2019 Baseball Season Preview

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2019 Baseball Season Preview

February 03, 2019 | Baseball

By: Alex Croteau

IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine baseball has started to congeal its new leadership and players along with its wealth of veteran talent. Strong fall showings and some validation from the experts in the preseason has an optimism around the program with the 2019 season a few weeks out.

History in the Making
UC Irvine baseball commences for its 41st season of play which opened in 1970, took a hiatus in 1992, and is back for its 18th season since the program returned in 2002.

UCI once again hosted a warm and welcoming Alumni Game on January 26 which saw over 90 alums in attendance and playing against the 2019 Anteater squad.

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Fall Forecasting
"We can be good. We've shown the potential, but we haven't done anything yet," noted an optimistic Ben Orloff who saw his Anteaters rattle off a pair of impressive fall wins at UCLA and home vs. USD. "The guys handled the newness of the coaching staff and big role players. This is a roster full of guys that haven't played in a postseason game"

UCI began the fall traveling to the Bruins and pulling out an impressive offensive showing. The 'Eaters led UCLA, 9-3, through nine innings before finishing 14 innings of baseball with an 11-10 edge. UCI welcomed the Toreros of USD a week later and took them down, 15-5, through nine innings finishing 14 innings of baseball with a 20-8 edge.

Some players with strong fall numbers at the plate were Jacob Castro (6-for-13, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R), Christian Koss (3-for-5, 2 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 4 R, 5 BB), and Jake Palmer (4-for-10, 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 2 R). Pitchers that made an impact were Tanner Brubaker (6 IP, 2 H, 3 K), Alonzo Garcia (2 scoreless IP), and Ryan Johnston (3 scoreless IP, K).

Preseason Pub
The 'Eaters are looking for their first postseason trip since the 2014 College World Series season, and are off to a solid start earning some recognition from the baseball coaches, writers, and experts of America earning a spot in the preseason rankings from Perfect Game (No. 23), Baseball America (No. 25), and even earning votes from USA Today.

UC Irvine was also projected to finish second according to the Big West coaches and even took home the most first place votes with four. Three first place votes went to Cal State Fullerton who will return as the favorites and another strong squad. UCI and CSF will have the luxury of meeting in each team's home venue this year with a three-game weekend conference set at Fullerton with a return to Irvine following that series for a midweek non-conference tilt.

The Big West foes fans can expect to see in Anteater Ballpark also includes:
Long Beach State, projected to finish third in the conference behind a veteran coaching staff and an ace in Zak Baayoun
Cal Poly, projected to finish fourth and always a threat to take a series with a balanced attack on the mound and behind the plate
CSUN, projected to finish seventh whose been trending in an upward trajectory collecting talent and will seek revenge from an Anteater sweep on their field in 2018
UC Davis, projected to finish eight, but returns a bevy of veterans including the freshman player of the year in the conference, Tanner Murray

Anteater road trips send the 'Eaters to UCSB (projected fifth) with an affluence of untapped potential, Hawai'i (projected sixth) who upended the 'Eaters at home in 2018, and UC Riverside (projected ninth) who have power arms at head coach Troy Percival's disposal.

Full Extension: Episode 1

Big Ben Tolls
The seventh head coach in program history kicks off his head coaching career in 2019. Ben Orloff returns to the Anteater dugout for a sixth year, but first at the helm. Even though he is the NCAA career and single-season record holder in sacrifice bunts, don't expect to see his the Anteaters bunting their way around the bases.

"You don't have a style, you adjust to your players," the head coach stated recognizing the talent and pop his lineup brings. "Offensively, we have some power bats that are looking to hit in the middle of the lineup with Konnor Zickefoose, Brandon Lewis, and John Jensen. Any of those guys can lift a double or leave the yard so there's potential for the big inning and we look to capitalize on that."

The "small ball" perception of the Anteaters and the Big West is there, but UC Irvine has finished top two in the conference in hitting in each of the last two seasons and belted 30 home runs last year for the 12th time in program history and first time since 2008

"A big part of the offense will be an emphasis on walking more, strike zone management, raising that slugging percentage. We'll walk more this year than we ever have in the last five years."

Jake Palmer is a player that specialized in that reaching base 35 times without the assistance of a hit and scoring the second-most runs on the team. The program is coming off its most successful season in terms of sacrifice flies with 34 in 2018

What's Missing?
The 'Eaters do need to make up for the loss of some key players especially in the power numbers with Cole Kreuter and Ryan Fitzpatrick each graduating their eight home runs and 83 RBI between them. Parker Coss, like Kreuter, put in over 200 games in his Anteater career in the infield which will be a large absence to make up as well.

On the mound, the 'Eaters lose plenty of experience in the likes of Sean Sparling (76 career appearances) and Nick Anderson (3-2, 4.76, 2 saves) to go along with his bat, but most of the staff stayed intact as the team enters 2019.

Years of Practice
The 2019 Anteaters are a squad comprised of players that have a lot of college baseball experience and have put in a lot of time with the Anteater program. Twenty of the 2019 Anteaters are upperclassmen with 14 as juniors and six seniors including graduate student and starter Louis Raymond. Overall, 14 Anteaters have put in at least three years with the program including seven into now their fourth year.

Full Extension: Episode 2

Staff Direction
The Anteater weekend rotation will once again enter 2019 as a shining beacon led by ace Andre Pallante who drew a lot of All-American praise at the end of 2018 and has begun 2019 with preseason accolades. Joining him is long-time high school teammate and San Clemente native, Tanner Brubaker, who was the California junior college pitcher of the year at Saddleback JC after making the move from Cal Baptist in 2017. He will fight for weekend innings along with freshman workhorse Trenton Denholm. Head Coach Ben Orloff also likes the strides that fifth-year senior Alonzo Garcia has made over the offseason.

"Alonzo could be a big bounce back guy that's had a good career as an Anteater, but has been hurt in recent years. He could step into a big role and will be very valuable with the way he pitched over the fall and winter"

Garcia could be a much-needed arm in midweek contests to help spell the Anteater bullpen and will be important filling in for the starters. Jordan Bocko returns to the closer role for his senior year after collecting eight saves and All-Big West Honorable Mention honors in 2018. Veterans arms Dylan Riddle and Taylor Rashi will also be key out of the pen along with enhanced roles from the likes of Ryan Johnston, Kaz Akamatsu, and another intriguing transfer in left-hander John Vergara.

"Vergara has interesting potential, but he's been out the whole fall. He only threw three innings in the fall, didn't really get to see him, redshirted last year at Glendale CC, and had a decent summer with the Conejo Oaks. He's kind of a wild card and an intriguing arm, looking forward to seeing what he brings to the fold."

Vergara and a lot of other new faces like fellow lefty Darius Garcia and summer standout Michael Frias will be thrown into the mix and have a chance to become vital stoppers for the Anteaters in the late innings.

Catching Fire
The catching position seems to be the most hotly-contested position on the Anteater diamond with three worthy candidates for playing time in Jacob Castro, Matt Reitano, and Griffin Mazur. Castro's bat commands attention in the lineup while Mazur's skill behind the dish will be a huge defensive key. Senior Matt Reitano brings skill in each area along with a toughness and veteran mindset making the backstop the deepest and toughest position to separate.

Infield Integrity
The UC Irvine defense runs behind the star power at shortstop with Christian Koss. The junior saw a vast improvement with the bat in 2018 and has benefited from a second summer in the Cape Cod League as he enters the 2019 season as the program's top draft prospect. Another piece coming to the infield is sophomore Brendan Brooks. His consistency with the bat helped him lead the Anteaters in batting in 2018, but a large help from the sophomore was his versatility to be able to play the outfield and put some time in a on the mound as well. He will return to the infield in a big way teaming up with Koss up the middle.

The Anteaters are limited by their lack of infield depth in 2019 however. The addition of junior college and summer league All-Star, Brandon Lewis, will be a huge plug at third base, and following a redshirt season, 6-5 presence Andre Antone has a shot to cement himself at first base. Behind the front line will be freshman Sam Ireland stepping in where needed and then a noticeable dropoff of bodies on the infield. Newcomer John Jensen along with Adrian Damla could fill some corner infield roles, but coach Orloff will lean heavily on his starting four.

UCI will get some of that depth back in 2020 from transfer Jake Cosgrove coming to the 'Eaters from Seattle University. He must redshirt in 2019 due to the transfer rules

Outfield Range
The spacious Cicerone Field outfield will have a deeper feel to it with speed and instinct tracking its grounds. Redshirt junior Mikey Filia stepped up in a big way down the final stretch of 2018 including a Big West Player of the Week honor and a batting average of .415 in the month of May, and the staff will look toward his emergence in 2019.

"Mikey Filia is a guy that will step into a much bigger role. He's bided his time over the last three years and now he should be an integral part of the team's success."

Filia has some help around him starting with sophomore left fielder Jake Palmer. Injuries slowed him down down the tailend of last season and the summer, but his presence at the top of the lineup was noticeable reaching base 77 times last year and scoring the second-most runs on the team in addition to his fine fielding. Right field belonged to Konnor Zickefoose in 2018 breaking out with a team-high 60 hits, 20 for extra bases, and accounting for 62 runs scored. He and new right fielder John Jensen should share time in RF and DH as a pair of heavy left-handed bats teeming with power.

The 'Eaters are full of outfield competition beyond the front four with sophomore Mike Peabody going to command a lot of innings and at-bats. Ryan Johnston's arm and timely hitting will make an impact as well when not on the mound. The left-handed bat convention really takes shape with the speed of Dailin Lee, and even the future of Nathan Church, who will miss the season with an injury, have six of the seven Anteater outfielders hitting from the left side.

Full Extension: Episode 3

Opposing Views
Stepping into his first campaign as a head coach, Orloff has put himself to the test right away with a fierce non-conference schedule in addition to the Big West slate in which the conference annually ranks within the top five to seven leagues in the NCAA.

The Anteaters will play 10 games against the Pac-12 in 2019, eight of which will be in Anteater Ballpark starting with the opening series against Washington fresh off an appearance in the 2018 College World Series and returning their top four hitters. The 'Eaters end non-conference play with the other Pacific Northwest foe as Washington State plays a weekend series at Cicerone Field. UCLA and USC are usual midweek matchups

A new face in the midweeks is projected Big Ten champ Michigan. The Wolverines start the 2019 ranked as high as No. 17 and have finished in the conference's top two in each of the last two years including a 40-win season. UCI ventures to the Big Ten near in May during the midst of Big West play traveling to Iowa whose projected to finish sixth and have consistently in the upper half of the conference.

Other historically prominent baseball programs dot the Anteater schedule starting with trips to Rice and Missouri State. Rice, like the Anteaters, are transitioning to a new head coach after legendary skipper Wayne Graham called it a career following 2018. New skipper Matt Bragga is on board after an explosive Super Regional appearance with Tennessee Tech as he brings a dominant pitching staff up against the 'Eaters' arms. Missouri State is coming off its third straight regionals appearance, second 40-win season in those years, 36 conference wins in the last two years, and are looking for its sixth trip to the College World Series. Topping the tough road slate is a return trip to Utah Valley who stole the series at Anteater Ballpark in 2018.

The premier series in Cicerone Field features the class of the Big West in St. John's. A program that consistently puts up 40 wins every season and is coming off back-to-back regional appearances is stacked on the mound led by one of the premier Friday night matchups in the nation this season when 2018 National Pitcher of the Year finalists square off in Andre Pallante and SJU's Sean Mooney.