UCI’s Gillespie earns extension

UC Irvine baseball coach Mike Gillespie, who signed a three-year contract when taking the job before the 2008 season, has received a two-year extension through the 2012 season, UCI Athletic Director Mike Izzi said.

Gillespie, who guided USC to the 1998 national championship and 15 postseason appearances in 20 season as the Trojans head coach, led the Anteaters to the program’s first Big West Conference crown and its first No. 1 national ranking in 2009.

The Anteaters were 45-15, including a 22-2 conference record.

UCI, which lost in the title game of the NCAA regional it played host to last season, was 42-18 in Gillespie’s first season.

The ’Eaters were three outs away from advancing to the College World Series in 2008, before LSU rallied to win the final two games of the best-of-three Super Regional in Baton Rouge.

Gillespie was hired in the fall of 2007, after Dave Serrano left UCI for Cal State Fullerton.