August 31, 2008

Kendall Rogers
Rivals.com College Baseball Editor

As fall workouts near, the memory of losing to the Tigers still haunts the Eaters. It also gives them extra motivation.

While the Eaters must find a way to replace weekend starters Scott Gorgen and Bryce Stowell, they return a productive offense with Sean Madigan, Ben Orloff and others leading the way.

Replacing a pair of weekend starters and offensive spark plug Ollie Linton this fall will be a tough chore for the Eaters, but they have the talent and experience to overcome the departures.

We take an inside look at UC Irvine entering fall workouts.

UC Irvine has come a long way the past few seasons. Once considered an afterthought on the West Coast, the Anteaters have built a solid program with an impressive talent base. That won't change anytime soon, but the Eaters may enter the 2009 season with cautious expectations. Though Irvine welcomes back several talented players this fall, it must replace weekend starters Scott Gorgen and Bryce Stowell, among others. Replacing Gorgen and Stowell this fall will be extremely challenging, but the Eaters hope to put the pitching staff on the shoulders of junior pitchers Danny Bibona and Christian Bergman. If Irvine can reload the pitching staff this fall, it should be in great shape entering the spring.

The Anteaters don't have too much to improve this fall. Sure, losing weekend starters Scott Gorgen and Bryce Stowell could be detrimental to their success in '09. The rest of the pitching staff, however, is talented and experienced with Bibona, Bergman and Pettis leading the way. The offense must find a way to improve without electric outfielder Ollie Linton, but otherwise should be in good shape. The Eaters played consistent baseball for most of the '08 season, but showed a glaring weakness in the final two games of the Baton Rouge Super Regional. The experience gained from that setting should help the Eaters prepare for the season this fall.

The Eaters must find a way to replace outfielder Ollie Linton this fall, but welcome back several talented hitters, including veteran shortstop Ben Orloff. Though Orloff's return is important from a production standpoint, he also brings great leadership to the table. The Eaters also welcome back Sean Madigan, Jeff Cusick, Dillon Bell, Brock Bardeen and Francis Larson. The Eaters may have some questions to answer on the mound, but enter fall workouts with arguably one of the top offenses on the West Coast. Irvine is in great shape at the plate, and should only improve this fall.

Just a few weeks ago, the Anteaters felt great about their pitching staff. That was until right-handed pitcher Bryce Stowell decided to ink a pro contract after a stellar summer at the Cape Cod League. His departure has left a sting on the Anteaters. Stowell, however, is far from irreplaceable. The Eaters welcome back Danny Bibona, Christian Bergman and reliever Eric Pettis. Bibona and Bergman started several games last season and had great numbers, while Pettis made 31 appearances and had a 2.62 ERA in 44 2/3 innings of work. With the season still a few months away, the Eaters have enough time to shore up their situation on the mound.

UC Irvine has established itself as a national power the past two seasons, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. While the Eaters must find way a way to replace Scott Gorgen and Bryce Stowell, they should be OK on the mound with the return of Bibona, Pettis and Bergman. The pitching staff is a question mark entering fall workouts, but the offense is in great shape. As with every team this time of year, the Eaters have some work to do between now and the spring. They, however, are very much ahead of most teams at this juncture. I fully expect the Eaters to be just fine.

Kendall Rogers is the college baseball editor for Rivals.com. He can be reached at rogersk@yahoo-inc.com.