Gillespie, Anteaters Cap Year with Winning Season, Third Place Finish
June 01, 2018 | Baseball
UC Irvine Anteaters
Record: 32-24
Big West: 13-11 (T3rd)
2018 Series: 8-6 (1 split)
All-Big West
First Team
Andre Pallante - Parker Coss - Ryan Fitzpatrick
Second Team
Cole Kreuter - Konnor Zickefoose
Honorable Mention
Brendan Brooks - Jordan Bocko - Christian Koss - Matt Reitano
Big West Players of the Week
Andre Pallante - February 26
Andre Pallante - March 12
Ryan Fitzpatrick - April 16
Trenton Denholm - April 16
Cole Kreuter - April 23
Mikey Filia - May 14
Around The Horn
3rd - UC Irvine finished with a 13-11 Big West mark in a tie for 3rd in the conference after the 'Eaters were picked in the preseason to finish 6th. UCI got back on the winning side going 32-24, the 10th in head coach Mike Gillespie's 11 seasons including 16 road wins
1,156 - Head Coach Mike Gillespie enters the regular season's final weekend with 1,156 wins all-time, 34th in Division I history, 10th among active DI coaches, in 1,878 games with 212 wins
in Anteater Ballpark. Including his 16 years on the junior college level, his overall record is 1,574-886-2 in 2,461 games
1.60 - Andre Pallante's remarkable 2018 pitching performance started with a 1.60 ERA, 7th-lowest in the NCAA, and seven points off the UCI single-season low. He finished 10-1, only the 5th Anteater with 10 or more wins and 1 or fewer losses, and his 115 strikeouts were fifth-most in a UCI single season
Head Coach Mike Gillespie completed his final season of his 31 as a Division I head coach with 1,156 wins in 1,878 games. He finishes as the program's winningest coach at 393 UCI wins in his 11 seasons with the Anteaters. In Skip's 47 years of coaching which includes his 16 years at College of the Canyons, his overall record finishes up at 1,574-886-2 in 2,461 career games
The 'Eaters return to the winning side of things going 32-24 on the year finishing with a winning record in 10 of Gillespie's 11 seasons
UC Irvine finished in a tie for third in the Big West going 13-11 alongside CSUN. Prior to the season, the Big West coaches voted the Anteaters to finish sixth in the conference
UCI finished with 16 wins each in home and road efforts. It even finished with an impressive 8-2 mark in midweek matchups
Month Record AVG Leader ERA Leader
February 6-2 .262 Castro (.438) 2.80 Pallante (0.00)
March 8-10 .273 Fitzpatrick (.356) 4.74 Pallante (1.91)
April 11-5 .296 Zickefoose (.357) 2.57 Pallante (1.24)
May 7-7 .282 Filia (.415) 4.50 Pallante (2.42)
The Anteaters as a team hit .280 which was second-best in the conference, and were led by Brendan Brooks' .308 average becoming the fourth freshman in program history to lead UCI in hitting and first since Ronnie Shaeffer in 2009
The pitching staff also finished second in ERA at 3.76 in the competitive pitching climate of the Big West. The ERA returned near Anteater standards finishing below 4.00 for the first time since 2014. Andre Pallante's remarkable season finished seven points off of a single-season record at 1.60, the seventh-lowest mark in the country. Six other Anteaters sported ERA below 4.00 including Jordan Bocko at 2.98 with eight saves placing fourth in conference
UC Irvine's defense finished with a .972 fielding percentage around the middle of the pack in the Big West committing 60 errors. UCI catchers caught 25 runners stealing led by Matt Reitano catching half (16) of the 31 runners attempting to steal. The squad caught over 40% of runners stealing, third-best in the conference
The only category UCI led the Big West in was sacrifice flies with 34 ranking seventh nationally. Nick Anderson led the way with an Anteater single-season record nine this season ranked third in NCAA
Andre Pallante was the story of the 2018 season with phenomenal numbers starting with a 1.60 ERA and adding a 10-1 record leading the conference in wins and becoming just the fifth Anteaters with double-digit wins and one or fewer losses. His 115 strikeouts are the fifth-most in a season for the Anteaters as he finished second in the Big West. He was also among the Big West leaders with a 1.06 WHIP allowing opponents to hit .206 in 101.1 innings pitched. He joined Coss and Fitzpatrick on the All-Big West First Team adding two Big West Pitcher of the Week awards, All-American recognition, and has been named 1 of 5 finalists for the National Pitcher of the Year by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. He will continue his stellar sophomore season over the summer playing with the U.S. Collegiate National Team
Ryan Fitzpatrick finishes as the conference's on-base leader with a .436 percentage. He was high in other categories including second in slugging (.526), second in RBIs (44), second in walks (33), third in HR (8), fourth in hit by pitch (14), and sixth in runs scored (38) and total bases (101). In his two seasons with the 'Eaters, he finishes with a .278 average collecting 80 hits and 61 RBIs, and his 14 HR are tied for 10th-most in program history
Cole Kreuter showed up in many offensive categories starting with the fourth-most HR (8), fifth in doubles (15) which led the Anteaters, fifth in RBI (39) including 22 in Big West play - second-most, seventh in total bases (100), and eighth in slugging (.485). Kreuter's decorated four-year Anteater career produced a .271 batting average behind exactly 200 hits and 738 at-bats, seventh-most in program history. He matches Fitzpatrick with 14 career homers and adds 115 RBI, 38 doubles, 90 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases as he played 203 career games starting 191. Kreuter also blasted two grand slams this season becoming just the fifth Anteater with two in a career and third with those two coming in the same season
Parker Coss joined Kreuter in the 200-games played club, the 10th and 11th Anteaters to reach the mark. His .276 batting average was a career high for a season helping him earn All-Big West First Team honors and finish at .240 for his career behind 155 hits, 20 doubles, 70 RBIs, and one career homer coming as a senior at No. 3 TCU
The Anteaters got a lot of contributions from their new faces starting with freshmen Brendan Brooks and Jake Palmer. Brooks put up 53 hits and 23 RBIs starting 45 of the 46 games he played. Palmer finished second in the conference with a .430 on-base hitting .298 out of the leadoff spot with 42 hits and reaching 35 times without a hit. Jacob Castro was another contributor especially early hitting .438 through the first month of the season and finishing with 12 RBIs. Nick Anderson's first and only season with the 'Eaters was felt at the plate, hitting .285 with three home runs and 28 RBIs as well as on the mound going 3-2 with 25 strikeouts in 28.1 innings
Konnor Zickefoose showed his worth in his first season as a redshirt sophomore leading the club in hits with 60 including a team-high .346 average in Big West games. He added double-digit doubles, a pair of triples, five home runs, and 27 RBIs with a .306 average
Mikey Filia put together a solid tailend to the season hitting .289 behind a .415 month of May with 22 hits. He added four assists from the outfield tying Brooks for the team lead.
Christian Koss found his bat hitting .287 on the season led by a .340 average during the final two months of the season. He put up his first career home run along with a team-high in triples with three, and stole four bases tied alongside Filia for the team lead
Taylor Rashi was a newbie on the pitching staff posting the sixth-lowest ERA in the Big West at 2.97. He tossed one of the UCI's two complete games in a losing effort, Louis Raymond had the other winning with just 83 pitches. Rashi allowed a .239 opponent batting average, fifth-lowest, and he allowed the least amount of doubles among qualified pitchers at nine, the second-least amount of runs (25) and hits (57), and was 1 of 6 pitchers to not allow a triple.
Jordan Bocko has picked up eight saves on the season, fourth-most in the Big West, with the second-most in conference play at five. He picked up five wins, most of any pitcher that did not record a start, in addition to a 2.98 ERA and a .198 batting average allowed leading all non-starters on the team with 45.1 innings and 47 strikeouts.
The Anteater staff came together to register a solid 2018 season. Sean Sparling's 25 games pitched tied for the team's most earning two saves and a 3.38 ERA in 42.2 innings. He finishes in 10th all-time at UC Irvine making 76 career pitching appearances. Dylan Riddle came back from injury to put up a 2.25 ERA in 18 appearances, and Chris Vargas matched him in ERA. Alonzo Garcia rebounded nicely from injury as he reaches 100 career strikeouts
Trenton Denholm grew into his starter role with a 4.72 ERA in 15 starts and 74.1 innings. He saved his best performances in big spots shutting out No. 3 TCU on the road over seven innings and picking up quality starts at Cal Poly and in a win over UC Santa Barbara.
The Anteaters have won six Big West weekly awards this season, three times taking home Pitcher of the Week honors from Trenton Denholm (April 16) and twice by Andre Pallante (February 26, March 12). Ryan Fitzpatrick (April 16) and Cole Kreuter (April 23) now have Mikey Filia (May 14) as the three Field Player of the Week awards.
The 2017 Anteater schedule included six NCAA Tournament teams and two programs to reach the College World Series. UC Irvine's schedule featured four opponents to reach the NCAA Tournament in 2018 including conference foe, Cal State Fullerton, along with conference champions San Diego State and Gonzaga, and at-large UCLA out of the Pac-12 conference. UC Irvine finished 2-3 on the year against ranked schools picking up road wins at No. 3 TCU and No. 13 UCLA
The Anteaters are 13-8 in Anteater Ballpark against non-conference ranked opponents winning two of three against No. 1 TCU last year adding to the series win over No. 25 Cal in 2006 and sweeps of No. 23 Baylor in 2013 and No. 8 Washington in 2005.
Since Head Coach Mike Gillespie finished his 11-year tenure at UCI with 108 games against ranked opponents, 86 coming during the regular season, and the 'Eaters won 49 of those games. Since 2002, UC Irvine is 32-41 overall against ranked Big West programs
UC Irvine took the series at Long Beach State giving UCI four points toward the Black and Blue Rivalry Series this season. The season series finished at a 23-23 tie.
Record: 32-24
Big West: 13-11 (T3rd)
2018 Series: 8-6 (1 split)
All-Big West
First Team
Andre Pallante - Parker Coss - Ryan Fitzpatrick
Second Team
Cole Kreuter - Konnor Zickefoose
Honorable Mention
Brendan Brooks - Jordan Bocko - Christian Koss - Matt Reitano
Big West Players of the Week
Andre Pallante - February 26
Andre Pallante - March 12
Ryan Fitzpatrick - April 16
Trenton Denholm - April 16
Cole Kreuter - April 23
Mikey Filia - May 14
Around The Horn
3rd - UC Irvine finished with a 13-11 Big West mark in a tie for 3rd in the conference after the 'Eaters were picked in the preseason to finish 6th. UCI got back on the winning side going 32-24, the 10th in head coach Mike Gillespie's 11 seasons including 16 road wins
1,156 - Head Coach Mike Gillespie enters the regular season's final weekend with 1,156 wins all-time, 34th in Division I history, 10th among active DI coaches, in 1,878 games with 212 wins
in Anteater Ballpark. Including his 16 years on the junior college level, his overall record is 1,574-886-2 in 2,461 games
1.60 - Andre Pallante's remarkable 2018 pitching performance started with a 1.60 ERA, 7th-lowest in the NCAA, and seven points off the UCI single-season low. He finished 10-1, only the 5th Anteater with 10 or more wins and 1 or fewer losses, and his 115 strikeouts were fifth-most in a UCI single season
Head Coach Mike Gillespie completed his final season of his 31 as a Division I head coach with 1,156 wins in 1,878 games. He finishes as the program's winningest coach at 393 UCI wins in his 11 seasons with the Anteaters. In Skip's 47 years of coaching which includes his 16 years at College of the Canyons, his overall record finishes up at 1,574-886-2 in 2,461 career games
The 'Eaters return to the winning side of things going 32-24 on the year finishing with a winning record in 10 of Gillespie's 11 seasons
UC Irvine finished in a tie for third in the Big West going 13-11 alongside CSUN. Prior to the season, the Big West coaches voted the Anteaters to finish sixth in the conference
UCI finished with 16 wins each in home and road efforts. It even finished with an impressive 8-2 mark in midweek matchups
Month Record AVG Leader ERA Leader
February 6-2 .262 Castro (.438) 2.80 Pallante (0.00)
March 8-10 .273 Fitzpatrick (.356) 4.74 Pallante (1.91)
April 11-5 .296 Zickefoose (.357) 2.57 Pallante (1.24)
May 7-7 .282 Filia (.415) 4.50 Pallante (2.42)
The Anteaters as a team hit .280 which was second-best in the conference, and were led by Brendan Brooks' .308 average becoming the fourth freshman in program history to lead UCI in hitting and first since Ronnie Shaeffer in 2009
The pitching staff also finished second in ERA at 3.76 in the competitive pitching climate of the Big West. The ERA returned near Anteater standards finishing below 4.00 for the first time since 2014. Andre Pallante's remarkable season finished seven points off of a single-season record at 1.60, the seventh-lowest mark in the country. Six other Anteaters sported ERA below 4.00 including Jordan Bocko at 2.98 with eight saves placing fourth in conference
UC Irvine's defense finished with a .972 fielding percentage around the middle of the pack in the Big West committing 60 errors. UCI catchers caught 25 runners stealing led by Matt Reitano catching half (16) of the 31 runners attempting to steal. The squad caught over 40% of runners stealing, third-best in the conference
The only category UCI led the Big West in was sacrifice flies with 34 ranking seventh nationally. Nick Anderson led the way with an Anteater single-season record nine this season ranked third in NCAA
Andre Pallante was the story of the 2018 season with phenomenal numbers starting with a 1.60 ERA and adding a 10-1 record leading the conference in wins and becoming just the fifth Anteaters with double-digit wins and one or fewer losses. His 115 strikeouts are the fifth-most in a season for the Anteaters as he finished second in the Big West. He was also among the Big West leaders with a 1.06 WHIP allowing opponents to hit .206 in 101.1 innings pitched. He joined Coss and Fitzpatrick on the All-Big West First Team adding two Big West Pitcher of the Week awards, All-American recognition, and has been named 1 of 5 finalists for the National Pitcher of the Year by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. He will continue his stellar sophomore season over the summer playing with the U.S. Collegiate National Team
Ryan Fitzpatrick finishes as the conference's on-base leader with a .436 percentage. He was high in other categories including second in slugging (.526), second in RBIs (44), second in walks (33), third in HR (8), fourth in hit by pitch (14), and sixth in runs scored (38) and total bases (101). In his two seasons with the 'Eaters, he finishes with a .278 average collecting 80 hits and 61 RBIs, and his 14 HR are tied for 10th-most in program history
Cole Kreuter showed up in many offensive categories starting with the fourth-most HR (8), fifth in doubles (15) which led the Anteaters, fifth in RBI (39) including 22 in Big West play - second-most, seventh in total bases (100), and eighth in slugging (.485). Kreuter's decorated four-year Anteater career produced a .271 batting average behind exactly 200 hits and 738 at-bats, seventh-most in program history. He matches Fitzpatrick with 14 career homers and adds 115 RBI, 38 doubles, 90 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases as he played 203 career games starting 191. Kreuter also blasted two grand slams this season becoming just the fifth Anteater with two in a career and third with those two coming in the same season
Parker Coss joined Kreuter in the 200-games played club, the 10th and 11th Anteaters to reach the mark. His .276 batting average was a career high for a season helping him earn All-Big West First Team honors and finish at .240 for his career behind 155 hits, 20 doubles, 70 RBIs, and one career homer coming as a senior at No. 3 TCU
The Anteaters got a lot of contributions from their new faces starting with freshmen Brendan Brooks and Jake Palmer. Brooks put up 53 hits and 23 RBIs starting 45 of the 46 games he played. Palmer finished second in the conference with a .430 on-base hitting .298 out of the leadoff spot with 42 hits and reaching 35 times without a hit. Jacob Castro was another contributor especially early hitting .438 through the first month of the season and finishing with 12 RBIs. Nick Anderson's first and only season with the 'Eaters was felt at the plate, hitting .285 with three home runs and 28 RBIs as well as on the mound going 3-2 with 25 strikeouts in 28.1 innings
Konnor Zickefoose showed his worth in his first season as a redshirt sophomore leading the club in hits with 60 including a team-high .346 average in Big West games. He added double-digit doubles, a pair of triples, five home runs, and 27 RBIs with a .306 average
Mikey Filia put together a solid tailend to the season hitting .289 behind a .415 month of May with 22 hits. He added four assists from the outfield tying Brooks for the team lead.
Christian Koss found his bat hitting .287 on the season led by a .340 average during the final two months of the season. He put up his first career home run along with a team-high in triples with three, and stole four bases tied alongside Filia for the team lead
Taylor Rashi was a newbie on the pitching staff posting the sixth-lowest ERA in the Big West at 2.97. He tossed one of the UCI's two complete games in a losing effort, Louis Raymond had the other winning with just 83 pitches. Rashi allowed a .239 opponent batting average, fifth-lowest, and he allowed the least amount of doubles among qualified pitchers at nine, the second-least amount of runs (25) and hits (57), and was 1 of 6 pitchers to not allow a triple.
Jordan Bocko has picked up eight saves on the season, fourth-most in the Big West, with the second-most in conference play at five. He picked up five wins, most of any pitcher that did not record a start, in addition to a 2.98 ERA and a .198 batting average allowed leading all non-starters on the team with 45.1 innings and 47 strikeouts.
The Anteater staff came together to register a solid 2018 season. Sean Sparling's 25 games pitched tied for the team's most earning two saves and a 3.38 ERA in 42.2 innings. He finishes in 10th all-time at UC Irvine making 76 career pitching appearances. Dylan Riddle came back from injury to put up a 2.25 ERA in 18 appearances, and Chris Vargas matched him in ERA. Alonzo Garcia rebounded nicely from injury as he reaches 100 career strikeouts
Trenton Denholm grew into his starter role with a 4.72 ERA in 15 starts and 74.1 innings. He saved his best performances in big spots shutting out No. 3 TCU on the road over seven innings and picking up quality starts at Cal Poly and in a win over UC Santa Barbara.
The Anteaters have won six Big West weekly awards this season, three times taking home Pitcher of the Week honors from Trenton Denholm (April 16) and twice by Andre Pallante (February 26, March 12). Ryan Fitzpatrick (April 16) and Cole Kreuter (April 23) now have Mikey Filia (May 14) as the three Field Player of the Week awards.
The 2017 Anteater schedule included six NCAA Tournament teams and two programs to reach the College World Series. UC Irvine's schedule featured four opponents to reach the NCAA Tournament in 2018 including conference foe, Cal State Fullerton, along with conference champions San Diego State and Gonzaga, and at-large UCLA out of the Pac-12 conference. UC Irvine finished 2-3 on the year against ranked schools picking up road wins at No. 3 TCU and No. 13 UCLA
The Anteaters are 13-8 in Anteater Ballpark against non-conference ranked opponents winning two of three against No. 1 TCU last year adding to the series win over No. 25 Cal in 2006 and sweeps of No. 23 Baylor in 2013 and No. 8 Washington in 2005.
Since Head Coach Mike Gillespie finished his 11-year tenure at UCI with 108 games against ranked opponents, 86 coming during the regular season, and the 'Eaters won 49 of those games. Since 2002, UC Irvine is 32-41 overall against ranked Big West programs
UC Irvine took the series at Long Beach State giving UCI four points toward the Black and Blue Rivalry Series this season. The season series finished at a 23-23 tie.
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