EDITORIAL:UCI’s run was nothing short of spectacular

Unbelievable.

That’s the only way to describe UC Irvine’s improbable run in the College World Series before succumbing to Oregon State on Wednesday.

Six years ago, the university didn’t even have a baseball team.

Now, they’re the talk of the town.

The run included five consecutive one-run games, a 13-inning saga that was the longest game in College World Series history and consecutive extra-innings victories in the series — the first time any team had done that.

Irvine knocked off Texas, Wichita State and Cal State Fullerton along the way.

What a pleasure were the headlines, the office pools, the predictions.

Who would have thought?

UC Irvine’s baseball program was cut in 1992, but the student body voted to reinstate the sport for the 2002 season. Five years later, the Anteaters set a team record for victories and finished higher in Big West Conference play than any other Anteaters team.

This on the heels of UC Irvine’s men’s volleyball team winning the NCAA title.

It’s high time that we had a powerhouse sports program in our backyard here in Orange County, and it looks like UC Irvine is on the verge of becoming just that.

Coach Dave Serrano said the baseball program will only get better.

“We haven’t reached the top yet,” he told reporters. “We made it to Omaha and finished in the final four and we’re very proud of that, but if I felt that this program has reached the top, then I should walk away. We only put a dent in what this program is capable of doing.”

We hope so. The Anteaters gave us plenty of thrills this season and something positive to talk about around the water cooler.

The loss in the College World Series was not an ending but a beginning. We can’t help but look to the future and hope for more, but let’s take a moment to applaud what just happened.

It was, truly, unbelievable.