Baseball Coach

UC Irvine baseball coach Mike Gillespie said Thursday that the first NCAA Regional played at Anteater Ballpark last weekend could be the last, at least for as long as he continues to guide the Anteaters. “I don’t think it’s a slam dunk that I would come down on the side of hosting again,” Gillespie said. “This wasn’t my first rodeo [his teams have reached the postseason in 17 of his 22 seasons of Division I coaching, including 15 of 20 the teams he guided at USC, which he led to the national championship in 1998]

Ralph Grajeda, a former Riverside Community College assistant, has been hired to be the Vanguard University baseball coach, the school announced Wednesday. Grajeda’s hiring ended a month-long search after Vanguard announced former coach Scott Mallernee had resigned. Mallernee was the Lions’ coach for four years, compiling a 72-110 record. Grajeda takes over for a team that went 17-31 this past year. “I am humbed and honored for the opportunity to be Vanguard University’s head baseball coach,” Grajeda said in release.

When most of the batters moved back in the box, Dante Capoccia inched closer to the mound. Capoccia dared the pitcher to fire one past him. It never worked out for the pitcher against the left-handed hitting Capoccia. He hit the ball harder than anyone else during the Little League District 62 Tournament of Champions. No one threw it harder than the right-handed throwing Capoccia, either. The 12-year-old put on a show and lifted the Costa Mesa National Little League Red Sox to the league?

Vanguard University announced Thursday that head women’s volleyball coach Erikka Gulbranson, as well as head baseball coach Scott Mallernee, have resigned. Gulbranson spent seven years as head coach, and leaves as the winningest coach in Vanguard volleyball history. She took over a three-win team in 2001, and led it to a winning record in just her third year. “Erikka completely shaped the volleyball program into one that is not only competitive in the [Golden State Athletic Conference]

LAGUNA BEACH — On the bus ride to Laguna Beach, Tyler Peterson prepared for his next start with a book in tow. The rest of his Costa Mesa High baseball teammates scoffed at the idea. They preferred to talk and joke while enjoying the scenic drive. Peterson managed to read 10 pages from “The Mental Game of Baseball.” Peterson is far from a bookworm. But with 25 minutes to spare, he looked for an edge. The start of the book gave him plenty of valuable information.

Sean Vogel missed out on his first chance to meet Sage Hill School’s new baseball coach. Back in early February, when the rest of the players tried to make a good impression on Andy Berglund, Vogel was out sick. What a way to start a sophomore season, unfamiliar with the new skipper. He knew just a name, no face, no handshake. The last time Vogel shook a new coach’s hand, the coach left after one year. One week after the first team meeting, Vogel finally introduced himself to Berglund, a first-year varsity head coach.

The announcement, made by the Cal State Fullerton media relations department Sept. 7, hit the UC Irvine baseball program and its supporters like a fastball to the eye socket. For, like the unprecedented postseason run that had just thrust UCI onto the national sports landscape, nobody saw this one coming. Just seven days prior to being named baseball coach at Cal State Fullerton, where he had both played and coached, former UCI head man Dave Serrano had issued a statement disavowing any interest in replacing his mentor and friend, George Horton, who had left Fullerton for a big paycheck and a blank canvas at the University of Oregon.

Mike Gillespie said Tuesday he is awaiting approval from the University of California Board of Regents to officially start his term as UC Irvine baseball coach. But the former USC coach, who guided the Trojans to 15 postseason appearances in his 20 seasons at the helm, said he is anxious to assume the challenge of maintaining the strong positive direction the UCI program took in just six seasons since being revived. UCI has played in three regionals and last season won regional and super regional titles, en route to a third-place finish in the College World Series.

Dave Serrano, who coached the UC Irvine baseball program to its first Division I College World Series appearance in June, will leave the school to become head coach at Cal State Fullerton, where he played and worked as an assistant coach. Serrano, who compiled a 114-66-1 record in three seasons at UCI, including 47-17-1 last season, a school record for wins, will replace George Horton, who left Fullerton after 11 seasons last week to become coach at Oregon. Serrano had been a candidate at Oregon, before removing his name from consideration Aug. 22. When Oregon hired Horton Aug. 31, Serrano released a statement through UCI stating he had no interest in returning to Fullerton, where he was pitching coach under Horton for eight seasons from 1997-2004.