Video
Bigwest.TV with Mark Roberts. All home games will be broadcasted over Bigwest.TV and ucirvinesports.com
 
Radio
KUCI 88.9 FM with Mark Roberts. All games also available live on the internet at kuci.org and ucirvinesports.com. Monday's broadcast will be internet only.
 
Game Updates
All UC Irvine baseball games can be followed via live stats with links found on ucirvinesports.com and the UCI Athletics app. Each game is also live tweeted at @UCIbsb

Around The Horn

15 - UC Irvine's 2020 baseball season lasted just 15 games before being halted due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Prior to 2020, the least amount of games played in a season was 42 games in 1975. The team finished with an 8-7 record marking the 17th winning season since 2002 which includes each season under Ben Orloff's tutelage

20th - The 2021 season represents the 20th season of Anteater baseball within the friendly confines of Anteater Ballpark. The stadium broke ground on January 25, 2001, and exactly one year later, the first game of the new era of UC Irvine baseball had begun. The 'Eaters have had 17 winning seasons in the 19 of the stadium, and posted an all-time record at #TheCis of 348-183

#19 - The Anteaters lost a massive member of their family when former head coach Mike Gillespie passed away on July 29 at the age of 80. He spent 46 years as a head coach, 31 years on the Division I level where he won 1,156 games and a national title in 1998, and is the all-time winningest coach in UCI history with 393 victories and has his #19 retired as the only one recognized by the program which hangs on the RF wall
 
The 2020 baseball season will be remembered as the season that was canceled due to COVID-19. The 'Eaters had just leapt over the .500 mark finishing at 8-7 and about to host Missouri State before the announcement came that head coach Ben Orloff remembers distinctly.

"I can remember the day the announcement came out and having to address the team. We were getting conflicting reports that week, but when it finally came out that the season got canceled and you have to tell the team, you see the hurt in guys' faces who may have played their last game at Irvine or last game ever."

The 'Eaters had a few notable players play their final games in Anteater uniforms:

+ Konnor Zickefoose, after graduating in 2019, returned as a grad student to pursue his Master's in finance. He had five hits and three RBIs in the young season finishing his career a lifetime .303 hitter in 105 games for the 'Eaters over three seasons.

+ Griffin Mazur was a key catching figure in his 4+ years on the roster, and despite a slow start to 2020, finish with 49 hits, a home run, and 27 RBI in his 110 career games. His career continues now as a grad transfer at the University of Michigan this season after completing a double major at UCI in criminology, law, & society and education science.

+ John Jensen's career continues as well returning near his native of Santa Barbara now at Westmont College for 2021. He provided one of the biggest 2020 moments smashing a 3-run homer to help drop USC at their place. His two-year Anteater career saw him post 19 hits, seven for extra bases, and 11 RBI in 41 lifetime appearances.

Coach Orloff's returning squad is made up of 38 players. In a season where the roster limits have been modified due to the 2020 season, UC Irvine maintained near the same size roster with many squads nationwide getting rosters into the 40s and 50s.

"You just know over the course of the season, somebody is going to be unavailable or a group will need to be shut down, it's just inevitable. We will need lots of players with all the challenges, and we have the smallest roster in the Big West putting out 38. This year is also unique in the sense that there's so many guys that normally would not be here either because of the draft or graduation."

Fans and 'Eater Nation will also have an adjustment with the season starting with no fans in the stands or on campus due to guidelines set out by the California Department of Public Health along with the county, UC system, and UC Irvine Health.

The program is upping their coverage of games working hard to provide a live video stream of all home games with Mark Roberts on the play-by-play simulcast on the usual KUCI 88.9 FM radio broadcasts. Live tweet updates and live stats will also continue to keep fans tuned in to all Anteater games to give the experience of being at the game all season. Anteater Ballpark and the Athletics Complex, which includes the Mesa Parking Structure, are closed to the public. The issue of spectators in attendance will be revisited as the season progresses.

"For the fans, I hope they continue to follow us. We're really excited about the schedule that we have. No midweeks, we still have 10 Pac-12 games, all the sacrifice that the kids have made to get to this point, we're looking forward to being one of those teams with players that are going to be a lot better from February to April."

The 2021 schedule is something coach Orloff takes a lot of pride in keeping it together to have the 'Eaters still able to schedule 56 games while making all precautions. The team will not leave California nor will they get onto a plane while taking on elite programs like UCLA, Oregon State, Fresno State, and Stanford who matches up with the 'Eaters for the first time in 40 years.

"We came out with a 56-game schedule, which, in a pandemic, has taken a lot of work and rework. We're not leaving the state and not getting on an airplane. Our league deciding to do four-game weekends is something I wanted a lot. Throughout this, I've wanted to play the most games and the most innings, and that's what we got. 56 games has a big significance because it could get canceled like we've seen with other sports. I think that's important for me, for our kids, and for the team. The quality of opponents is still really good. Especially during the pandemic, I'm really proud of the schedule that we have. We're looking forward to a lot of baseball. We're excited for the challenge, and we all want and love to play. I don't think we can have enough games or innings. Let's play.

The sacrifice cannot be overstated as the team has continued to connect and get better through the extended offseason. The 'Eaters were allowed to train in small groups in the fall until finally hitting the field together as a team for the first time to pull the tarp on January 28.

"In the fall, we had 18 days with small groups. We played no inter-squad games, just eight 4-to-5 person pods. It was very skill-based, not much team stuff. In January, we were in small groups until we pulled the tarp off the field on January 28. That was the first time the whole team has been on the same field together, before that we had to try and get creative. Since the 30th, we've been as a team having normal-ish practices. We've played eight inter-squads, and they have been telling for the stuff we haven't practiced and game-type stuff that comes up. We still have a lot of ground to cover before opening day, and once we get playing, keep learning and trying to get better."

As for the current roster of 38 players, there's a lot of familiar faces working with a crew of 12 newcomers to get up to speed around all the symptom and community assessment tracking.

"It's been really hard these past months because we've only been a team for two weeks, but you see some of the older players really trying to help some of the new guys get stuff. Position players like Palmer and Peabody are trying to help the new guys get it, and Denholm on the pitching side. It's been much needed because of how little we've been on the field. In a year like this, the smart teams that know what they're supposed to do and can handle the situations even with a lack of practice time, those are the teams that do well. The teams that get better once the season starts, you'll look up in April and they'll have a better record than the other guys."

In a very competitive conference like the Big West where anyone from 1 to 11 can take a game at any time, the 'Eaters a slated to finish third according to the coaches. UCSB is the favorite landing in nearly every national ranking. UCI is jammed together with Long Beach State and Cal Poly in a race for places second, third, and fourth in the projections.

2021 Coaches Poll Results - Votes (First Place votes)
1. UC Santa Barbara – 119 (10)
2. Long Beach State – 96
3. UC Irvine – 95
4. Cal Poly – 94
5. Cal State Fullerton – 78
6. CSUN – 64 (1)
7. Hawai'i – 61
8. UC Davis – 39
9. UC San Diego – 33
10. UC Riverside – 29
11. CSU Bakersfield – 18

The Anteater pitching has always been the strength as they return the Big West Pitcher of the Year, Trenton Denholm, who has landed on many preseason All-American lists. He will fortify the rotation on Fridays completed by Peter Van Loon on Saturdays and Nick Pinto on Sundays as season starts out with three three-game series.

"The first weekend will be how we planned to finish last year – Denholm-Van Loon-Pinto. They've been the best guys, especially Van Loon has taken the biggest jump forward. He's a lot more physical, his stuff has ticked up a bit. He had an arm injury that ended his sophomore year at junior college so he's just kind of continued to distance himself from that. He's been really good, and probably on the whole team has taken the biggest improvement from last year."

The bullpen and rest of the arms will all be important this season that will feature four-game series, no midweek contests, and the necessity of depth with so much uncertainty from week-to-week. Coach Orloff has reinforced the motto that will ring true through the 2021 campaign.

"It Takes All Of Us - I joke with our guys about that NFL slogan, but we're going to need that depth once we get to four-game weekends. The guys at the end of the game will be the same in John Vergara and Josh Ibarra. One of the guys that's emerged that will pitch a lot is Jacob King. He's developed a slider that's made him a lot better and will be one of the best guys out of the bullpen and pitch a lot. Gordon Ingebritson is in the mix, Troy Wentworth is improved, Michael Frias has looked good the last few weeks after missing the fall. Andre Antone is now a pitcher-only. He went through Tommy John in high school right when he was starting to get good, but still never got to focus on pitching being a two-way guy. Now, that's all he's focusing on, and he's thrown the ball decent. In terms of pitching, what's different about the schedule is no Tuesday games so I think the lack of opportunity that some guys might get in the first three weeks of the season will be there."

The Anteater offense starts in the outfield with the top-tier trio of Jake Palmer, Mike Peabody, and Nathan Church. Palmer could not be kept off the bases to start 2020, and Peabody had begun to find his swing launching some long balls to join up with his sparkling glove in center. Church was highly-touted out of the gate before an injury cut the short season even shorter for him. Orloff continued to say the next outfielders in Luke Spillane and newcomer Caden Kendle have impressed to this point and will provide immense depth and battle for the opening-day spot as the designated hitter.

The Anteater infield was coming off one of its best seasons in 2019, and continued that play early in 2020. The two positions that are locked in are now-fifth-year first baseman Adrian Damla who continued to scorch at the plate when it came to driving in runs, and shortstop Taishi Nakawake who had provided clutch hits along with dazzling play in the infield. There is a lot of depth around the infield that continues to make a case for 2B and 3B, and will definitely be called upon at some point during the course of the 2021 season.

"The other cast of guys – Hadeen, Kasper, Ireland, Cosgrove, McGuire, Torres, Murphy, are all battling for the second and third base positions. Connor McGuire at third base and Justin Torres at second base would probably start if we began today."

Another important position is catcher which will be led by fourth-year backstop Jacob Castro as the clear No. 1. Three first-year catchers line up behind Castro in Abraham Garcia-Pacheco, Thomas McCaffrey, and Dillon Tatum who have not separated from each other in the depth chart, and all three have a shot to be the backup and even make a start in the opening series.

The 2021 season represents one significant anniversary as it marks the 20th season of Anteater Ballpark. January 25, 2001 was the date of the groundbreaking of the new ballpark and the return of the program. While the 20th anniversary of that date passed last month, the 2021 season marks the 20th season UCI baseball is played on its grounds. Since its erection in 2002, the 'Eaters hold a record of 348-183.
 
Washington Huskies
The 2021 season was supposed to start just like the 2020 season with Fresno State to kick things off, now it has shifted to the 2019 season, where UC Irvine hosted Washington out of the gate. Much like that series, this one will also start on a Saturday to give the Huskies some time to regroup as they once were headed to frozen Texas for a tournament.

In 2020, Washington was up-and-down dropping series to the likes of LMU and Utah Valley while sweeping Fresno State and winning their home series with UCI to finish at 9-6 before the shutdown. All three games in the series were one-sided with UW taking Friday and Sunday while the 'Eaters pitched a Saturday shutout behind Peter Van Loon's spotless seven innings. The all-time series between these two is tied now, 14-14, as they meet for a third consecutive season in their eighth weekend series.

The 2021 Huskies return eight of the nine starters from the lineup that UCI saw for a lineup that was low in most offensive categories, but sparkled as the Pac-12's best defense early on. Noah Hsue (.375) and Braiden Ward (12 runs, 5 2B) were terrors at the top of the lineup. Will Simpson hammered the 'Eaters at the plate, and he'll be joined by a pair of heavy-hitting newcomers, Cole Fontenelle and Michael Brown. Senior leader Ramon Bramasco returns at shortstop along with an experienced outfield of fifth-year Christian Jones and junior Kaiser Weiss in addition to Preston Viltz who smacked three doubles in their Friday win.

Pitching will bring back two starters in Jack Enger and Logan Gerling primed for another matchup with the 'Eaters. The staff as a whole was among the nation's lowest in hits allowed, strikeout-to-walk ratio, and ERA at 2.54. And now they add a horse from a nearby community college in Tyson Guerrero ready to deal in the opener. Closer Davis Delorefice returns as he'll get some action in the outfield as well, and the returns of fellow relievers like Gabe Smith and Dylan Lamb with ERAs under 2.00 will provide stout arms on the roster of 42 players and 20 newcomers