UCI to LSU: Adieu

LOS ANGELES – LSU is no longer the equivalent of a four-letter word for the UC Irvine baseball program, which dispatched the defending national champion Tigers with a 4-3 victory in an elimination game of the NCAA Los Angeles Regional on Sunday at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

The win propelled the No. 21-ranked Anteaters (39-20) into the first of two must-win showdowns against host UCLA later Sunday night. Should UCI beat UCLA on Sunday night, the two teams would play Monday at 6 p.m. for the right to advance to a Super Regional.

A loss Sunday night would end UCI’s season and send the Bruins (45-13) onward.

The UCI victory Sunday afternoon also exorcised a tormented recent history against No. 23-ranked LSU (41-22), which had twice rallied in its final at-bat to hand UCI crushing defeats. The first gut-wrenching loss to LSU came in the opening round of this regional Friday, an 11-10 setback in 11 innings. Another crucial loss came in the 2008 Super Regional at LSU.

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UCI pitcher Danny Bibona will face LSU

Danny Bibona

Senior All-American left-hander Danny Bibona will start for the UC Irvine baseball team against LSU in the first round of the Los Angeles Regional on Friday at 2 p.m. at UCLA, UCI Coach Mike Gillespie said Tuesday.

Bibona, who has been sidelined since April 23 with inflamed rib muscles, is 9-2 with a 2.10 earned-run average.

Monday, Bibona, the 2009 Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year, was named one of 30 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, presented annually to the nation’s best player.
Gillespie also said senior Christian Bergman would start the second postseason game at the four-team, double-elimination regional that continues Saturday, Sunday and, possibly, Monday at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Bergman, on a 24 1/3 consecutive-scoreless-innings streak, is 8-3 with a 3.84 ERA.
Gillespie said senior Eric Pettis (9-3, with 3.37 ERA and six saves) would be the third starter used. Pettis, Gillespie said, would also be available to close on Friday.

UCLA plays host to Kent State in the other first-round game Friday, tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m.

Jock’s running career started from scratch

UC Irvine track standout Charles Jock.

UC Irvine sophomore track and field star Charles Jock said he learned he was gifted with speed in the fifth grade. But he didn’t tap into that gift on the track until about five years later, and only after his first season on the track and field team as a long jumper and high jumper ended inauspiciously.

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UCI broadcaster Mark Roberts saluted

Mark Roberts at work in 2002.

It’s clear to anyone who has heard UC Irvine baseball and men’s basketball play-by-play broadcaster Mark Roberts deliver his words-eye view that the veteran voice of the Anteaters loves his work.

But Roberts was on the other end of some love Saturday, when UCI parents, players, coaches, staff members and fans gathered for a surprise birthday salute to Roberts after the 15-12 Big West Conference baseball loss to UC Riverside.

Dale Lowenstein, the father of former UCI catcher Aaron Lowenstein, organized the tribute, held at Newkirk Pavilion following the 12-inning marathon.

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Bergman’s plan B enough

Christian Bergman

With the benefit of 39 starts and 72 career appearances for the UC Irvine baseball team, senior pitcher Christian Bergman knows there are days when the “A” game is not an option.

Such was the case Friday, when Bergman’s stuff was less than its best. But he still was able to toss eight shutout innings to key a 5-0 Big West Conference win over visiting UC Riverside.

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UCI’s Bibona out another week

UC Irvine senior All-American Danny Bibona.

UC Irvine senior All-American pitcher Danny Bibona, who is 11-0 with a no-decision in his last 12 starts against Big West Conference opponents, will not pitch for a second straight weekend.

UC Riverside, which visits for a three-game Big West series beginning Friday, will face scheduled starters Christian Bergman, Evan Brock and Eric Pettis, Friday through Sunday, respectively.

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Ton to weigh in at UCI

Ali Ton, an Orange County high school product who played at Davidson and professionally in Turkey before going into coaching, will join the UC Irvine men’s basketball staff as an assistant.
The official announcement is imminent as newly hired coach Russ Davis fills one spot on his staff that also includes returning assistant Doug Oliver.
Ton spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Radford. The former All-Orange County point guard at Los Alamitos High spent two seasons on the staff at Binghamton University and one season as an assistant at his alma mater.
Ton, who came to Los Alamitos from Turkey, is known as a recruiter with international contacts, an area Turner said he plans to explore as he tries to bolster the Anteaters’ roster in the coming years.
Ton coached the Turkey Under-20 national team in the 2005 European Championships and his father, Necmi Ton, is a professional coach in Turkey.
Ton, who committed to Wyoming out of high school, started for three seasons at Davidson, amassing 646 assists, which was the school record when he graduated in 1999. He averaged 7.9 assists as a senior, which ranked No. 3 in the nation. He earned All-Southern Conference recognition and was Davidson’s senior male athlete of the year.

Bibona injury a drag

UC Irvine All-American Danny Bibona.

UC Irvine senior All-American pitcher Danny Bibona is an honorary member of the grounds crew at Anteater Ballpark and he regularly helps drag the infield in the middle of games in which he is not pitching.

Unfortunately for the Anteaters, Bibona will also be available to smooth the infield dirt on Friday against Big West Conference visitor UC Santa Barbara.

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John Savage recalls 2004 UCI pitching staff

John Savage

UCLA baseball coach John Savage has earned a reputation cultivating strong pitching staffs, first as a pitching coach at Nevada and USC, then in three seasons as a head coach at UC Irvine (2002 to 2004) and with the Bruins.

The 1998 staff he coordinated for then-USC Coach Mike Gillespie, who is now in his third season at the helm of the Anteaters, helped produce a national championship with the likes of future major leaguers Mark Prior and Seth Etherton.

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Oliver to work for UCI’s Turner

UC Irvine men’s basketball coach Russ Turner said Monday that Doug Oliver, an assistant coach last season under then-coach Pat Douglass, will be a member of his staff.

Turner, who,  like Oliver is a former assistant coach at Stanford — though they never coached together for the Cardinal — said Oliver will provide guidance for him as he embarks upon his first head-coaching job.

Turner said he is still working on completing his staff and declined to provide a timetable for when he might name his other assistant coaches.