UCI baseball given NCAA regional berth

UC Irvine was awarded an at-large regional berth in the NCAA baseball

championships and will play Arizona Friday at 4 p.m. (PDT) to open a

four-team regional at South Bend, Ind.

UCI (34-21-1) went 2-0-1 in a three-game nonconference series at

Arizona (30-24-1) Feb. 20-22, including 3-1 and 6-5 victories and an

8-8 deadlock that was halted after 10 innings due to travel

commitments.

UCI is the No. 2 seed in the regional that also includes

top-seeded Notre Dame (49-10), and No. 4-seeded Kent State (35-25).

Kent State plays Notre Dame Friday at noon.

“We’re happy to be in the field of 64,” said UCI Coach John

Savage, who has been at the helm since the program was reinstated for

the 2002 season, after a 10-year absence.

“I’m proud of the players, especially the players who have been

with us from the first pitch. They’ve made a huge impact in a short

time on this program and they are being rewarded for their work and

their leadership.”

The double-elimination regional, which advances one team to the

Super Regionals, continues Saturday and Sunday.

It is the first postseason appearance for the Anteaters as a

Division I program. UCI captured Division II College World Series

titles in 1973 and 1974.

Anteaters finish seventh

* HONORS: UC Irvine men’s and women’s athletic teams combined to

finish seventh in the 10-team Big West Conference’s annual race for

the Commissioner’s Cup.

The award, which goes to the school with the best overall results

in the conference’s 17 sponsored sports championships during the

2003-04 school year, went to UC Santa Barbara for the fourth straight

time.

UCI finished with 1,500 points on a scale that awards points in

descending order of finish in 17 sports, 16 of which the Anteaters

competed in. UCI averaged 93.8 points per sport.

UC Santa Barbara averaged 138.1 points per sport, followed by Long

Beach State (120), Idaho (110), the University of the Pacific

(105.8), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (102.4), Cal State Northridge

(97.5).

Finishing behind UCI were Utah State (83.3), Cal State Fullerton

(68.3) and UC Riverside (66.7).

Sage Hill camps on tap

* CAMPS: Sage Hill School coaches will conduct summer camps for

volleyball, soccer and football beginning next month.

Lightning boys soccer coach Noureddine El Alam, with 12 years of

prep coaching experience, will host a camp for boys and girls ages

7-10 from 7 to 8:45 a.m. June 21-25.

Cost is $120.

Sage boys and girls volleyball coach Merja Connolly-Freund, a

captain on UCLA’s 1984 women’s NCAA championship team, will instruct

boys and girls ages 11-15 in camp from 9 a.m. to noon July 26-30.

Cost is $180.

Lightning football coach Tom Monarch, with more than 14 years

guiding prep and youth teams, and staff will hold a camp with

Plyometrics training for players ages 10-15 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30

p.m. July 15-17. Cost is $185.

Interested participants may call (949) 219-1366 for information.

Blueberries win title

* SOFTBALL: The Outrageous Blueberries defeated the Sailors, 10-0,

to claim the Newport Beach Pacific Coast Girls Fastpitch Softball

under-10 championship.

Pitchers Saylor Schroff and Deanna Byers teamed up for the shutout

in the championship game. Melissa Ley hit a home run and added bat

support came from Michaela Gentosi and Heather Barrett.

To get to the championship game, the Outrageous Blueberries edged

out the Sailors, 8-6.

A two-run triple by Charlotte Skjonsby was the big play for the

Blueberries.

Chandler Nicolls, who led the Blueberries in RBIs this season,

Mindy Wheeler, the team’s on-base-percentage leader, and Alexa Wilcox

provided key contributions at the plate.