UCI’s comedy team

Tyler Hoechlin has appeared on the big screen with Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Jennifer Jason Leigh, but some of his best acting has occurred with his UC Irvine baseball teammates, just after pregame stretching, down the left-field line.

Hoechlin, a freshman infielder whose acting resume includes playing Tom Hanks’ son in the 2002 movie “Road to Perdition,” as well as recurring character Martin Brewer on the television series “7th Heaven” is anything but the star of the Anteaters’ improvisational acting and production troupe known as The Company.

The group, started by junior outfielder Ollie Linton and senior pitcher Chris Lopez, evolved last season from some minor pregame high jinx into what has now become a brief performance, often a parody of television and movies. The skits are also shaped by the real life experiences of the players, both on and off the field.

Linton, a shameless showman who owns the school single-season and career stolen base records and is expected to be selected in the Major League Draft today, is the heart and soul of the group, which often recruits other players and even coaches to perform in the skits that occur hours before each UCI home and road game.

Linton is the group’s most prolific creative force, teaming with Lopez, a former Little League teammate and longtime friend whose locker in the Anteater Ballpark clubhouse is adjoined with Linton’s, to come up with the ideas for each skit.

Lopez, a reliever whom UCI Coach Mike Gillespie says has a future in standup comedy, is a perhaps the group’s comedic anchor.

Together, they work out scripted details, or merely a basic outline from which they and their teammates riff on themselves and others. Their singular aim is to inject a little laughter into the competitive grind that is college baseball.

They’ve been known to mock anyone who drops a popup or misses a sign. And, after one rough patch early in the Big West Conference schedule, the group dramatically laid its bullpen to rest, hoping to end some struggles by relievers.

“This skit business they do is hilarious,” said Gillespie, a 67-year-old first-year head coach who has allowed the group to continue after taking over for Dave Serrano, now at Cal State Fullerton.

“We were wondering if [Gillespie] was going to cancel the second season of The Company, but we gave him a couple pilot episodes and he enjoyed them, so we’re still going strong,” Linton said.

“It’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ before every game,” said Gillespie, who has even performed in some skits and frequently witnesses and enjoys the performances. “It’s hilarious and it works. Lopez is leaving and we think we’re going to lose Ollie [to the professional ranks], and I wonder who is going to be capable of doing this, because those guys are hilarious.”

Sophomore outfielder Dillon Bell, who rooms with Linton on the road, has become a third member of the group, included in the conception and execution of its material.

“But he’s the poor man’s [Linton and Lopez],” Gillespie, known for his wry sense of humor, said. “So, he’s got to go to drama school or something.”

Hoechlin, who has trained at the Beverly Hills Acting Studio and is in his first season at UCI after transferring from Arizona State, has given the group his critical acclaim.

“It is extremely, extremely impressive,” Hoechlin said. “I was actually really shocked. They’ve been doing a good job all year. It blows me away, because I’m not exactly the creative one. For them to come up with a new skit every game is impressive.”

Hoechlin has become a more consistent contributor, though he says comedy and improvisation are not, as yet, his strong suits.

“I’d say I’ve been used effectively, so far,” Hoechlin said. “I think they’re kind of easing me in. It’s a different kind of acting for me, but it has been fun.”

Bell said Hoechlin has done well on the outfield stage.

“He has done some good work,” Bell said. “Actually, we didn’t even think about using him until later on in the season. Then, we were like ‘Hey, man, you’re an actor, so let’s go.’ ”

Lopez said he had no formal training, before stepping into the spotlight.

“I was just a goof off, always the class-clown type of guy,” Lopez said. “This thing has just become a tradition to keep the team loose.”

As Gillespie and others have said: Mission accomplished.

“Lopez has a talent, definitely,” Bell said. “He can bring the whole crowd down. He’s always got everybody laughing, whether it’s The Company or just making speeches and joking around.”

Some of the players’ favorite skits include a roast of the seniors before the regular-season finale on senior day, a tour of the Baseball Hall of Fame, and a reenactment of the American Gladiators.

The senior roast featured players imitating teammates’ current and former girlfriends to take some sometimes profane shots at their peers.

“Of course it gets salty sometimes,” Hoechlin said. “This is college baseball, so you’ve got to expect that.”

The Hall of Fame tour featured players portraying statues of baseball greats. Linton posed as Jackie Robinson in a famous picture of the former Dodgers great stealing home.

“It was pretty good,” senior Aaron Lowenstein said of the statue imitations. “Ollie even had his hat partially coming of his head, just like Jackie.”

Linton, who mentioned playing Dave Chappelle and Michael Vick as two of his favorite roles, said the constant demand for ideas can be taxing.

“We have less material this year, because we used up a lot of the good stuff last year,” said Linton. “Sometimes we don’t even come up with an idea, so we just go out and freestyle. Sometimes that works really well.”

Linton said opposing teams have been known to laugh along with the routines as they were warming up. Linton also said, as a creator, his target audience has become Gillespie.

“Once we see Coach Gillespie laughing in the background, we know we did well,” Linton said.

Bell has been tabbed the heir to The Company throne, but it remains unclear if the group will continue with new leadership next season.

“It may die with Ollie and C-Lo, but hopefully, someone can keep it going,” Hoechlin said.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].