Initially updated on Dec. 21, 2009
With the 2010 baseball season two weeks away, a variety of publications and organizations have begun announcing their preseason accolades. The Big West will continue to update the preseason awards list, which will include preseason All-America, watch lists and preseason polls, as other honorees are showcased.
The Big West anticipates another exciting season of collegiate baseball. Here are a few highlights from last season:
• Seven years after resurrecting its baseball program, UC Irvine captured its first-ever Big West Conference Championship in 2009 and they did so in dominating fashion. The Anteaters, who didnt lose a weekend series all year, secured the coveted crown with five games remaining on their schedule. The Anteaters (45-15, 22-2 BWC) became the sixth current Big West member to win the baseball title. Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside are among other past champions. UC Irvine also becomes the fourth different school to win the conference championship over the past three seasons. UC Riverside claimed the 2007 title and Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State tied for the 2008 championship.
The 2009 UC Irvine baseball program became the first team in Big West Conference history (dating back to 1985) to go undefeated at home during conference play. The Anteaters were a perfect 12-0 when playing in front of the home crowd at Anteater Ballpark. The Anteaters concluded conference play with an impressive 22-2 mark (.917) to boast the second-best winning percentage in conference history. The only team to tally a higher conference winning percentage - the 1988 Fresno State Bulldogs, who went 20-1 (.952).
• The Big West Conference sent three teams to the 2009 NCAA Baseball Tournament. Joining the 64-team field was Big West Champion UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton, who were both regional hosts, and Cal Poly. Both UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton received national seeds with the Titans seeded No. 2 and the Anteaters garnering the No. 6 seed. The Titans and Anteaters also received the honor of hosting the regionals. This marked the first time the NCAA Regionals took place at Anteater Ballpark, while the Titans played their eighth regional at Goodwin Field. With Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine hosting simultaneous NCAA Regionals, they were the closest in NCAA tournament history, surpassing the previous Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton duo. According to Google Maps, the driving distance from Cal State Fullerton to Long Beach State (Blair Field) is 22.7 miles and to UC Irvine (Anteater Ballpark) is 20.6 miles.
The Titans made their 18th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the Anteaters earned their fourth straight bid, fifth overall. The Mustangs competed in their first NCAA regional playoff berth since moving to Division I prior to the 1995 season.
• No. 2 national-seeded Cal State Fullerton advanced to its 16th College World Series after sweeping both the regional and super regionals, and in the process outscoring their opponents 64-11. They opened postseason play with an 18-2 win over fourth-seeded Utah and followed that up with a 7-4 victory over No. 3 Gonzaga. A seventh consecutive trip to the super regionals was secured with Cal State Fullertons second win over the Utes (16-3). The Titans went 2-0 against the Louisville Cardinals in the super regional with scores of 12-0 and 11-2.
• For the fourth time in five years a member of the Big West Conference was ranked among the best in the county in earned run average. The Cal State Fullerton pitching staff, comprised of one sophomore and two freshmen in its weekend rotation, concluded the 2009 season ranked fourth in the nation with a 3.53 earned run average. In 2005 Long Beach State dominated on the mound, leading the nation with a 2.53 earned run average. The following year, a Titan trio of Wes Roemer, Lauren Gagnier and Dustin Miller, spearheaded a pitching staff that produced an NCAA-best ERA of 2.73. After a year out of the spotlight, the Big West made its presence felt once again in 2008 as Long Beach State (3.20) ranked second and UC Irvine (3.27) sat third in team ERA.
• Big West Player of the Year Ben Orloff was named the recipient of the 2009 Brooks Wallace Award, given to the nations best shortstop, as announced by the College Baseball Foundation at a reception in Omaha, Neb., during the College World Series. Orloff becomes the second Big West player to earn this distinguished award with Cal Sate Fullertons Kurt Suzuki receiving the inaugural award in 2004.
Orloff, a senior from Simi Valley High School, hit .358 with a team-high 91 hits and 62 runs scored this season. He started all 60 games while leading the Anteaters to a 45-15 overall mark and an impressive 22-2 Big West record to claim their first-ever conference title. The Irvine Regional All-Tournament team member accumulated 18 stolen bases, 176 assists against just seven errors and a .976 fielding percentage over the course of the year.
• The Big West Conference had 46 players selected in the three-day, 50-round Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft with UC Santa Barbaras Joe Gardner being the conferences first player taken, 94th pick in the third round by the Cleveland Indians. Gardner, a junior college transfer from Fremont, Calif., was the first of a school-record nine Gauchos drafted to pace the league. The previous high came in 2001 when seven UCSB players were chosen in the draft. Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton each had two players drafted on the final day to join UC Riverside with seven total draft selections. The Highlanders had seven players selected in the second day, six of which were pitchers. Like UC Santa Barbara, the Mustangs set a school record with their seven draft picks.
The 2009 Big West Champion, UC Irvine, saw five players drafted with Big West Player of the Year Ben Orloff being the first Anteater named (9th round, Houston Astros). Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State had four selections apiece and UC Davis saw three Aggies chosen in the 2009 MLB Draft.
Preseason Polls
Collegiate Baseball
4th - Cal State Fullerton
8th - UC Irvine
Baseball America
4th - Cal State Fullerton
8th - UC Irvine
USA Today/ESPN
3rd - Cal State Fullerton
7th - UC Irvine
NCBWA
4th - Cal State Fullerton
7th - UC Irvine
Preseason All-America
Collegiate Baseball
First Team
LHP Daniel Bibona, UC Irvine
SS Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton
Second Team
RHP Daniel Renken, Cal State Fullerton
Third Team
RHP Eric Pettis, UC Irvine
RHP Tyler Pill, Cal State Fullerton
RHP Noe Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton
LHP Nick Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton
OF Gary Brown, Cal State Fullerton
NCBWA
First Team
LHP Daniel Bibona, UC Irvine
SS Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton
RHP Eric Pettis, UC Irvine
Second Team
RHP Daniel Renken, Cal State Fullerton
Third Team
RHP Christian Bergman, UC Irvine
RHP Tyler Pill, Cal State Fullerton
RHP Noe Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton
Ping! Baseball
First Team
LHP Daniel Bibona, UC Irvine
Second Team
OF Gary Brown, Cal State Fullerton
RHP Daniel Renken, Cal State Fullerton
Third Team
RHP Christian Bergman, UC Irvine
SS Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton
RHP Noe Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton
Preseason NCBWA Stopper Of The Year Watch List
RHP Eric Pettis, UC Irvine
LHP Nick Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton
Baseball America
First Team
SS Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton
Second Team
OF Gary Brown, Cal State Fullerton