Omaha

IRVINE — Shades of Omaha reverberated around Anteater Ballpark Saturday night, echoing alongside some familiar late-inning heroics that propelled host UC Irvine to a 3-2 victory over Big West Conference baseball rival Cal State Fullerton in 12 innings. Just as he had in UCI’s 10-inning win over Arizona State in last year’s College World Series, center fielder Ollie Linton singled to aid a dramatic comeback. Against ASU, the Rosenblatt Stadium crowd was chanting “Ollie, Ollie, Ollie,” as he singled to bring in the winning run. This time, about half of the crowd of 2,608 that remained held their explosion until after he singled in Sean Madigan to erase a 2-1 Titans lead.

OMAHA, Neb. — The Road to Omaha finally reached an off-ramp for the UC Irvine baseball team Monday as the Anteaters, fresh off their Super Regional sweep at Wichita State, arrived by bus at the site of the 61st College World Series at storied Rosenblatt Stadium. Coach Dave Serrano's No. 4-ranked Anteaters (45-15-1) will square off against Arizona State (48-13) in their first game of the eight-team tournament. The game will be played Saturday at 11 a.m. Should UCI win, it would play again Monday at 4 p.m. A loss Monday would put the Anteaters into an elimination game Monday at 11 a.m. The tournament is broken down into two four-team brackets, both of which feature a double-elimination format identical to that conducted in the four-team regionals.

Members of the UC Irvine baseball program open the 2010 season tonight with a target on their back, a chip on their shoulder and a number on their chest. The target refers to being the reigning Big West Conference champions after claiming the program?s first crown last season with a 22-2 Big West record. There is also the matter of having been ranked No. 1 the final six weeks of the regular season and earning the school?s first home NCAA Regional. The chip on their shoulder relates to the way 2009 ended, as Virginia eliminated the Anteaters to advance from the Irvine Regional and finalize UCI?

OMAHA, Neb. — For most of the 283 NCAA Division I college baseball teams, Rosenblatt Stadium, the site of the College World Series, is a mystical, magical place to be dreamed of and never realized. But the 2007 UC Irvine Anteaters, a program that did not exist when most of its stars were in high school six years ago, the sights, smells, sounds, and sweetness of Omaha in June will forever be viewed as reality. In a season of firsts, the group of brothers Coach Dave Serrano said made up this team, finally played their last game, losing to defending national champion Oregon State, 7-1, in front of 29,921.

Nine days after his program capped a storybook season that culminated in it's debut appearance in the College World Series, UC Irvine baseball coach Dave Serrano said Friday that the offseason is still merely a concept. "It has been a whirlwind," Serrano said of the aftermath of a historic campaign in which the Anteaters (47-17-1) won the program's first Division I Regional, Super Regional, and finished tied for third in Omaha, where their two dramatic extra-inning victories thrilled a national television audience and, as Serrano has said, put UCI baseball on the map. "It has been crazy busy, but I wouldn't want it any other way," said Serrano, who has set about plans for his fourth year at the helm with his trademark enthusiasm.

McGARRY- BERKHAUSEN Cristin Marie McGarry of Omaha, Neb., and John Horton Berkhausen of Corona del Mar exchanged vows at St. John Vianney Chapel on Balboa Island Aug. 13. The bride is the daughter of Craig and Deb McGarry of Omaha, Neb. The maid of honor was Erin McGarry Baker. The bridegroom is the son of Brian and Barbara Berkhausen of Corona del Mar. The best man was Matt Acklin. The reception took place aboard the Spirit of Newport yacht in Newport Harbor with 40 guests in attendance.

Anteaters' Petersen named all-tournament in Omaha UC Irvine junior right fielder Bryan Petersen was voted to the College World Series All-Tournament team, following the conclusion of the championship game Sunday. Petersen, who drove in the game-winning run in the Anteaters' 5-4 victory over Big West Conference-rival Cal State Fullerton, a game that lasted 13 innings and a CWS-record five-hours and 40 minutes on June 18, batted .533 in four games in Omaha. He went eight for 15, including a double and a triple and also drew a team-best three walks.

OMAHA, Neb. — Doug Kline doesn't get to show off his Anteater gear that much these days. The Superintendent of the Calipatria Unified School District in Imperial Valley is a UCI grad and former Anteater catcher, who attends a couple of regular-season games a year. But Kline, who played at UCI from 1985-88, has used the Anteaters' appearance in the College World Series as an opportunity to boast about his alma mater, as well as connect with former teammates. Kline and Craig Brink were roommates, teammates, battery mates and, Kline said, inseparable during their time at UCI. And though they have talked virtually every month since then, logistics have kept them from seeing one another for 19 years.

Harry Stickler MD June 17th 1915 Omaha, NE Sept 18th 2009 Newport Beach, CA Harry Stickler wanted to be a doctor from age eight when his father died of tuberculosis and he wondered “if the doctors could have done more”. And train he did, earning his M.D. at the University of Nebraska Medical School in Omaha. and interning at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in Philadelphia. His residency in Internal Medicine was completed at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

OMAHA, Neb. — One spectator with a unique perspective of UC Irvine's 5-4 loss to Arizona State in the first round of the College World Series Saturday was Matt Gorgen, twin brother of UCI sophomore starting pitcher Scott Gorgen. Matt Gorgen, the sophomore closer at Cal this season, has become an honorary member of the Anteaters. He has attended all six of UCI's postseason games and is a nervous wreck whenever Scott is on the mound. "I'm way worse than my dad [Chris, who also agonizes on every pitch]

The alumni games continue to get tougher for the UC Irvine baseball program, which fortified its list of former players after last season's team went 43-18 and was one pitch away from earning a trip to the College World Series. But after saying goodbye to Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year Matt Summers, Big West Defensive Player of the Year and closer Brian Hernandez and Drew Hillman, who led the team with six home runs and 51 runs batted in, among others, there remains plenty of talent for Hall of Fame Coach Mike Gillespie.

The University of Virginia logo features two crossed swords. But a look at the Cavaliers' vaunted baseball team indicates that UC Irvine, which visits Virginia for a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional beginning Saturday at 10 a.m., will be facing a team that has more than a two-pronged attack. The Cavaliers (52-9), the No. 1 national seed in the 64-team NCAA Tournament who have both the most wins and fewest losses of any team in the field, are as impressive as any squad in recent memory.

Members of the UC Irvine baseball program open the 2010 season tonight with a target on their back, a chip on their shoulder and a number on their chest. The target refers to being the reigning Big West Conference champions after claiming the program?s first crown last season with a 22-2 Big West record. There is also the matter of having been ranked No. 1 the final six weeks of the regular season and earning the school?s first home NCAA Regional. The chip on their shoulder relates to the way 2009 ended, as Virginia eliminated the Anteaters to advance from the Irvine Regional and finalize UCI?

Harry Stickler MD June 17th 1915 Omaha, NE Sept 18th 2009 Newport Beach, CA Harry Stickler wanted to be a doctor from age eight when his father died of tuberculosis and he wondered “if the doctors could have done more”. And train he did, earning his M.D. at the University of Nebraska Medical School in Omaha. and interning at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in Philadelphia. His residency in Internal Medicine was completed at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

The final College World Series at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium will be held in 2010 and the UC Irvine baseball team, thanks to a string of off-season good fortune, is an odds-on favorite to be in the eight-team field. After next season, the NCAA championship event will move from the historic, and repeatedly renovated Rosenblatt to TD Ameritrade Park in downtown Omaha. So, nostalgia will be at a premium in the 61st CWS to be held at Rosenblatt. And no fewer than eight UCI players looking forward to their senior season of eligibility will also attempt to experience a little personal nostalgia of their own, having all taken part in the program’s initial visit to Omaha in 2007.

The veteran core of the UC Irvine baseball team knows what it’s like to get to Omaha and experience the College World Series. Just as importantly, they also know what it’s like to come up tantalizingly short of their game’s ultimate destination. “Three outs away” is a mantra that consumed many Anteaters fans in the recent off-season, after UCI took a 7-4 lead into the ninth inning of a would-be-clinching Super Regional game at LSU last season, only to see the Tigers rally for a 9-7 win. LSU then sent the ’Eaters packing with a 21-7 trouncing in the decisive third game to advance to Omaha.

Mike Mayne said he failed to fully understand the compulsion he felt to return to the dugout, mere moments after Fresno State Coach Mike Batesole gave him days to ponder an offer to become the Bulldogs’ pitching coach nine months ago. Mayne, 62, who invested 15 of the 35 years he spent coaching the game he loved guiding Orange Coast College to 400 wins and the 1980 state title (1977-92), said he was similarly stumped by the confluence of circumstances that enabled Fresno State (42-19)