Seeking the next level

While the UC Irvine baseball team enhanced the program’s reputation by making the school’s first appearance in the College World Series in June, several former Anteaters are trying to add to that in the professional ranks this summer.

No fewer than 17 former UCI standouts are among locals toiling in the minor leagues, with mixed results.

Former Anteaters pitchers Brett Smith, Justin Cassel, Blair Erickson and David Huff (who ended his collegiate career at UCLA), are enjoying the most success.

Smith, a second-round pick by the Yankees after the 2005 season, began the season with the Class AA Trenton Thunder, where he was 7-4 with a 2.97 earned-run average in 17 games, 16 of which were starts. But he is now at the Class A Tampa Yankees, where he is 0-2 with an 8.38 ERA in three starts, spanning 9 2/3 innings through Sunday.

Justin Cassel is 4-1 with a 2.14 ERA in five starts and six appearances for the Winston-Salem Warthogs, a Class A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Cassel has 26 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings and he has allowed just 25 hits with 13 walks.

Huff is 4-2 with a 2.72 ERA in 11 starts with the Kinston Indians, a Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.

Erickson, the all-time NCAA saves leader (53), who did not earn a save in UCI’s seven postseason victories, has five saves in 10 appearances for the Elizabethtown Twins, a rookie league squad affiliated with the Minnesota Twins. Erickson has fashioned an 0.93 ERA, allowing six hits and two walks, while striking out seven in 9 2/3 innings through Sunday.

Taylor Holiday, a member of the successful 2007 UCI squad, is among those excelling after trading his aluminum bat for the wooden variety.

Holiday, competing for the short-season Class A Staten Island Yankees, an affiliate of the New York Yankees, was hitting .298 in 141 at-bats through Sunday. The fiery first baseman had two home runs, 12 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 36 games, since joining the team directly from Omaha.

Former UCI catcher Mark Wagner is continuing his rise through the Boston Red Sox system. Through Sunday, he was hitting .298 with 11 homers, 61 RBIs and 40 extra-base hits for the Class A Lancaster JetHawks.

Spike McDougall, who failed to emerge in one season at UCI, is doing just that for the Greensboro Grasshoppers, a Class A affiliate of the Florida Marlins. McDougall, an outfielder, is hitting .268 with 16 homers, 64 RBIs and 24 steals through 102 games and 351 at-bats this season. He also has 27 doubles.

Orange Coast College product Robbie Blauer, who was drafted out of UC Santa Barbara in June by the San Diego Padres, is hitting .283 in 31 games (96 at-bats) with the Class A Eugene Emeralds. He does not have a home run, but has 10 RBIs.

Another former Pirate, Matt Cline, the starting second baseman the last two seasons at Long Beach State, is hitting .325 over his first 83 at-bats for the Helena Brewers, Milwaukee’s rookie league affiliate. Cline has one homer, nine RBIs and one stolen base in 29 games.

Bryan Petersen, a postseason hero for the Anteaters in 2007, was hitting .234 with two homers, 14 RBIs and five steals for the Jamestown Jammers, a Class A affiliate of the Florida Marlins. Of Petersen’s 29 hits, 11 were for extra bases.

Cody Cipriano, a senior second baseman for Coach Dave Serrano’s Anteaters this past season, had two homers, 14 RBIs and five steals through 32 games for the Hudson Valley Renegades, a Class A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Cipriano was hitting .224 through 32 games.

Chad Lundahl, an infielder at UCI who turned pro after the 2006 collegiate campaign, is hitting .215 for the Rome Braves, a Class A affiliate of Atlanta. In 85 games and 218 at-bats through Sunday, he had three homers and 32 RBIs.

Josh Bradbury, a product of Corona del Mar High and Orange Coast College, was hitting .143 with two RBIs through 12 games and 35 at-bats with the Clinton Lumberkings, a Class A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

Also Rangers’ property is former UCI hurler Glenn Swanson, who was 1-4 with a 4.87 ERA through seven starts with the Bakersfield Blaze, a member of the Class A California League. Swanson, a lefty, had 41 strikeouts and 16 walks in 40 2/3 innings. He had allowed 48 hits.

Robert Della Grotta, a Newport Beach resident who played collegiately at Pepperdine, was 0-1 with a 4.86 ERA in 16 relief appearances as Cipriano’s teammate at Hudson Valley. Della Grotta had 12 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings. He had allowed 13 hits and walked seven.

A pair of pitching standouts from the 2007 UCI squad, Wes Etheridge and Dylan Axelrod, have yet to find their best stuff in the minors. Etheridge is 0-3 with a 15.43 ERA in 4 2/3 relief innings for the Helena Brewers. He had allowed 10 hits and walked four with five strikeouts through Sunday.

Pitching in the rookie Arizona League for the Peoria Padres, a San Diego affiliate, Axelrod was 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA through 11 2/3 innings. He had struck out 15, allowed 15 hits and walked four.

Chris Nicoll, a former UCI starting pitcher, has the same role for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, a Class A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Nicoll is 2-4 with a 7.06 ERA in 12 games. He has allowed 40 hits, while walking 22 and striking out 33.

Sean Tracey, a former Anteater who has seen Major League service with the Chicago White Sox, is 0-1 with a 7.43 ERA in 14 relief appearances for the Norfolk Tides, the Class AAA farm team of the Baltimore Orioles.

Matt Morris and Tyler Vaughn, UCI teammates this past season, are just getting started as professionals.

Through Sunday, Vaughn, a third baseman, had appeared in two games for the Kingsport Mets, a Class A affiliate of the New York Mets. He was one for four at the plate.

Morris, an outfielder, had one homer, six RBIs and one stolen base in 26 games as Holiday’s Staten Island teammate. He was hitting .167 in 72 at-bats through Sunday.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].