The USA BaseBlog is a web site feature found only on the baseball page at www.usajaguars.com. David Kaye, USA baseball's athletic media relations contact, provides an all-access look into Jag baseball. This is the sixth entry in a series counting down the 10 best games of the 2009 baseball season.

No. 5 - USA vs. UC Irvine, March 8 (Baylor Ballpark)

Thank you for taking the time to browse the baseball page. If you have a question or comment, please feel free to  e-mail me. The 2009 USA Baseball Season Outlook is now available online. Additionally, SEBaseball.com has released its 2009 South Alabama preview, though it is only available to site members. Publisher Mark Ethridge says with a few breaks, the Jags have the pieces in place to make a run at the conference title.

USA's Sunday matchup with 2007 College World Series participant UC Irvine in Waco, Texas ranks as the fifth-best game on the Jags' 2009 schedule. The lone neutral site game to make the Top 10 countdown, this contest will be the first time the Anteaters and Jags have met.

Any meeting with a team two years removed from a trip to the College World Series is big, but this matchup could have even greater significance because it is the Jags' final game in one of the best nonconference tournaments of the 2009 college baseball season. USA plays tournament host Baylor Friday, then takes on UAB Saturday before the finale against the Anteaters.

No matter what happens in the first two games, this matchup will be important. If USA wins the first two, it'll go into this game with a chance to earn some national recognition by sweeping such a strong tournament field. If the Jags lose the first two, they'll need this one to feel better about themselves on the 11-hour trip back to Mobile. With a split in the first two, this game could determine the tournament winner, an accolade that would be nice to have if the Jags are looking to earn an at-large berth to an NCAA regional.

The Anteaters are coming off a 42-18 season and a super regional appearance in 2008. After taking the first game against LSU at the Baton Rouge, La. Super Regional, UC Irvine dropped the second game in stunning fashion before being ousted in a blowout in game three. That loss kept them from a second consecutive College World Series appearance.

UCI went 4-0 in neutral site games in 2008, including a pair of wins against Oral Roberts at the NCAA Lincoln, Neb. Regional. The Anteaters also notched six wins against ranked opponents on the road. UCI took two of three from then 22nd-ranked Tulane, won two of three against 16th-ranked Long Beach State, and defeated 13th-ranked Nebraska and second-ranked LSU in the postseason.

All of those performances, in addition to the experience gained from playing in front of more than 8,000 fans at all three games of the super regional, make the 2009 Anteaters one of the toughest opponents on USA's schedule.

UCI lost only two of 11 starting position players and four of 11 pitchers off its 2008 squad. Eight returning hitters hit .299 or better a season ago, while the Anteaters top two returning pitchers, Daniel Bibona and Christian Bergman combined to post a 14-5 record. Bergman's 1.94 ERA was a staff-best, while Eric Pettis converted 17 saves and posted a 2.62 ERA in 31 appearances

Though this will be the first meeting between USA and UCI, Anteater head coach Mike Gillespie and Jag head coach Steve Kittrell have history facing each other. Gillespie coached at Southern California from 1987 through 2006, and as USC's coach, Gillespie first faced Kittrell in 1987, when the Jags fell 10-7 at Stanky Field.

The two coaches met again when the Trojans took a 7-2 decision on their home field in 1990. In 1998, USC and USA met twice at the NCAA East Regional in Clemson, S.C., with the Trojans taking both games by one run. USA was swept in a three-game series at USC in 2003, but the Jags took two of three the following year at Stanky Field. The 2009 matchup will be the first time Kittrell and Gillespie have faced each other on a neutral field.

Notes:  Kittrell's teams are 2-8 all-time against Gillespie's, but the Jags have taken two of the last three after losing the first seven ... Only one member of UCI's 2009 roster is from outside the state of California ... The Anteaters had six players chosen in the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, including fourth-round selection Scott Gorgen ... UCI's baseball program was disbanded due to budget cuts in 1992, but the Anteaters returned in 2002 ... They have advanced to postseason play in four of seven years since, and they became the first team ever to win two extra-inning games at the College World Series when they made it to Omaha in 2007.

TOP 10 GAMES OF 2009 COUNTDOWN

Click below to view previous entries in the USA BaseBlog ...
Dec. 29, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 6 USA vs. Vanderbilt (March 17)
Dec. 26, 2008 - "Interview with Coach Kittrell"
Dec. 24, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 7 USA vs. Southern Miss (May 12)
Dec. 20, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 8 USA vs. Mississippi State (March 24)
Dec. 14, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 9 USA vs. Baylor (March 6)
Dec. 11, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 10 USA vs. Troy (May 16)
Dec. 4, 2008 - "Meet Corey Powell"
Nov. 25, 2008 - "Seven for 2010, Plus 10 for 2009"
Nov. 21, 2008 - "Recruiting for 2010" 
Nov. 14, 2008 - "Signing On"