Baseball:

May 26, 2009

IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine collected three Big West major awards and had a school-record ten Anteaters honored on the all-conference teams. Ben Orloff (Simi Valley/HS) was voted UCI's first-ever Player of the Year, Daniel Bibona (Lake Forest/Santa Margarita HS) picked up the program's second consecutive Pitcher of the Year award and Mike Gillespie was named the Anteaters' first conference Coach of the Year since 1987 when former skipper Mike Gerakos collected the honor.

Joining Orloff and Bibona on the all-conference first team are senior Eric Deragisch (Granite Bay/Sierra HS) and juniors Francis Larson (Yorba Linda/Esperanza HS) and Eric Pettis (West Hills/El Camino Real HS). Juniors Casey Stevenson (Saugus/College of the Canyons) and Christian Bergman (Altadena/St. Francis HS) and freshman Ronnie Shaeffer (Garden Grove/Pacifica HS) were second-team selections while senior Brock Bardeen (Fallbrook/HS) and freshman Tommy Reyes (Rancho Cucomonga/Bishop Amat HS) earned honorable mention recognition.

Orloff, a two-time, first-team honoree, collected the Player of the Year award after leading UC Irvine to its first-ever Big West Conference championship and its fourth straight postseason appearance. Orloff is currently third among the starters with a .359 average and tops UCI with 85 hits while boasting a .978 fielding percentage. One of the five finalists for the Brooks Wallace Award, Orloff rewrote three records this season and is the program's all-time leader in at-bats (860), runs scored (175) and most recently the career leader in hits (274). The shortstop is also a finalist for the Senior Lowe's CLASS Award and paced the starters with a .410 average in conference games as UC Irvine finished 22-2.

Bibona garnered the Pitcher of the Year accolade after going undefeated with a 7-0 mark in conference games. Bibona, who tossed his first career complete game against UC Davis to clinch the conference crown outright, ends the regular season with an 11-1 mark and is slated to make the start against Fresno State in regional action Friday. He leads the Big West in strikeouts with 94 and is ranked fifth in the nation in victories. Bibona is a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award and the College Baseball Foundation's Pitcher of the Year honor.

Gillespie, in his second season at the helm of the Anteater baseball team, has led UC Irvine to a No. 1 national ranking, a No. 6 national seed and its first-ever Big West Championship. UC Irvine, which hosts its first-ever regional this weekend, won conference title by five games and is the only Big West team to post an undefeated home record at 12-0 (records dating back to 1985). Gillespie, who will be inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame next year, is two wins shy of his 850th career victory and owns an 848-502-2 career record.

Deragisch enjoys his initial first-team honor after posting a .362 average and 68 hits to sit second on the team. He has been one of the most consistent players for UCI and has been versatile, spending the majority of the season in the outfield while also filling in at third base. Deragisch was named a conference Player of the Week and posted a team-high 14 game hitting streak earlier this season and at one time posted an eight-game streak of multiple-hit games.

Pettis tops the conference and is fourth in the nation in saves with 16. The right-hander is 5-2 with a 3.79 ERA and has recorded 36 strikeouts in 40.1 innings. Pettis earns his second first-team nod and was named a conference Pitcher of the Week after recording a win and a save in UCI's sweep over Long Beach State. Second in the UCI career records with 33 saves, Pettis is two saves shy of owning the single-season mark and surpassing his 2008 mark of 17 saves.

Larson is also a first-time honoree after batting .407 in conference action. The catcher paces the Anteaters in RBI with 43 and holds a .549 slugging percentage to sit 10th in the Big West. Larson is tied for sixth in the conference in home runs (9) and is third in the UCI career annals with 16. He was honored twice this season as a Big West Player of the Week and was voted Academic All-District by ESPN the Magazine. Larson is batting .316 with 65 hits, 13 doubles and four triples.

Stevenson was honored on the second-team after emerging as one of the team's best clutch hitters. Batting .889 with the bases loaded, Stevenson has three walk-off hits this season, most recently a game-winning hit in the 10th inning against UCLA. He leads the team in doubles with 15 and 13 multiple-RBI games while driving in 40 runs to sit second among the team leaders.

Bergman has also been stellar on the mound as the right-hander posted just one loss in conference games at 6-1. Bergman, who is 9-2 with a 3.33 ERA, hurled his first career complete game this season against Utah, where he struck out a season-high nine batters holding the Utes to one run on four hits. Bergman has registered 59 strikeouts in 92 innings while walking 16.

Shaeffer was recognized on the second team after establishing himself as one of the top freshmen in the conference. The designated hitter leads UCI with a .397 average and is fourth with 60 hits and fifth with 33 RBI. He is third with 12 doubles and tied for fourth with four home runs. Shaffer had a career-high five runs batted in against UC Riverside and three four-hit games to sit third on the team with 18 multiple-hit games.

Bardeen received his first nod on the all-conference team as an honorable mention after helping UCI as a solid two-way player. Bardeen was voted the Pitcher of the Week after recording two wins and delivering two key hits in wins against USC and Tulane. He is the only Anteater to hit two grand slams in a season and is also 5-0 on the mound with a 4.84 ERA in his first season as a collegiate pitcher.

Reyes hit .407 in conference action to round out the awards an honorable mention choice. The freshman secured a starting spot in the outfield in the series against Long Beach State and has committed just three errors for a .952 fielding percentage. Reyes is fourth on the team with a .348 average and has recorded 32 hits, seven doubles and 15 RBI.

In other awards news, Bibona was named a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, which honors the nation's top amateur baseball player. The names of the semifinalists will be forwarded to a voting body of 125 who will pare the list down to five finalists and the eventual Golden Spikes Award winner.

Orloff is one of five finalists for the Brooks Wallace Award. Orloff is joined by Christian Colon (Cal State Fullerton), Brian Marquez (New Mexico State), Jedd Gyorko (West Virginia) and Bryant Hernandez (Oklahoma) on the watch list.

The winner will be announced by the College Baseball Foundation, Dick Howser Committee and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association on June 13 in Omaha, Neb. The award will be officially presented as part of the College Baseball Awards show on July 2 in Lubbock, Tex.

back to Anteaters Baseball home