2024 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team

2024 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball
2024 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball
Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic champions
Conference	Big West Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
CB	No. 12
Record	25–6 (11–3 Big West)
Head coach	Ben Orloff (6th season);
Assistant coaches	Ryan Johnston (2nd season); Erich Pfohl (1st season); CJ Yogi (1st season);
Hitting coach	J.T. Bloodworth (5th season)
Pitching coach	Daniel Bibona (11th season)
Home stadium	Cicerone Field
	Seasons ← 2023 2025 →

2024 Big West Conference baseball standings
v t e	Conf						Overall
Team	W		L		T	PCT	W		L		T	PCT
No. 9 UC Irvine ‍‍‍	14	–	4	–	0	.778	32	–	8	–	0	.800
UC Santa Barbara ‍‍‍	14	–	4	–	0	.778	28	–	11	–	0	.718
Cal State Northridge ‍‍‍	14	–	4	–	0	.778	27	–	14	–	0	.659
Cal Poly ‍‍‍	15	–	6	–	0	.714	25	–	16	–	0	.610
UC San Diego* ‍‍‍	13	–	8	–	0	.619	26	–	14	–	0	.650
Hawai'i ‍‍‍	9	–	9	–	0	.500	25	–	15	–	0	.625
Long Beach State ‍‍‍	7	–	11	–	0	.389	20	–	20	–	1	.500
Cal State Bakersfield ‍‍‍	6	–	15	–	0	.286	11	–	30	–	0	.268
UC Davis ‍‍‍	5	–	13	–	0	.278	18	–	23	–	0	.439
Cal State Fullerton ‍‍‍	5	–	16	–	0	.238	13	–	28	–	0	.317
UC Riverside ‍‍‍	3	–	15	–	0	.167	12	–	26	–	0	.316
* Ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II

† – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of April 28, 2024^[1] Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2024 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team represents the University of California, Irvine during the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Anteaters play their home games at Cicerone Field as a member of the Big West Conference. They are led by head coach Ben Orloff, in his sixth season as manager.

George Mason is entering the season as the defending Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament champions.

Previous season[edit]

UC Irvine is coming off a 38–17 (19–11) season. The Anteaters finished fourth in the Big West Conference, but did not receive an at-large berth to the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.

Preseason[edit]

Preseason Big West awards and honors[edit]

Player	No.	Position	Class
Preseason All-Big West Team

Coaches poll[edit]

The coaches poll was released on February 9, 2024. UC Irvine was picked to finish second in the conference and received two first-place votes.^[2]

Coaches' Poll
Pos.	Team	Points
1	UCSB	99 (9)
2	UC Irvine	89 (2)
3	UC San Diego	78
4	Hawaii	70
5	CSUN	65
6	Cal State Fullerton	59
7	Cal Poly	46
8	Long Beach State	42
9	UC Davis	25
10	Cal State Bakersfield	21
11	UC Riverside	11

Game log[edit]

2024 UC Irvine Anteaters Baseball Game Log (15–3)

Regular Season (15–3)

February (6–0)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	BWC
February 16	ESPN+	North Dakota State*	No. 25	Cicerone Field Irvine, California	W 14–2	Pinto (1–0)	Puetz (0–1)	None	826	1–0	—
February 17	ESPN+	North Dakota State*	No. 25	Cicerone Field	W 7–2	Luu (1–0)	Knight (0–1)	None	745	2–0	—
February 18	ESPN+	North Dakota State*	No. 25	Cicerone Field	W 10–4	Brooks (1–0)	Koenig (0–1)	None	718	3–0	—
February 20	KUCI	San Diego*	No. 25	Cicerone Field	Canceled (inclement weather)					3–0	—
February 23	ESPN+	at Tulane*	No. 25	Turchin Stadium New Orleans, Louisiana	W 5–4	Pinto (2–0)	Saum (0–2)	Tibbett (1)	1,692	4–0	—
February 24	ESPN+	at Tulane*	No. 25	Turchin Stadium	W 11–4	Luu (2–0)	Cehajić (0–1)	Ojeda (1)	2,005	5–0	—
February 25	ESPN+	at Tulane*	No. 25	Turchin Stadium	W 10–7	Hansen (1–0)	Lombardi (0–1)	None	1,692	6–0	—

March (16–3)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	BWC
Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic
March 1	ESPN+	San Diego*	No. 23	Cicerone Field	W 3–1	Pinto (3–0)	Randall (0–1)	Tibbett (2)	856	7–0	—
March 2	ESPN+	Michigan*	No. 23	Cicerone Field	W 12–4	Wheeler (1–0)	Denner (1–2)	Martin (1)	896	8–0	—
March 3	MLBN	vs. UCLA*	No. 23	Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, California	W 5–2	Ojeda (1–0)	Rodriguez (0–1)	Tibbett (3)	4,617	9–0	—

March 5	ESPN+	Cal Baptist*	No. 22	Cicerone Field	W 13–4	Luu (3–0)	Wilson (0–2)	Tibbett (4)	738	10–0	—
March 7	MWN	at Fresno State*	No. 22	Pete Beiden Field Fresno, California	W 13–4	Brooks (2–0)	Dixon (2–1)	None	1,658	11–0	—
March 8^[a]	KUCI	vs. Columbia*	No. 22	Pete Beiden Field	W 32–2	Pierrello (1–0)	Sheets (0–2)	None	1,239	12–0	—
March 8^[a]	MWN	at Fresno State*	No. 22	Pete Beiden Field	L 1–13	Beal (1–2)	Pinto (3–1)	None	1,239	12–1	—
March 9	KUCI	vs. Columbia*	No. 22	Pete Beiden Field	W 25–7	Hansen (2–0)	Edwards (0–1)	None	1,438	13–1	—
March 13	ESPN+	UConn*	No. 19	Cicerone Field	L 0–5	Schild (2–0)	Vizcaino (0–1)	None	622	13–2	—
March 15	ESPN+	UC Davis	No. 19	Cicerone Field	W 1–0	Tibbett (1–0)	Delaney (1–1)	None	831	14–2	1–0
March 16	ESPN+	UC Davis	No. 19	Cicerone Field	W 6–1	Ojeda (2–0)	Valdez (1–1)	None	700	15–2	2–0
March 17	ESPN+	UC Davis	No. 19	Cicerone Field	L 10–12¹¹	Woolridge (1–0)	Wheeler (1–1)	None	956	15–3	2–1
March 22	ESPN+	Cal State Bakersfield	No. 24	Cicerone Field	W 10–3	Pinto (4–1)	Verdugo (0–3)	None	846	16–3	3–1
March 23	ESPN+	Cal State Bakersfield	No. 24	Cicerone Field	W 12–4	Hansen (3–0)	Gutierrez (0–2)	None	586	17–3	4–1
March 24	ESPN+	Cal State Bakersfield	No. 24	Cicerone Field	W 3–2¹²	Utagawa (1–0)	Grosjean (1–3)	None	591	18–3	5–1
March 26	ESPN+	at Loyola Marymount*	No. 20	George C. Page Stadium Los Angeles, California	W 10–9¹¹	Pierrello (2–0)	Kershaw (1–1)	Zamudio (1)	307	19–3	—
March 28	ESPN+	at Hawaii	No. 20	Les Murakami Stadium Honolulu, Hawaii	W 6–3	Pinto (5–1)	Giroux (3–1)	Tibbett (5)	3,291	20–3	6–1
March 29	ESPN+	at Hawaii	No. 20	Les Murakami Stadium	W 12–8	Rincover (1–0)	Abshier (1–2)	Tibbett (6)	4,159	21–3	7–1
March 30	ESPN+	at Hawaii	No. 20	Les Murakami Stadium	W 12–5	Ojeda (3–0)	Magdaleno (1–2)	None	3,324	22–3	8–1

April (3–3)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	BWC
April 5	ESPN+	No. 23 UCSB	No. 16	Cicerone Field	W 9–3	Pinto (6–1)	Gallagher (2–1)	None	772	23–3	9–1
April 6	ESPN+	No. 23 UCSB	No. 16	Cicerone Field	L 4–5	Gutierrez (5–0)	Hansen (3–1)	Flora (4)	1,327	23–4	9–2
April 7	ESPN+	No. 23 UCSB	No. 16	Cicerone Field	W 11–4	Luu (4–0)	Ager (2–3)	None	1,036	24–4	10–2
April 9	P12N	at USC*	No. 12	George C. Page Stadium^[b]	L 5–12	Johnson (3–0)	Grack (0–1)	None	374	24–5	—
April 12	ESPN+	at UC San Diego	No. 12	Triton Ballpark La Jolla, California	L 4–15	Eyanson (5–1)	Pinto (6–2)	None	500	24–6	10–3
April 13	ESPN+	at UC San Diego	No. 12	Triton Ballpark	W 16–3	Hansen (4–1)	Ernisse (1–2)	Martin (2)	426	25–6	11–3
April 14	ESPN+	at UC San Diego	No. 12	Triton Ballpark
April 17	ESPN+	USC*		Cicerone Field							—
April 19	ESPN+	San Diego State*		Cicerone Field							—
April 20	MWN	at San Diego State*		Tony Gwynn Stadium San Diego, California							—
April 21	ESPN+	San Diego State		Cicerone Field							—
April 23	P12N	at UCLA*		Jackie Robinson Stadium Los Angeles, California							—
April 26	KUCI	at UC Riverside		Ballpark at RSC Riverside, California
April 27	KUCI	at UC Riverside		Ballpark at RSC
April 28	KUCI	at UC Riverside		Ballpark at RSC
April 30	ESPN+	at San Diego*		Fowler Park San Diego, California							—

May (0–0)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	BWC
May 3	ESPN+	Cal Poly		Cicerone Field
May 4	ESPN+	Cal Poly		Cicerone Field
May 5	ESPN+	Cal Poly		Cicerone Field
May 7	ESPN+	UCLA*		Cicerone Field							—
May 10	ESPN+	at Long Beach State		Blair Field Long Beach, California
May 11	ESPN+	at Long Beach State		Blair Field
May 12	ESPN+	at Long Beach State		Blair Field
May 14	ESPN+	Loyola Marymount*		Cicerone Field							—
May 17		at Cal State Fullerton		Goodwin Field Fullerton, California
May 18		at Cal State Fullerton		Goodwin Field
May 19		at Cal State Fullerton		Goodwin Field
May 23	ESPN+	CSUN		Cicerone Field
May 24	ESPN+	CSUN		Cicerone Field
May 25	ESPN+	CSUN		Cicerone Field

Postseason (0–0)

NCAA Regionals (0–0)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	A10T Record	Source
May 21–25		vs. TBD		Capital One Park Tysons, Virginia

Legend: = Win = Loss = Canceled
Bold =UC Irvine team member
Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.

^[3]

Schedule Notes

^ ^a ^b Part of a doubleheader.
^ Game will be played at George C. Page Stadium instead of USC's main field, Dedeaux Field, due to a scheduling conflict. USC will still be the designated home team.

Rankings[edit]

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
Coaches'^[4]	RV	RV*	25	23	20	21	19	17	14
Baseball America^[5]	25	21	20	19	19	19	16	14	11
NCBWA†^[6]	—	RV	25	22	22	20	19	17	14
D1Baseball^[7]	—	—	—	23	22	24	20	16	12
Perfect Game^[8]	—	—	—	22	22	23	20	19	14

† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

References[edit]

^ "Big West Conference". D1Baseball.com. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
^ "UC Santa Barbara Picked to Win The Big West in 2024 Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll". bigwest.org. February 9, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
^ "2024 Baseball Schedule". vcuathletics.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
^ "Baseball Coaches Poll". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
^ Flaherty, Peter; Cahill, Teddy (February 26, 2024). "College Baseball Top 25 Rankings". Baseball America. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
^ "NCBWA Division I Poll". National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Dallas. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
^ "D1Baseball.com Top 25". d1baseball.com. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
^ "NCAA Division I - Top 25 Rankings". Perfect Game USA. February 26, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.

External links[edit]

UCI Baseball

[Doubleheader-3] Part of a doubleheader.

[USC-UCI-4] Game will be played at George C. Page Stadium instead of USC's main field, Dedeaux Field, due to a scheduling conflict. USC will still be the designated home team.

[1] "Big West Conference". D1Baseball.com. Retrieved February 25, 2024.

[2] "UC Santa Barbara Picked to Win The Big West in 2024 Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll". bigwest.org. February 9, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024.

[5] "2024 Baseball Schedule". vcuathletics.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.

[Coaches_Poll-6] "Baseball Coaches Poll". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved March 2, 2024.

[BA_Poll-7] Flaherty, Peter; Cahill, Teddy (February 26, 2024). "College Baseball Top 25 Rankings". Baseball America. Retrieved March 2, 2024.

[NCBWA_Poll-8] "NCBWA Division I Poll". National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Dallas. Retrieved March 2, 2024.

[D1B_Poll-9] "D1Baseball.com Top 25". d1baseball.com. Retrieved March 2, 2024.

[PG_Poll-10] "NCAA Division I - Top 25 Rankings". Perfect Game USA. February 26, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.

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v t e UC Irvine Anteaters baseball
Venues	Anteater Ballpark (2002–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993–2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
College World Series appearances in italics