College Baseball Preview: UCI aims to get well
UC Irvine baseball coach Mike Gillespie is not a doctor. But, out of necessity these days, he plays one when addressing the media about his Anteaters.
A number of medical issues — ranging from collarbone to toe — have befallen UCI players, and resolution is ongoing on most of the injured parties.
One less-obvious affliction is a definitive ding to the level of esteem with which the program that made College World Series appearances in 2007 and 2014 and reached the NCAA Tournament seven times in nine years from 2006-2014, is held heading into 2017.
UCI, which tied for seventh in the Big West Conference and finished 31-25, 11-13 in conference for its first sub-.500 mark in Big West play since 2005, was picked to finish fifth in this season’s conference preseason coaches’ poll.
Bandage all that with the most ambitious schedule in Gillespie’s 10 seasons at the helm and some might prescribe an extended hiatus from the postseason.
But Gillespie said a miracle cure may not be required to get the ‘Eaters strong enough to contend with the top teams in the conference.
“I’m excited, because we have good ability,” Gillespie said. “It’s just that a lot of guys around here are unknown. I think our guys have it in them [to succeed at a high level].”
Foremost among those who have proven they can excel, are junior slugger Keston Hiura and senior shortstop Mikey Duarte.
Hiura, the Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year and a Freshman All-American in 2015, is a consensus preseason All-American whose hitting skills rank among the best to ever swing for the Anteaters.
Hiura, who has reached base in 96 of his 103 games at UCI, has 14 career homers, 93 runs batted in and 30 doubles. After hitting .330 with 52 RBIs as a freshman, he hit a team-best .358 with 41 RBIs last season, despite a slump in conference play that followed an elbow injury that relegated the then-outfielder to designated-hitter duty down the stretch.
A setback in his offseason throwing program will require Hiura to open this season at DH, but a successful stint with the USA collegiate team in the summer has elevated him on the radar of professional scouts, Gillespie said.
Duarte missed last season with an elbow injury that required surgery after leading the team in hitting (.341), hits (77) and runs (43) to earn first-team all-conference laurels in 2015. Leadership, however, may be his best skill.
Junior left-handed pitcher Cameron Bishop, a favorite with the scouts who will move to the Friday starter role, and senior right fielder Adam Alcantara, a first-team all-conference honoree last spring when he hit .337 with 36 RBIs, are additional vetrerans of which much is expected.
Junior Cole Kreuter also earned first-team All-Big West plaudits last season, when he hit .284 with 26 RBIs and played a solid second base. Kreuter, the son of former major league catcher Chad Kreuter and the grandson of Gillespie, had virtually no offseason, as he dealt with a hip muscle injury that required offseason surgery, as well as vertigo brought on by a sinus infection.
A logjam in the infield will likely lead to Kreuter opening the season in left field, as freshman Christian Koss, the shortstop of the future, figures to start Saturday’s season-opening doubleheader against visiting Minnesota at second.
Parker Coss, a junior, who hit .183 with 15 RBIs in 142 at-bats last season, may open the season at third base, if he has sufficiently recovered from a high-ankle sprain, Gillespie said.
If Coss is unable to answer the bell, Koss could play third, with Kreuter playing second.
Senior Evan Cassolato (.345 with 15 RBIs last season) is slated to open in center field, while senior Alex Guenette (.224 in 67 at-bats in 2016) is the last man standing among three returners behind the plate.
Guenette takes the opportunity created by sophomores Matt Reitano (knee surgery) and Griffin Mazur (toe problem) being sidelined. Mazur could miss the season, while a timetable for Reitano’s return had yet to be determined three days before the originally scheduled opener on Friday was rained out.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, a transfer from Saddleback Community College, is the frontrunner at first base, while juniors Devin Pettengill, a transfer from Cosumnus River Community College, and Jake Hazard, as well as freshmen Mikey Filia and Dailin Lee could also contribute in the outfield, Gillespie said.
Lee, a raw talent out of Tustin High, is expected to become academically eligible in late March.
Bishop was 5-5 with a 4.61 earned-run average in 15 starts last season. He is joined in the weekend rotation by freshman fire-baller Andre Pallante (San Clemente High) and Cuesta College transfer Louis Raymond, a junior who began his collegiate career at USF.
The 6-foot, 195-pound Pallante has hit 97 mph with his fastball and Gillespie, who coached 20 season at USC before coming to Irvine, said he could have the best power are of any pitcher he has ever coached.
Pallante struck out 100 and allowed just 41 hits in 751/3 innings last season at San Clemente.
Raymond, a Dana Hills High product, was 10-2 with a 1.57 ERA last season at Cuesta. He struck out 85 and walked 14, while allowing 73 hits in 103 innings.
Junior Alonzo Garcia, who was 5-5 with a 4.11 ERA in 12 starts last season, is the likely Tuesday starter who will get some work in relief, Gillespie said.
Leading a bullpen that went 17-3 last season will be senior Calvin Faucher, who was 3-1 with an 0.71 ERA and eight saves last season. He struck out 34 in 251/3 innings.
Faucher, who fared well in the Cape Cod League last summer, is a pro prospect who has added an effective change-up to what Gillespie called a put-away slider.
Others expected to contribute on the bump are sophomore lefty Miles Glazier, sophomore Jordan Bocko, heralded freshmen Cole Spear (Orange Lutheran) and Kaz Akamatsu (Edison), and senior Ben Ritchey.
Dylan Riddle, a sophomore lefty, will miss the season with a broken collarbone, Gillespie said.
UCI plays host to preseason No. 1 TCU for a three-game series March 10-12.
The ‘Eaters, picked to finish behind Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, open conference play at home against Cal Poly on March 31.
Twitter: @BarryFaulkner5
