UCI sets sights on Omaha

Members of the UC Irvine baseball program open the 2010 season tonight with a target on their back, a chip on their shoulder and a number on their chest.

The target refers to being the reigning Big West Conference champions after claiming the program’s first crown last season with a 22-2 Big West record. There is also the matter of having been ranked No. 1 the final six weeks of the regular season and earning the school’s first home NCAA Regional.

The chip on their shoulder relates to the way 2009 ended, as Virginia eliminated the Anteaters to advance from the Irvine Regional and finalize UCI’s record at 45-15.

There are also a handful of players not selected in the Major League Draft, or selected in the late rounds, who believe they have something to prove about the viability of their professional futures.

The number on their chest has to do with a popular T-shirt worn by the players for the first time this year, with 1,558 centered on its front. The figure represents the distance in miles from Irvine to Omaha, where the top eight teams will convene in June for the final College World Series to be held at historic Rosenblatt Stadium.

A much more tangible element residing in the UCI clubhouse is experienced, talented players, including eight who lived the thrill of competing in Omaha as members of the ’Eaters’ 2007 CWS squad.

Gillespie, in his third season at Irvine after 20 years at the USC helm, said this is the most experienced team he has ever had, including his 1998 national championship team at USC.

“When you have a junior-senior team, you really count your blessings,” said Gillespie, the 2009 Big West Coach of the Year who was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in the off-season. “[The veterans] are poised, they don’t get rattled and their skills have improved. They’re just better players.”

Few teams figure to have better starting pitching. UCI’s weekend rotation consists of All-Americans Danny Bibona, Christian Bergman and Eric Pettis.

Bibona was the Big West Pitcher of the Year as a junior, when he went 12-1 with a staff-best 2.63 earned-run average. The left-hander struck out 108 in 106 innings, before being drafted in the 16th round by the St. Louis Cardinals. He’ll start Friday night against Loyola Marymount at 6 p.m.

Bergman, the Saturday starter, was 9-3 with a 3.50 ERA last season. He was a second-team All-Big West selection last season.

Pettis, a two-time All-American closer who posted 17 saves each of the last two seasons, shifts back to the starting role he had as a freshman. He takes over the Sunday starting assignment from Crosby Slaught, who brings his 8-0 record from last season to a mid-week role. Slaught is currently nursing a sore elbow that is not expected to sideline him for long.

Add fifth-year senior Kyle Necke to the mix as the projected closer, and UCI’s five featured arms provide plenty of justification for its status in the five national polls, where it is opens anywhere from No. 5 to No. 8.

But the embarrassment of riches does not stop on the mound.

Gillespie and others have suggested that the most difficult task confronting him this season will be determining which of the 14 bona fide position players will comprise the daily lineup.

“Who would complain about having too many good players,” Gillespie said. “But I am honestly concerned that some pretty good players might not get enough playing time.”

Returning starters include senior catcher Francis Larson, who joined Bibona and Pettis as a first-team all-conference honoree last season, when he led the team with nine home runs, 43 runs batted in and 27 extra-base hits, while hitting .309. With 17 career homers, Larson needs five more to become the school’s all-time leader.

“Larson not getting drafted is astounding to me,” said Gillespie, who singled out the muscular backstop as the returner who may have improved the most from last season. “It’s not like he wasn’t good. He was really good. But he’s even better,” Gillespie said. “He’s throwing better [after having gunned down 26 of 49 who attempted to steal in 2009] and he’s a much more patient and disciplined hitter.”

Plate discipline was a strength for designated hitter Ronnie Shaeffer, a freshman All-American after leading the team with a .388 average. Shaeffer had four homers and 36 RBIs en route to second-team all-conference recognition.

Senior second baseman Casey Stevenson also returns after hitting .346 with 41 RBIs, a team-best 19 doubles and three homers. His eight steals in 10 attempts are also tops among returners. He was a second-team all-conference choice.

Senior first baseman Jeff Cusick (.293 with six homers and 40 RBIs) is also back. He and Bibona were singled out by Gillespie as the team’s two foremost leaders.

Drew Hillman and Brian Hernandez are two newcomers that may help lessen the void left by departed standouts Ben Orloff (the Big West Player of the Year, Brooks Wallace Award winner as the nation’s top shortstop and the all-time UCI hits leader), and Eric Deragisch (this year’s student volunteer assistant coach).

The duo also provide credence to the belief that this year’s offense will hit for better power.

Hillman is a junior transfer from Orange Coast College, where he was a two-time All-American third baseman and helped the Pirates claim the state title last season by amassing 11 home runs, a school-record 21 doubles and 53 RBIs. He was drafted in the 38th round by Tampa Bay.

Hernandez, whom many believe was the best hitter on the roster last season, regains his eligibility after transferring from College of the Canyons. Hernandez is a junior who could also play third or the outfield.

D.J. Crumlich, who drove in 30 runs and hit .261 in 47 starts at third base as a freshman, is slated to start at shortstop, where sophomore Tommy Reyes (.348 with 15 RBIs in 92 at-bats in ’09) figures to also contribute.

Gillespie said Reyes, Hernandez and Hillman could play third at various times. Hillman, who along with Hernandez has to be in the lineup, according to Gillespie, will also be utilized as a corner outfielder.

The outfield is, to put it mildly, congested, with seniors Cory Olson and Dillon Bell, juniors Ryan Fisher and Sean Madigan, sophomores Jordan Fox and Jordan Leyland joining the aforementioned Shaeffer, Reyes and Hillman in a rotation that allows Gillespie the ultimate power to match up with the opposing starting pitcher.

Madigan, a freshman All-American in 2007, returns after reconstructive knee surgery cost him his 2009 campaign. He is a career .322 hitter at UCI in 104 games and 270 at-bats, with 53 RBIs.

Fisher is a .310 career hitter in 97 games and 261 at-bats with seven homers, 65 RBIs and nine steals.

Bell has a .297 career average in 242 at-bats and 98 games, with seven dingers and 53 RBIs.

Olson hit .315 in 41 games of an injury-plagued junior campaign.

Fox (.289 in 38 at-bats in ’09) could provide speed, an element Gillespie cites as the glaring shortcoming of this team.

Gillespie said he will try to create opportunities for all his outfielders, while also trying to ride those producing best with the bat.

Freshman Kyle Hooper, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound right-hander drafted in the 28th round by Pittsburgh out of Saugus High, freshman lefty Matt Whitehouse, freshman Evan Brock and sophomore Matt Summers are expected to provide depth on the mound.

Cusick said the corps of veterans who have been together since the breakthrough 2007 campaign provide a special element to this team.

“In the four years I’ve played here, there is the most passion and enthusiasm for the game on the field from this group of guys,” Cusick said. “It’s because this group has played together so long now, you’re not playing just for yourself or your coaches; you’re playing for the guys around you.”

Gillespie, attempting to guide UCI to its fifth straight postseason appearance, said this team has the ability to be the last one standing in Omaha.

Bibona agrees.

“Omaha is a good place to start, but now that we’ve been there, it’s about going there and taking care of business and winning it,” Bibona said. “Even though eight guys here have experienced going to Omaha, none of us have ever experienced the ultimate goal of winning a national championship.”

Larson said last year’s early postseason exit, as well as an agonizing Super Regional defeat in 2008 at LSU, provide added motivation for the veterans.

“I believe that players and teams do better when they have a chip on their shoulder,” Larson said. “When you have something you need to show people, whether as a team or individually, it gives you a better opportunity to succeed.”