June 21, 2007

Anteaters set up for future trips here

RANDY YOUNGMAN
Register columnist

OMAHA, Neb. This time there was no late-inning drama, no extra-inning excitement, no chants from the sellout crowd at Rosenblatt Stadium to inspire the UC Irvine Anteaters to another fantastic finish in the College World Series.

The best season in the Division I history of UCI baseball lurched to a halt Wednesday night in a lackluster 7-1 loss to defending national champion Oregon State.

But there's no way the disappointing ending could have spoiled the previous five months of unprecedented success by the Anteaters, who shattered a plethora of school records en route to a 47-17-1 record and a tie for third place in the eight-team CWS tournament.

"This team has paved the road to Omaha for our program," UCI coach Dave Serrano said in a private moment, standing in a near-empty stadium concourse, a half-hour after the anticlimactic finish. "It's going to be easy to come back and motivate our guys.

"We have 25 guys here, and 15 of them are sophomores and freshmen. So whether they played full time or not, they got to experience what the College World Series is all about. They not only smelled it, they've tasted it. And now that the road is paved, it's just a matter of next year's team, and teams in the future, wanting to make that drive down this road."

The road to Omaha in 2007 was filled with many obstacles, all of which the Anteaters overcame with a will to win and refreshing team unity.

After finishing second to UC Riverside in the Big West, UCI received an at-large berth and was shipped to the Austin Regional, where it twice knocked off national power Texas, the Big 12 champion, in front of hostile crowds to win the regional title, the first in school history.

Then it was off to the Wichita super regional, where UCI swept Missouri Valley Conference champion Wichita State, again in front of large hostile crowds, to earn the first CWS berth in school history.

And in Omaha, the Anteaters eliminated Big West rival Cal State Fullerton and Pac-10 champion Arizona State — in momentous, back-to-back extra-inning marathons that won over the Nebraska locals — before falling to Oregon State.

"It was a season of firsts, and the run we went on (in the postseason) is nothing short of amazing," senior second baseman Cody Cipriano said Wednesday night, reflecting on a 2007 season he said he'll never forget.

"I'm graduating and moving on, but I think this program is on the way up. What Coach Serrano has done in three years here is unbelievable. ... Look out, Southern California. Look out, nation."

The program definitely has momentum, and the future should also be bright, if UCI can keep Serrano from being lured away by another big-name program that can offer a lot more money.

Rumors have been circulating the past several weeks that Tennessee, where Serrano once served as an assistant, could make a run at bringing him back.

Though acknowledging he has heard the whispers, Serrano said Wednesday night he has not been in contact with anyone from Tennessee.

"I'm the baseball coach at UC Irvine and I'm proud of it," he said. "All I know is I'll be in my office at UCI on Friday."

I'd be surprised if Serrano left, for several reasons, some of which are family related, but you never know what could happen if a school made an offer like the reported three-year, $1.3 million offer from Texas that lured Augie Garrido away from Cal State Fullerton several years ago.

The Anteaters will lose four seniors who were drafted: Cipriano (Marlins, ninth round), closer Blair Erickson (Twins, 10th round), outfielder Matt Morris (Yankees, 23rd round) and reliever Dylan Axelrod (Padres, 30th round). But they also expect to lose three juniors to the pros: outfielder Bryan Petersen (Marlins, fourth round), starter Wes Etheridge (Brewers, 12th round) and first baseman Taylor Holiday (Yankees, 19th round).

"If they think moving on is the right thing, I want them to do that," Serrano said.

With all of his returning underclassmen next season, Serrano is confident he'll field a team that can compete again for the Big West title and possibly take the next step.

"Where we go from here is hopefully up," Serrano said. "We haven't reached the top. We made it to Omaha and we made the final four. We'll be very proud of that all summer long, and then it's back to work in September.

"I'm going to be coaching for a long time, but I don't know if I'll ever have a team like this again."