Baseball:
UC Irvine Baseball Ranked Preseason No. 8 by Baseball America

Anteaters return seven All-Big West honorees

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Casey Stevenson is one of nine starting position players returning in 2010
 
Casey Stevenson is one of nine starting position players returning in 2010
  
 

Jan. 27, 2010

IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine garnered the No. 8 spot in Baseball America's preseason poll. It is the second time the Anteaters have been tabbed eighth in the preseason, earning an identical ranking from Collegiate Baseball last month.

UCI, 45-15 last season, hosted a regional for the first time in school history and returns 17 letterwinners, including nine position starters. Seven All-Big West honorees return to the squad for the 2010 season, led by catcher Francis Larson, a first-team choice. Larson led the team with 43 RBI and nine home runs while hitting .309 and held the opposition to a 53-percent success rate in steals. Joining Larson on the field are second-team honorees Ronnie Shaeffer, Casey Stevenson and honorable mention Tommy Reyes. Shaeffer, who spent most of the season as the Anteaters' designated hitter, led the team with a .388 average while driving in 36 on 64 hits. Stevenson, a senior infielder, hit .346 with 41 RBI and a team-leading 19 doubles while Reyes was fourth on the team with a .348 average.

The Anteater pitching staff features a trio of All-Americans in Daniel Bibona, Christian Bergman and Eric Pettis. Bibona, the defending Big West Pitcher of the Year, led the team with a 12-1 record and 2.63 ERA, posting 108 strikeouts. Bergman was second in wins at 9-3 while logging a 3.50 ERA with 66 strikeouts. Pettis totaled 17 saves to finish third in the nation while recording a 5-2 record. Also returning to the team is Crosby Slaught, who went undefeated on the mound in 2009 with an 8-0 mark.

 

 

The team is led by head coach Mike Gillespie, who was recently inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Gillespie, the 2009 conference Coach of the Year, is 87-33 in two seasons at UCI and led the Anteaters to their first Big West title with a 22-2 record. Under his guidance the Anteaters also were ranked No. 1 during the regular season for the first time and went on to make their fifth NCAA postseason appearance in six years.
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