COLLEGES:UCI bids to host regional

Though the UC Irvine baseball team missed its chance to assume command of the Big West Conference race by losing two of three to visiting Cal Poly San Luis Obispo over the weekend, the athletic administration obviously believes this still could be a special season for the Anteaters.

The school decided recently to attempt to host an NCAA regional this season, which would require a $25,000 commitment, according to Paul Hope, the Anteaters’ Associate Athletic Director in charge of facilities and events.

Hope said prospective bidders for one of 16 four-team regionals, scheduled June 1-4, will need to file the required paperwork with the NCAA, which will announce regional hosts the week before the 64-team field is announced on May 28. Schools agree to pay the NCAA the $25,000 fee, then hope to recoup the investment with ticket sales from the event.

Anteater Ballpark has 901 permanent seats and, with a grass berm behind the first-base dugout that extends into right field, Hope said the facility can accommodate 3,500 spectators.

Hope said the decision to pursue a regional is a natural extension of the commitment the university made when it resurrected the baseball program for the 2002 season, after a nine-season hiatus.

With another event occupying the 5,000-seat Bren Events Center, where UCI played host to last year’s MPSF semifinals and final, the Anteaters and Warriors will play at Crawford Court (capacity 760).

Tickets, which cost $5 for students and $20 for everyone else, are available through the UCI ticket office. Those interested in attending might want to secure their tickets early.

Coach John Speraw’s Anteaters (24-5) will need to either win the MPSF Tournament or defeat BYU in the semifinals to have the inside track toward the lone at-large berth to the Final Four.

The MPSF Tournament winner earns the conference’s automatic berth. Pepperdine (25-1), ranked No. 1 in the nation, is the No. 1 seed, followed by No. 2-ranked BYU (22-5) and No. 3-ranked UCI.

UCLA (19-10), which won last year’s MPSF Tournament and went on to claim the NCAA crown, is ranked No. 5, but seeded No. 4, ahead of No. 4-ranked UC Santa Barbara (19-11).

Should UCI defeat Hawaii (13-13), which it swept at the Bren Center Jan. 12 and 13, it would meet the winner of the quarterfinal pitting BYU against the winner of Wednesday’s play-in match between No. 8-seeded USC and No. 7-seeded Cal State Northridge.

That semifinal match would be April 26 at 5:30 p.m. at Pepperdine.

The MPSF Tournament final is scheduled April 28 at 7 p.m. at Pepperdine.

UCI and BYU split their two meetings in Provo this season, but BYU lost fewer games to the Anteaters, so it owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Common sense dictates that UCI would need to beat BYU to become the odds-on recipient of the at-large berth to the NCAA Championship, scheduled May 3 and May 5 at Ohio State University.

Erickson, who said he saved every one of the balls used to complete his 50 saves, said it would probably wind up in a trophy case. He suggested he may also give it to his parents.

Another was the rather conspicuous member of the four-person group that dragged the infield after the fifth inning was completed.

UCI Athletic Director Bob Chichester, who joined three other players in performing a little mid-game maintenance, said a base umpire asked him if he had won a contest.

“No, I lost the contest,” Chichester replied.

East Tennessee State’s Caleb Glafenhein is 11-2. Like Etheridge, he has split time between starting (eight starts) and relief (13 more appearances, including six saves).

Etheridge has appeared in 15 games, including nine starts.

UCI ranked fifth as a team in stolen bases per game (2.41), while Cincinnati led the category (2.71).