College Baseball: UCI picked fourth in Big West

The UC Irvine baseball team has been picked to finish fourth in the Big West Conference preseason poll.

The Anteaters, who went 41-25 and reached the College World Series last season, after finishing third in conference behind Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Long Beach State, open the season Feb. 13 at Fresno State.

Coach Mike Gillespie’s ‘Eaters received 56 points in the poll, behind Cal State Fullerton (74), Cal Poly (73) and UC Santa Barbara (62). Cal State Fullerton received five first-place votes, with Cal Poly and UCSB receiving three and one, respectively.

Long Beach State collected 48 points, followed by Cal State Northridge (25), UC Riverside and Hawaii (24), and UC Davis (19).

— From staff reports