June 11 , 2007

Local players have shot at World Series

By Rhiannon Potkey

There were schools with richer traditions and teams with glossier records.

But when Cody Cipriano committed to play baseball at UC Irvine four years ago, he was sold on building a program into a national contender.

Cipriano's vision has become a reality with UC Irvine (43-15-1) scheduled to make its first NCAA Super Regional playoff appearance in school history today when the Anteaters play Wichita State in the opener of the best-of-three series beginning at 9 a.m.

"I wanted the chance to be the first footsteps people will follow," Cipriano said. "Laying down the cornerstones of a program is a really special thing, and it makes all the hard work to get where we are now more rewarding."

Cipriano, a Westlake High graduate, is one of six local players participating in the Super Regionals this weekend. The senior second baseman is joined by Irvine teammates Ben Orloff (Simi Valley), Aaron Lowenstein (Calabasas) and Nick Farinacci (Agoura), UCLA's Jason Novak (Agoura) and Cal State Fullerton's Corey Jones (Camarillo).

Novak and Jones will go head to head as Fullerton (36-23) hosts UCLA (33-26) today at 4 p.m. in a rematch of an earlier-season series won by Fullerton 2-1.

Each team is just one series victory away from reaching college baseball's hallowed grounds in Omaha, Neb., site of the College World Series.

"That is what every college baseball player dreams of," Jones said. "Everyone wants to get to Omaha, and just having the opportunity is incredible."

While UC Irvine is a relative rookie on the road to Omaha, Fullerton is making its fifth consecutive Super Regional appearance. But the Titans endured a bumpier ride to their usual destination this season.

"Early on we were a bubble team for the postseason, so it definitely feels great to still be playing," said Jones, a freshman infielder hitting .467 in the last six games. "We knew we could do it and how good we were. We just didn't play our best baseball at times, but the last few weeks we have really stepped it up and played our best."

Cipriano, who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball draft on Friday, is batting .341 with a team-leading 12 home runs and 55 RBIs while Orloff (.348, 10 doubles, 32 RBIs) and Lowenstein (.323, 19 RBIs) have come through with clutch hits and key defensive plays.

Last weekend in Texas, UC Irvine won its first postseason game since the program elevated to Division I in 1977 with a victory over Wake Forest, and capped its regional championship by defeating perennial power Texas.

"The No. 1 thing is that we have fun out there, and that stems down from the coaching staff," said Cipriano, an all-regional selection along with Lowenstein. "They can be pretty serious when they need to, but in all honesty, they are some pretty big goofballs. We all like to have fun and joke with guys. It takes a lot of the pressure off from winning and losing."

Although many of his teammates have Super Regional experience, Jones is a newcomer to the postseason intensity.

"I think all of us are looking forward to it and are ready," Jones said. "You can feel the anxiety and anxiousness at practice. It will be a fun series because UCLA is a good team and they are pretty young."

Irvine is in the middle of final exams, and the players were scrambling to complete papers before embarking on their second consecutive out-of-state road trip.

"We've all been busy tying up loose ends before we head back out," Cipriano said. "It's hectic, but traveling is the best part of college baseball. There is nothing better than being on the road with your brothers on the team and playing baseball."

With only a few games left in his college career, Cipriano wants to complete his tradition-building project at Irvine in championship fashion.

"If we play our kind of baseball, it doesn't matter who is in the other dugout," he said. "I like our chances against anyone in the nation."