Preseason Awards Central

IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine baseball returns to the diamond this month after one of the most successful seasons in program history in 2021. Reigning Big West Coach of the Year Ben Orloff gave his insight to the team for 2022 as we preview this year's Anteaters.

"2021 was a great season. You just wish that more than one team could be really happy at the end of the season. It was the next, right step we needed to take as a program. Before the season, the guys were talking about putting numbers up on the scoreboard which was never anything we've talked about as coaches. Winning the Big West is a huge deal. Only two Big West titles in the 20 years since baseball has been back, that's really special. Coach Gillespie always thought the difficulty of winning a conference championship and being the best team in the whole season was comparable to going to Omaha."

The 2021 Anteaters did bring home just its second Big West title speaking to its nine previous NCAA Tournament berths. After all of the challenges UCI and the rest of collegiate athletics went through the year before, it was a testament to the department and the student-athletes that stuck it through with the program rewarded with a 43-win season and the best Big West season since the other Anteater title in 2009 when UCI went 22-2.

The 'Eaters returned in the Fall to prepare with a large contingent of returners, but most of the play time in the exhibitions went to the newest crop of Anteaters acclimating to the landscape of college baseball.

"The fall we were without a few starters and had as many new players as returners out there with 16 newcomers. We took it slow in terms of implementing team stuff; lots of individual skill development. A successful fall for us nonetheless; played well against UCLA with different guys. We've used the fall was to not pitch any experienced guys, so playing well with a lot of new guys. Turned around and were not as good against USD, but it was good to see yourself against outside opponents which magnifies your flaws. Rounded the fall out with a intrasquad World Series to close things out well."

The team returned once again in January working through more COVID challenges setting back the team readiness and development, but still working toward opening day developing individual players. Coach Orloff has still been optimistic of the emergence of players stepping up and roles becoming clearer throughout the preseason.

UC Irvine's starting rotation and lineup will have a familiar feel to it with some new contributors sprinkled in. The projected batting order will likely feature eight everyday players from 2021 with two of the three weekend arms returning to the rotation strengthened by the bullpen leaders returning after registering the most appearances in the conference a year ago.

"Behind the plate we have Thomas McCaffrey starting. Abraham Garcia-Pacheco is a quality No. 2 and probably our best thrower. Connor McGuire, Taishi Nakawake, and Woody Hadeen go around the horn. First base will be some combination of Jacob Castro, Ben Fitzgerald, and Justin Torres. Luke Spillane in left and Nathan Church in center with right field open for Fitzgerald, Torres, and Myles Smith. Caden Kendle will work in for his glove and against a left-hander on the mound much like Garcia-Pacheco. Torres, Castro, and Fitzgerald will start everyday between 1B, RF, and DH. Fitzgerald is one of our best hitters and will hit behind Church."

"Fridays will be Michael Frias with Nick Pinto on Saturday, and when it matters the most you'll see Jacob King and Gordon Ingebritson out of the pen. The rest of the rotation will be competition for the spots with guys like Cooper Robinson, Danny Suarez, Cameron Wheeler, and Michael Stanford leading the charge.

"The strength of this pitching staff is the numbers. In the past, we've counted on our frontline guys and were short on depth, but this staff we will make up for lack of frontline with our numbers in the pen. With King and Ingebritson heading that committee, Jake Spillane we will use out of the bullpen, Troy Wentworth is coming into his own with a developing slider, Andre Antone continues to progress and will look to him to get 3-6 outs in appearances. Troy Taylor is a wild card with a huge arm that, on the right day and right pitch, he can get up to 96mph. Tanner Brooks is coming back from being out most of the offseason as well as our primary contributors out of the bullpen. What comes from having a lot of guys is their innings might not reflect that with Frias, Pinto, Ingebritson, and King who will throw a lot of innings for us. Ingebritson especially who wants to pitch as much as he can. We're back to Tuesday games instead of doubleheaders which allows more guys to pitch more games and sometimes four times a week."

Like every year, UC Irvine tests itself with challenges up and down the schedule. Coach Orloff again has glowing pride for the schedule UCI puts out to play the best and go to challenging environments.

"There are no cupcakes on our schedule; all of our first four weekend opponents could be in a regional. I don't think you see a lot of people in our conference that travel like we do and go play anybody, especially off last season where we didn't leave the state, and this year we go to Lafayette, Corvallis, and Manhattan."

"Starting at Louisiana in Lafayette, who like us is one of the really good teams in a non-power-5 league, that have gone to the postseason and had success there. I'm excited to go there because I've been told its one of the best environments in college baseball and best regional atmosphere of anyone that some will say. Another regional team, Grand Canyon, will be our first opponent at home stocked with great players and coaching. We go back to Oregon State and we saw how good they are from last year's series and were very close to going to the Super Regionals with likely the best weekend pitching on the West Coast and big players like Jacob Melton and a premier freshman infielder. Tuesday-Wednesday matchup with Arizona State with six or seven position players from their regional team. Iowa visits us after we traveled there in 2019, and will be one of the favorites to win the Big Ten. We will head to Big 12 Kansas State in the middle of conference play with an assistant coach that I know well from pro ball."

A change from recent seasons will be a much more formidable Big West Conference. In 2021, the conference was rated 15th-best in the nation, down from its status in the 2000s that saw no less than three schools reaching the postseason in every year. From all indications, the Big West could be back to that standard in 2022.

"From the looks, the top half of the Big West has a chance to be better than the top half of the Pac-12. It's been a while, but we're getting three schools projected to make a regional from D1Baseball. Cal Poly will be good with arguably one of the best two or three position players in the country Brooks Lee and a lot of veteran players around him. UC Santa Barbara has it rolling, they just win; they lose a lot on the mound, but have plenty of depth, and guys like Jordan Sprinkle and Broc Mortensen return from their offense. Long Beach State is also part of the top four that could separate themselves in the Big West, and playing a full schedule behind Deveraux Harrison, Jonathon Long, and veteran arms."

First pitch comes down a little over a week from today for the Anteaters which is featured in every preseason poll ranging from 14th to 20th.