The UC Irvine trio of pitcher Daniel Bibona (Lake Forest/Santa Margarita HS), shortstop Ben Orloff (Simi Valley/HS) and catcher Francis Larson (Yorba Linda/Esperanza HS) have all been named semifinalists for college baseball's top awards.

Bibona is one of 15 players vying for the College Baseball Foundation's Pitcher of the Year award and is the lone representative from the Big West. Bibona is ranked eighth in the nation in wins with nine and in ERA at 2.14. The southpaw has also held opposing teams to 6.43 hits per nine innings to sit 12th in the country. The Anteater ace has been of the most consistent pitchers, dealing at least seven innings in the last eight starts and holding the opposition to two earned runs or less in nine straight. Bibona leads UCI with 84 innings pitched and has struck out 18 while walking 18.

Orloff is one of 15 semifinalists for the 2009 Brooks Wallace Award, also presented by the College Baseball Foundation, which honors the country's top shortstop. Orloff leads the team in hits with 71 and stolen bases with 12. He is fourth with seven doubles and has driven in 19 for the team. The senior has made 204 consecutive starts and is the career leader in games played (230), runs scored (166) and is second in hits (261) and at bats (825). Defensively, Orloff has committed just six errors at shortstop.

Larson is one of 13 semifinalists for the 2009 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award. Larson leads UCI in RBI with 43 and is batting .325 on the season. The junior is first on the team with four triples and second in hits and doubles with 63 and 11, respectively. He paces the team with nine home runs to tie for second in the Big West and is third in the UCI career records with 17. Defensively, Larson has thrown out 23 base runners to sit second in the conference.

Cal State Fullerton's Christian Colon was also named one of 15 semifinalists for the Brooks Wallace Award. Colon, a sophomore from Corona, Calif., is currently hitting .346 with seven home runs and 28 RBI and has also produced 11 doubles, two triple, nine stolen bases and a .419 on base percentage. Colon has started 112 consecutive games at shortstop for the nationally-ranked Titans and has already been invited to participate in this year's USA Baseball trials upon the completion of Fullerton's season.

The College Baseball Foundation, the Dick Howser Committee and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association will announce the recipients for the 2009 awards on June 13 in Omaha, Neb. The Brooks Wallace award, the Dick Howser Trophy and the National Pitcher of the Year awards will be presented July 2 in Lubbock, Texas, as part of the College Baseball Awards Show.

The finalists for the Johnny Bench Award will be announced June 3, prior to the NCAA Super Regionals and Major League Baseball Draft. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the 12th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 26, 2009.