 He played college baseball there in 2004 and 2005, had a school-record 117 strikeouts in 2004, and was named Outstanding Pitcher.After two years at SBCC, Axelrod transferred to University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine), where he played for the Anteaters from 2006 to 2007.He was a reliever with UC Irvine, and was seventh in the Big West Conference in appearances in 2006 with 28 and had a 3–3 record with a 4.59 ERA.