June 29, 2007

Anteaters embraced by city, nation at College World Series
Cipriano, Lowenstein and Orloff helped UC Irvine become the darlings of Omaha
By Stephen Dorman sdorman@theacorn.com

From the banks of the Missouri River, separating Nebraska from Iowa, to the outskirts of Boys Town, located off a stretch of pavement known as Route 6, Omaha, Neb., quickly became the epicenter of Anteater Country.

Branded as local heroes before even taking the field last week for the College World Series, the UC Irvine baseball team- better known, perhaps, as the Anteaters- captivated a city and its fans with a never-say-die approach to playing the game.

"We got there on Monday, and we ended up going downtown, and it's like we were celebrities in the town," said UCI starting second baseman Cody Cipriano, a 2003 graduate of Westlake High.

"We were signing menus for people. Everybody wanted to take their picture with us."

According to Cipriano, who recently signed a professional contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the fans of Omaha often embrace an out-of-town team as their own- provided, of course, that none of the local universities qualify for the eightteam CWS extravaganza.

With a hip nickname and a resume that included a regionalround knockout of the University of Texas- bitter rivals of the University of Nebraska- the Anteaters were embraced like long-lost family members.

"Numerous times I'd be walking down the street and a random person would say to me, 'Way to knock off those Longhorns for us,'" said Anteater starting catcher Aaron Lowenstein, a Calabasas High grad.

Sophomore shortstop Ben Orloff, who played at Simi Valley High, said the local fans were on the Anteaters' side from the moment the team exited the bus.

"When we walked through the town, the people were telling us how much they liked cheering for teams that had made it to Omaha for the first time," Orloff said. "They also love anybody who comes through Texas."

When they finally took the field at Rosenblatt Stadium, UCI elevated Anteater hysteria into uncharted territory.

Following a one-run loss to Arizona State in the opening round, UCI bounced back by winning a 13-inning epic against Big West Conference foe Cal State Fullerton. At five hours and 40 minutes, the 5-4 marathon was clocked as the longest game in CWS history.

Cipriano homered in the seventh inning to tie the contest at four and scored the winning run from third base on an RBI single by Bryan Petersen in the 13th.

"I've never experienced anything like that on the field," Cipriano said. "There were 25,000 people in the stadium and probably another 30,000 outside waiting to get into the next game. It was loud, very crazy."

The following evening, with the sports world still abuzz from the previous night's proceedings, UCI got a little payback by eliminating Arizona State, 8-7, in 10 innings.

In victory, Cipriano hit his second home run of the tournament, the school record-tying 21st of his career. Orloff added an RBI and a run scored.

The Anteaters trailed Arizona State by four runs in the eighth inning but rallied to tie the contest at seven. Ollie Linton drove in the winning run in the 10th, and UCI became the first team in CWS history to win extra-inning games on back-to-back nights.

Lowenstein was on deck when Linton eliminated the Sun Devils with his base-loaded single.

"Everybody was chanting 'Ollie! Ollie!'" Lowenstein said. "I was getting chills. I wanted to get up there and hear, 'Lowie! Lowie!'

"If he wasn't going to get it done, I was going to get it done. It's probably one of the best feelings ever to have 20,000 people who don't even know you cheering for you like that."

At that point, the Anteaters became national headliners.

They were leading ESPN's "SportsCenter," and the network showed President Bush alluding to the school during a speech. In addition, UCI was drawing significant attention from major newspapers across the nation.

"After the ASU game, it was a little tougher to sleep," Cipriano said. "We were just amazed at what we were accomplishing. We knew we had it in us, but winning in the fashion that we did, it was pretty unbelievable."

The dream of capturing the first CWS title in school history ended for UCI the night after defeating Arizona State, when they lost to Oregon State, 7-1. Oregon State would advance to sweep North Carolina and claim its second consecutive national championship.

Cipriano finished the tournament with a .353 batting average, two home runs, five runs scored and three RBI. Lowenstein, a redshirt junior, was 2-for-10 at the plate, while Orloff posted a combined 1-for-15 in four games.

According to the university's website, the Anteaters played in front of the second and third highest attended games in CWS history- against Oregon State (29,921) and Arizona State (29,034). UCI was ranked fourth in the final Baseball America poll.

Despite finishing a little shy of the ultimate goal, Lowenstein said Cipriano, Orloff, himself and the rest of the Anteaters shared something together that was as unique and as memorable as anything any of them had ever experienced.

"Words can't even describe how unbelievable it was," he said. "It was the most amazing thing we've ever been through. All the hard work, the 7 a.m. weights and running, all the hard work and pain, it all paid off. We will remember this forever."