October 4, 2007

UCI, Gorgen stay unified
BASEBALL: Anteaters’ All-American pitcher said Serrano departure created bitterness, as well as motivation to succeed.

By Barry Faulkner

UC Irvine All-American pitcher Scott Gorgen said Wednesday that Anteaters players remain unified and anxious to officially begin baseball practice today, after undergoing a disruptive coaching change last month.

Gorgen, now a junior, said he considered transferring to UC Berkeley, where his twin brother, Matt, is a junior pitcher, but ultimately chose to remain loyal to UCI and his teammates.

“What it came down to is, I didn’t want to be Coach [Dave] Serrano and just bail on my team,” Gorgen said.

Serrano left to become coach at Cal State Fullerton one week after issuing a statement through UCI that he had no interest in the Fullerton job. Serrano earlier pulled out of consideration for the Oregon baseball coaching job.

Gorgen said he has had several conversations with Serrano and plans to continue his relationship with the man who guided UCI to its first Division I College World Series in his third season at the helm in 2007.

Gorgen expressed gratitude toward Serrano for believing in him when no one else did [UCI was Gorgen’s only suitor out of high school] and laying the foundation for his collegiate success. But Gorgen said the way Serrano handled his departure created bitter feelings that remain for him, as well as his teammates.

“[Serrano’s] departure was rough; it was bitter, though it is understandable when all is said and done,” Gorgen said. “I’ve had many conversations with him and he’s a guy I’m going to keep in contact with. He helped me get to where I’m at and I will owe him a lot for giving me that opportunity.”

Gorgen said Serrano’s decision to reverse himself and accept the Fullerton job, hit the UCI players hard.

“I think he really did stick his foot in his mouth with the media,” Gorgen said of Serrano’s aforementioned statement removing himself from consideration for the Fullerton job.

Serrano, named National Coach of the Year by Baseball American after leading UCI to a 47-17-1 record, later apologized for that statement.

“[Serrano] said that people closest to him will understand why he had to make that comment, because he wanted [former Fullerton assistant Rick] Vanderhook to get the job. But, after the Oregon thing settled down [former Fullerton coach George Horton was eventually hired to resurrect the Ducks’ program] and [Serrano] wasn’t going, we were all fired up because we got our coach back. Then, 10 days later, he’s signing a contract with our rival school.

“Up to that point, [Serrano] had never given us anything, nothing, in fact, to make us believe we couldn’t trust him in any way, shape, or form,” Gorgen said. “He based everything in this program off of trust in the coaches and trust in the system. I think he betrayed that trust when all of that went down.”

Gorgen said veteran players like Ben Orloff and Aaron Lowenstein plan to maintain relationships with Serrano, as well as former assistants Greg Bergeron and Sergio Brown, both of whom are now at Fullerton.

“I think the majority of our players will end up getting over [Serrano’s departure], but I don’t think anyone is wishing him well.”

Further, Gorgen said he is personally looking forward to the Cal State Fullerton series in April.

“I’m shooting for April 4, 5, and 6, against Fullerton,” Gorgen said of when the Titans come to Anteater Ballpark. “That’s my thing. I want Fullerton. It’s going to be a hostile crowd. The alumni are very upset. You might see the biggest attendance we’ve ever seen at this school on those nights. I suggest people get their tickets early.”

Gorgen said there was generally relief when former USC coach Mike Gillespie accepted the offer to replace Serrano, bringing former UCI and UCLA assistant Pat Shine on board as associate head coach. Gillespie, however, is still awaiting contract approval from University of California officials, before he can begin working with the team.

“Gillespie is a legend and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to get to know him and Coach Shine,” said Gorgen, who confirmed he was staying during a phone conversation with Gillespie Tuesday night. “The way [the UCI administration] did this with Coach Gillespie and Coach Shine is the exact way I would have pictured it happening. Who better, if not Serrano, than Gillespie, a guy who has won a national championship as a head coach [1998], to come in and keep this thing rolling?”

Gorgen said the leadership of Orloff, Lowenstein and junior pitcher Bryce Stowell was integral in keeping the current roster on the same page and committed to staying at UCI. Gorgen acknowledged that most, if not all, of the current crop of high school seniors who had verbally committed to join the program, are now headed elsewhere. But no returning player, other than himself, had even considered leaving.

“We’ve rallied as a team and we’re looking forward to starting practice,” Gorgen said. “I think this team has a chip on its shoulder, now. There are different things and steps that we want achieve, but the ultimate goal is to make it back to the World Series. And not just get there, or finish in the top four, but win it.”