It’s not counter-intuitive to say that one of the Big West Conference’s most successful baseball programs is also one that has suffered some tough breaks.

UC Irvine took a step forward last season (43-18 overall, 32-8 Big West), winning the conference title handily and advancing to the 64-team NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014.

The Anteaters gave host Stanford all it could handle in a double-elimination, four-team regional. They stayed alive with a six-run, eighth-inning rally to beat the Cardinal, 8-4, and force a winner-take-all game, then fought back from a 7-0 deficit before an 11-8 loss.

Head coach Ben Orloff’s team was deep and talented – as the program has been since it was revived in 2002. After a six-year run of tourney bids, UCI has often found itself on the NCAA tourney bubble, being ignored despite credible records in 2015, 2018 and 2019

“Last year was the next right step for this program,” said Orloff, a three-time All-American as an Anteater player. “We hadn’t been to the tournament since 2014 and the players wanted to put a number on the scoreboard.

“We won the conference convincingly and competed hard in the regional, and we return a lot of key contributors.”

Seven position players are back as well as two key starting pitchers and two relievers for a team that opens at No. 18 in Baseball America’s preseason Top 25.

Four of those players hit over .300 last season – outfielder Nathan Church (.369, 6 HRs, 61 RBIs), infielder Jacob Castro (.314), outfielder Luke Spillane (.306, 5 HRs, 45 RBIs), and catcher Thomas McCaffrey (.356).

Nick Pinto (7-4, 3.43 ERA) and Mark Frias (9-02, 3.36) will make two of the starts in the season-opening three-game series at Louisiana that begins Friday night. Jacob King (3-1, 1.98, 8 saves) and Gordon Ingebritson (6-1, 3.30) will be in the bullpen.

The Anteaters were picked to finish second in the Big West coach’s preseason poll, just behind Long Beach State, and they are in the preseason Field of 64 picked by d1baseball.com.

UC IRVINE AT A GLANCE

Coach: Ben Orloff, third year

2021 record: 43-18 overall, 32-8 Big West, NCAA regionals

Who’s back? OF Nathan Church (.369, 61 RBIs); OF Luke Spillane (.306, 5 HRs), C Thomas McCaffrey (.356), IF Connor McGuire (44 RBIs), LHP Nick Pinto (7-4, 3.43 ERA), RHP Michael Frias (9-2, 3.36), RHP Jacob King (3-1, 1.98, 8 saves)

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Who’s gone? OF Michael Peabody, OF Jake Palmer, SP Trenton Denholm

Who’s new? RHP Troy Wentworth (transfer from San Joaquin Delta JC); RHP Troy Taylor (transfer from Cypress College); OF Myles Smith (Crossroads HS). There are 11 true freshmen on the roster.

Coach’s quote: “Last season gave us the belief we can be a good team and win here, and we have all the pieces to win again.” – Orloff