UCI baseball picked fourth in Big West preseason poll

UC Irvine, which made its first College World Series appearance last year, has been chosen fourth in the Big West Conference baseball coaches’ preseason poll.

Long Beach State is the top pick with 77 points and five first-place votes among the league’s nine head coaches. Cal State Fullerton is second with 74 points (four first-place votes) and Cal Poly is third with 58 points.

UCI received 52 votes for fourth place and UC Riverside is fifth with 51 points.

The Anteaters were 47-17-1 overall last season, setting the school’s Division I record for victories. UCI, which finished second in the Big West with a 15-6 mark, won the Round Rock Regional in Texas and the Wichita Super Regional.

Junior All-America pitcher Scott Gorgen is one of a handful of key returnees, including junior outfielder Ollie Linton (the team’s top returning hitter after batting .342), junior shortstop Ben Orloff, sophomore outfielder Sean Madigan, sophomore infielder Jeff Cusick and senior catcher Aaron Lowenstein.

The Anteaters open the 2008 season with a three-game series against the University of Nevada Feb. 22-24 in Reno. UCI’s home opener is Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. vs. USC.

— From staff reports