FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
IRVINE, Calif. — The UC Irvine Anteaters will take on a demanding schedule in 2014 that features two regular-season conference champions and seven NCAA Tournament teams.
UCI opens the docket with eight straight home games, kicking off the year against Fresno State, Feb. 14-16. After hosting Western Athletic Conference champion, CSU Bakersfield, the Anteaters compete in the Long Beach State Tournament and will host Wright State (Feb. 21), NCAA regional team, Arizona State (Feb. 22), and the Dirtbags (Feb. 23) at Anteater Ballpark.
The team’s first road trip takes the Anteaters to Portland (Feb. 28-Mar. 2) for a three-game series and they return for four straight against USC (Mar. 4) and defending West Coast Conference winners, Gonzaga (Mar. 7-9). The Anteaters travel to UCLA (Mar. 11) for their yearly match-up against the Bruins and then continue on the road to Nebraska (Mar. 14-16) to take on the Huskers and former Anteater pitching coach, Ted Silva, who is managing the Nebraska arms.
Pepperdine comes to Anteater Ballpark (Mar. 18) for a mid-week game and is followed by Grand Canyon (Mar. 21-23), which is the newest member of the WAC. Former Anteater pitching coach, Nathan Choate, makes his return to UCI as the pitching coach for the Antelopes and is joined by Anteater alumnus, Gregg Wallis, who is an assistant coach at GCU.
Following a second match-up against the Roadrunners (Mar. 25), UCI opens the Big West Conference slate on the road in Honolulu, HI to take on Hawai’i (Apr. 4-6). After flying back to the mainland, the Anteaters take on the task of hosting San Diego (Apr. 8) and Cal State Northridge (Apr. 11-13).
Non-conference action moves to the forefront for a week as UCI travels to Loyola Marymount (Apr. 15) and returns home for a three-game series against NCAA Tournament qualifier, San Diego State (Apr. 17-19), an post-season qualifier.
UCI goes back to the road for four games with three at UC Davis (Apr. 25-27) and a return trip to USC (Apr. 29).
The team then faces five consecutive teams that advanced to the 2013 NCAA Tournament in the final month of the regular season. The stretch is kicked off by a series against UC Santa Barbara (May 2-4) at Anteater Ballpark and is followed by a single-game at San Diego (May 6). The Anteaters will keep their bags packed for a trip to Cal Poly (May 9-11) and then leaves the road to entertain defending national champion, UCLA (May 13) at Anteater Ballpark. The final three-game series at home will be a match-up against Cal State Fullerton (May 16-18).
For the second consecutive year, UCI will end the regular season against Long Beach State (May 22-24).
UCI was 33-22 last season and boasted a 25-9 record at home. Taylor Sparks led the team with 80 hits and 50 RBI. Connor Spencer became the first Anteater to win the Big West batting title with a .373 average while posting 79 hits, including a team-high 19 doubles. Andrew Morales led the team with a 10-0 record and was the first Anteater to go undefeated on the mound. Morales struck out 85 in 95.1 innings and held opposing teams to a .227 batting average.
2014 UC-Irvine Baseball Schedule
