting .336 with seven triples, 24 RBIs, 31 runs and 13 steals.

In right field, Serrano believes junior Bryan Petersen may finally be justifying the interest bestowed upon the powerfully built 6-0, 200-pounder by scouts ever since he arrived from Chatsworth High.

“He was the Alaska League Co-Player of the Year [over the summer] and he had a tremendous fall for us,” Serrano said. “When I took the job three years ago, he was one of the players I was very excited about. I’m hoping, for his sake and ours, he’s going to have a breakout year.”

Petersen is a .186 career hitter in 86 at-bats at UCI, but he hit .365 with 50 hits, 10 steals and 27 runs for the Anchorage Bucs last summer.

Others expected to contribute in the outfield are senior Matt Morris, sophomore Brock Bardeen and freshmen Nick Baligod, Dillon Bell and Sean Madigan.

Morris’ .304 average was third on the team last season and he displayed a penchant for delivering clutch hits (19 RBIs in 115 at-bats).

Bardeen, a left-handed batter, had 14 RBIs in 105 at-bats, but hit only .229 last season.

Baligod, a three-time team MVP at Fairfield High, has already caught Serrano’s eye, and Serrano believes Madigan, out of Servite, may be the best hitter among the newcomers.

On paper, senior Blair Erickson would appear to be the leader out of the bullpen. But Serrano said the former All-American, whose 40 career saves rank sixth in NCAA annals, showed less than his best during the fall and will need to step it up to retain his closer spot.

In what some viewed as an off year in 2006, Erickson went 5-0 with 13 saves, a 2.06 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings. In three seasons, he is 7-5 with a 2.60 ERA and 160 stikeouts in 124 1/3 innings. He was drafted in the 10th round by the Cardinals last season, but declined to sign, hoping he could significantly up his value with a strong 2007 campaign.

Among Serrano’s other options in the pen is junior Tommy Calahan, a junior transfer from Saddleback College, and freshman Eric Pettis.

“Calahan has been very tough on lefties and I’m very happy with the way he has come on,” Serrano said.

Pettis, a starter at El Camino Real High, has been converted to a side-arm delivery. That, combined with what Serrano called a bulldog mentality, make him a closer of the future.

The pen will also include senior Gary Nakashima (2-2 with three saves and a 4.33 ERA in 54 innings last spring), Chris Lopez, Christian Bergman, Cory Hamilton, Justin LaTempa and Reid Suitor.

Serrano said Nakashima, Bergman, Hamilton, La Tempa and Suitor could see spot starts, particularly during Tuesday games.

Kyle Necke, 1-1 with four saves and a 2.49 ERA in 24 relief innings as a freshman in 2006, will miss the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Coaches picked the Anteaters to finish behind Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside, respectively, and ahead of perennial power Long Beach State. Last year’s third-place conference finish was the best in UCI’s Division I history.

The Anteaters open the season Friday in the first of a three-game series at Cal.

They open their home schedule Feb. 9 with the first of a three-game set against Loyola Marymount.

COVERING THE BASES

2006 record: 36-24, 11-10 in conference (third place)

Coach: Dave Serrano, third year (67-49)

Key losses: RHP Justin Cassel (7-9, 3.43 ERA): LHP Glenn Swanson (9-4, 2.86 ERA, 298 strikeouts a school career record); 1B Jaime Martinez (.278, eight homers, 45 RBIs; 21 homers are school career record), OF Gary Dudrey (.331, 24 steals, 35 runs), 3B Chad Lundahl (.271, 18 RBIs, 27 runs).

Top returners: 2B Cody Cipriano, RHP Scott Gorgen, OF Taylor Holiday, RHP Blair Erickson, 1B-DH Zach Robinson.

Noteworthy newcomers: RHP Daniel Bibona, Fr.; LHP Tommy Calahan, Jr.; RHP Eric Pettis, Fr.; 1B Tony Asaro, So.; C Francis Larson, Fr.; OF Nick Baligod, Fr.; RHP Reid Suitor, Fr.

Big series: March 30, 31, April 1 vs. Long Beach State (home); March 5-7 at Cal State Fullerton; May 25-27 at UC Riverside.

THE ANTEATERS

1 Ollie Linton So.

2 Bryan Petersen Jr.

3 Luis Tovar Fr.

4 Wes Etheridge Jr.

5 Cody Cipriano Sr.

6 Ben Orloff So.

7 S. Donabedian So.

8 Josh Tavelli Sr.

10 Tyler Vaughn Jr.

11 Chris Lopez Jr.

12 Matt Morris Sr.

14 Jeffrey Cusick Fr.

15 Dillon Bell Fr.

16 Brock Bardeen So.

17 Kyle Necke So.

20 Francis Larson Fr.

21 C. Bergman Fr.

24 Taylor Holiday Jr.

25 Cory Hamilton Fr.

26 Cole Hathcock Fr.

28 Dylan Axelrod Sr.

29 Sean Madigan Fr.

30 Daniel Bibona Fr.

31 Blair Erickson Sr.

32 Scott Gorgen So.

33 G. Nakashima Sr.

34 T. Calahan Jr.

35 Zach Robinson Sr.

36 Ryan Fisher Fr.

37 Nick Farinacci Fr.

41 R. Cardenas Fr.

42 A. Lowenstein Jr.

43 Nick Baligod Fr.

44 J. LaTempa So.

50 Reid Suitor Fr.

53 Tony Asaro So.

55 Eric Pettis Fr.

Coach: Dave Serrano

(third year)