Super Regional is a novelty for both teams

WICHITA, Kan. — Though the baseball tradition at Wichita State is well beyond that of UC Irvine, the two teams share the same novelty when it comes to a Super Regional.

The Super Regional, a best-of-three series that pares 16 four-team regional winners into the eight-team College World Series field, began in 1999.

This is the first Super Regional for both teams, who will take the field today at 9 a.m. at Eck Stadium.

The Shockers (53-20) have made seven trips to Omaha, the site of the College World Series, including a national championship in 1989. They have not been to Omaha since 1996.

WSU has made 25 appearances in a regional and has won at least 40 games each of the last 30 years under legendary coach Gene Stephenson.

UCI (43-15-1) continues to chart new territory for a program that had never won an NCAA tournament game before this season.

The Anteaters, who won NCAA Division II titles in 1973 and 1974, joined the Division I ranks before the 1978 season.

They reached their first Division I regional in 2004, when they lost twice and were eliminated at Notre Dame.

Last season, UCI again lost its first two games at the Pepperdine Regional.

This season, the ‘Eaters won all three of their games at the Round Rock Regional hosted by Texas, which UCI defeated twice to advance to Wichita.

WICHITA CROWD GROWS

Eck Stadium typically has a capacity of 7,851, but additional bleachers have been added beyond the outfield fence to increase that figure closer to 9,000.

And while UCI played in front of 9,256 spectators, mostly Longhorn fans, at Dell Diamond Saturday, UCI Coach Dave Serrano said this environment should be even tougher on the visiting team.

“This might be a little bit more hostile crowd that is really pulling for the Shockers,” Serrano said. “It’s going to be tough for us as a team, but I really wouldn’t want it any other way. What we’re trying to do right now as a program is continue to rise. You need to play in an atmosphere like this and be successful in this atmosphere to get the program to where I want it to be.”

TWO SHADES OF GREEN

Eck Stadium also features an artificial turf infield. The outfield is natural grass.

Serrano said the infield surface, which is well cushioned but more comparable to the old 1970s AstroTurf than the newer Field Turf, such as the surface at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, should not adversely affect the Anteaters offensively or defensively.

He said it may actually help his team’s offense.

“It’s a good surface and I’m hoping the way we play the game it’s conducive to helping us a little bit,” Serrano said.

MLB DRAFT PEERS

Both Wichita State and UCI had eight players selected in the first-year player draft that ended Friday.

Among the Wichita State players drafted was Kenny Williams, who is academically ineligible this season.

Williams, the son of Chicago White Sox General Manager Ken Williams, is an outfielder who was selected in the 32nd round (971 overall) by the Colorado Rockies.

The eight UCI players selected — Bryan Petersen, Cody Cipriano, Wes Etheridge, Blair Erickson, Taylor Holiday, Tyler Vaughn, Matt Morris and Dylan Axelrod — are the most Anteaters ever chosen in one draft.

CHEERING FROM HOME

UCI officials said they expected a similar traveling party this week to the estimated 120 that made the trip to Round Rock.

Among those not making the trip from Irvine this week, however, will be Serrano’s son, Kyle, who was a team bat boy in Texas.

“He has some games of his own,” Dave Serrano said of Kyle, who plays in the South Irvine Little League’s Majors Division.

SIGN OF OLD TIMES

Another unique aspect of the WSU baseball program is that Shockers catchers still call pitches.

“We’re probably one of the few programs still doing it,” said Brent Kemnitz, in his 29th season as the Shockers’ pitching coach.

WHAT SCOUTING REPORT?

The Shockers, like the Anteaters, believe on focusing more on themselves than their opponent.

But sophomore pitcher Aaron Shafer, who is starting today’s game for Wichita State, offered a surprising answer when asked how much he knew about the Anteaters’ lineup.

“Nothing,” Shafer said.

“I looked at some [Irvine] stats and they look like us. They play small ball and they’re disciplined.”

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at(714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.