Petersen taken in fourth round

Off the plane and ready to grab his bags, Bryan Petersen saw everyone else smile after a lengthy flight from Los Angeles Thursday. Then a teammate picked up his bags as if he was VIP.

The UC Irvine right fielder knew something was up in Wichita, Kan., where the fourth-ranked Anteaters (43-15-1) open a Super Regional best-of-three series with No. 8 Wichita State (53-20) Saturday.

Before giving him the news of getting drafted in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Florida Marlins, Taylor Holiday passed Petersen the cell phone.

“Who is it?” Petersen asked.

The guy on the other line was his buddy, Chais Fuller of Texas, whom he played summer ball with in Alaska. Fuller told Petersen that he was the 136th pick in the draft’s first day.

Petersen was speechless. What ran through the 6-foot, 200-pounder wasn’t the money he could make by signing, but the idea of getting closer to fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a big leaguer.

“I’m more excited than surprised,” said Petersen, who’s batting .308 with five home runs, 33 RBIs, and has stolen 27 of 32 bases. “It’s awesome to be drafted because you get to see all your hard work finally payoff. Things are just really great right now because I just got drafted and we’re still alive trying to reach the College World Series in Omaha for the first time.

“I won’t sign anything until the season is over because right now I want to help my team go as far as we can. We got some big games left.”

Petersen has also pitched for UC Irvine, though he was drafted as an outfielder.

He has pitched just 3 2/3 innings this season and last made an appearance in the Anteaters’ regular-season finale.

This weekend, the Anteaters will need Petersen’s left-handed bat and the rest of the team if they plan to get past the Shockers, who have the home-field advantage playing at Eck Stadium.

Petersen said UCI is prepared to win on the road, like they did in the Round Rock Regional in Texas. After defeating Wake Forest in the opening round, UCI faced powerhouse Texas, which had most of the crowd of 9,000-plus on its side.

The Anteaters beat the then-No. 5 Longhorns twice to advance, giving them a feeling of what it’s like to play in front of a large crowd for the first time. Petersen, who also pitches occasionally, said he loved every minute of it.

“You can’t beat playing in front of that many fans,” said Petersen, a former Chatsworth High star, who also learned that two Chatsworth players, shortstop Mike Moustakas and third baseman Matt Dominguez, were drafted second and 12th, respectively, by the Kansas City Royals and Marlins.

“That just gets you prepared to play in a big-time environment and that’s what I want, because on that next level, the majors, day in, and day out, you’re on that big stage.”

If Petersen reaches the big leagues, he won’t have to worry about carrying his bags through any airport.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].