49ers Coming Off Successful Series Versus California February 18, 2002 WEEKLY RELEASE (PDF) College World Series: 1989, 1991, 1993, 1998
NCAA Regionals: 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001 * Dirtbags Return Home to Face Arkansas
* Beach Take Two out of Three at California
* Solid Pitching Continues for The Beach
* Depth to be Tested in Upcoming Weeks Record: 4-2, Big West: 0-0 | Highest Current Ranking: 21st (CB) DATE | DIRTBAG
STARTER | ARKANSAS
STARTER | GAME TIME | | Feb. 22 | LHP-Alvarez
(1-0, 0.75) | RHP-Richmond
(2-0, 1.04) | 6:05 p.m. | | Feb. 23 | RHP-Eisentrager
(2-0, 2.45) | RHP-Isaacson
(0-1, 1.29) | 1:05 p.m. | | Feb. 24 | RHP-Weaver
(0-1, 7.56) | RHP-Hogan, Jr.
(0-0, 2.25) | 11:00 a.m. | DATE | DIRTBAG
STARTER | FRESNO ST
STARTER | GAME TIME | | Feb. 26 | TBA | TBA | 6:05 p.m. |
Next Series: vs. Fresno St. (Feb. 26), at LSU (Mar. 1-3), vs. Arizona (Mar. 8-10) Beach Returns Home to Face Arkansas: The No. 21-ranked 49ers (4-2) return this week to host Arkansas for a three-game series on Friday. LBSU will host Fresno State in its first mid-week game February 26 at 6:05 p.m. LHP Abe Alvarez (1-0, 0.75) will try to continue his hot start against RHP Jonathan Richmond (2-0, 1.04) at 6:05 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, RHP Daniel Eisentrager (2-0, 2.45) tries to remain perfect against RHP Charlie Isaacson (0-1, 1.29). On Sunday, in an earlier than scheduled, 11 a.m. start hurler RHP Jered Weaver (0-1, 7.56) will oppose Gary Hogan, Jr. (0-0, 2.25). UPCOMING OPPONENT
Arkansas 48th in USA Today/Coaches Poll | Record: 4-1 Head Coach: Norm DeBriyn (2,003-594-6, 32nd season) Team Notes: Arkansas enters this weekend?s series 4-1... their lone loss is to SW Missouri (2-3), with wins over Texas-Arlington, Air Force, MO Southern and Oklahoma City... the Razorbacks are picked to finish last in the Western Division of the SEC conference, which features Louisiana State, Ole Miss Mississippi State and Auburn... Arkansas went 27-29 last year and 11-19 in the SEC... the team?s ERA is 1.02 and opponents are batting .224... Arkansas is batting .316 as team, but have struck out 40 times (compared to 12 walks). Players to Watch: Senior RHP Charlie Isaacson (0-1, 1.29 ERA) is the seventh best 2002 draft prospect out of the SEC, according to Baseball America... sophomore OF Andrew Wishy (.526, 6 RBI) leads the team in average, RBIs, homers (2) and hits (10)... freshman 3B Clay Goodwin (.438, 5 RBI) is second to Wishy in average and RBIs and first in doubles (4)... Sophomore RHP Jonahthan Richmond posts a 2-0 record and 1.04 ERA... relievers RHP Scott Roehl (1-0, 0.00) and RHP Scott Woods (1-0, 0.00) both post 0.00 ERAs. Series Notes: The series is tied 5-5 with the Razorbacks winning both contests last year in Fayetteville in sub-zero conditions... The Beach won all three meetings in 2000. LAST WEEK FOR THE BEACH
Versus California (Berkeley, CA): For the second straight week, The Beach took two out of three, this time at California. The team?s pitching staff dominated the first two days, outscoring Cal 17-1. Last week, Chris Wright hit .455, followed by Jeremy Reed?s .417 average. LHP Abe Alvarez had another strong outing, giving up five hits and one run to pick up his second win of the season. Daniel Eisentrager followed that up with his second win of the season, tossing 6.0 shutout innings, giving up five hits. In the third game, after a 3-0 lead, Cal came back to win 4-3. For the weekend, The Beach staff compiled a 1.38 ERA. The Coach: Mike Weathers enters his first year as head coach of the Dirtbags, taking over for Dave Snow, who retired in July. Weathers previously served as the team's top lieutenant for the previous nine seasons under Snow. Weathers carries a 283-282 record in 11+ years as a head coach. Weathers was a head coach at Utah for two seasons in the early 80's and at Chapman from 1984 to 1992. Rank and File: The Beach remained at No. 21 in Collegiate Baseball?s poll and dropped a spot to No. 24 in the Baseball Weekly Coaches Poll. They remain unranked by Baseball America. Currently, eight opponents are ranked in the top-40 nationally. Fighting Only the Best: As usual, Long Beach State's schedule is one of the toughest in the country. The Dirtbags will face off against previously or current top-25 foes USC, Miami, LSU, Wichita State, CS Fullerton, Arizona, and San Diego. According to boydsworld.com, Long Beach State has the second toughest non-conference schedule in the country (LMU is No. 1). No surprise, eight of the 10 are on the West Coast. The Big West is also considered the second toughest conference behind the West Coast Conference. Depth to be Tested: Starters RHP Matt Paz (Stockton) and LHP Bobby Cramer (Anaheim) will both miss the entire 2002 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Paz was the team's top returning inning eater with over 100 IP over the past two seasons, while Cramer was expected to be the team?s closer. OF Sean Boatright (Mission Viejo) will miss the season with two herniated discs. RHP Bo Ashabraner (Yorba LInda) is progressing faster than expected after his elbow was cleaned out during the winer and will be ready by the end of the month. 3B Edgar Varela (E. Rancho Dominguez) will have his right hand evaluated on Tuesday after it was hit during the USC series. Varela was leading the team with a .500 average. RHP Nate Beucler (Huntington Beach) has yet to pitch after being hit on ankle during an intrasquad game. This Year?s Team is Versatile: This year?s team features incredible depth with many players being able to play multiple positions. They include: OF/1B Jeremy Reed, C/IF Tood Jennings, OF/3B Nick Covarrubias and infielders Kevin Randel, Nick Orlandos, Adam Heether and Tim Hutting. Pitching Notes: So far this season, six pitchers have ERAs under 1.00, of which five are relievers. On the season, Dirtbag relievers have walked just two over the first 21.2 innings. In the rotation, LHP Abe Alvarez (Fontana) posts a 0.75 ERA, while RHP Daniel Eisentrager (Elk Grove) has a 2.45 ERA. Hitting Notes: Senior OF Chris Wright, with Varela injured, is the team?s top bat with a .450 average and team-best six RBIs. C Todd Jennings (Orangevale) is batting .333 with five RBIs, while Nick Covarrubias (West Covina) is hitting .320 with five runs. Jeremy Reed (LaVerne) leads the team with eight runs. Both Wright and Covarrubias are riding six-game hitting streaks. Moving the Runner Over -- Quick Hits: The 49ers are hitting .265 with runners in scoring position... batting .275 with runners on-base... have a 52% success rate at advancing runners... hitting .625 with runners on third... batting .462 leading off an inning... hurlers are forcing opponents to hit .216 with runners on base. Baseball America?s Picks: Last year Baseball America selected SS Bobby Crosy as the pre-season Big West Player of the Year and a top draft pick, well they were right, so here?s this year?s picks. Jeremy Reed is BA?s pre-season pick for BWC Player of the Year, and according to their experts the Big West?s best pure hitter and best baserunner. Reed is also the top draft pick in 2002 out of the Big West. Reed is the 36th-best junior in the country, Mike Hofius is the 49th-best sophomore, and Josh Alliston is the 28th-best senior. Alliston is the 10th-best 2002 prospect in the BWC. Beach Picked to Finish Second: The Big West Coaches picked Long Beach State to finish second in the Big West this year. According to Baseball America, they expected The Beach to finish fourth, while Collegiate Baseball picked LBSU third. CS Fullerton is picked to finish first in each of the publications. The next tier featured newcomer UC Irvine, CS Northridge, UC Santa Barbara, UC Riverside and Cal Poly. The bottom tier was Sacramento State and Pacific. Rotation Down to Five: Five pitchers are expected to vie for three weekend jobs this season. They are: RHP Jered Weaver (Simi Valley), LHP Abe Alvarez (Fontana), RHP Daniel Eisentrager (Elk Grove) RHP Nate Beucler (Huntington Beach) and RHP Josh Alliston (Long Beach). Strength in Numbers: This year's staff features 11 healthy pitchers, of which five are returning pitchers, two are JUCO transfers and four are freshmen. Forever Enshrined: The Beach retired the jerseys of their last two skippers early this season. No. 25 John Gonsalves, who coached The Beach from 1970-1988 and compiled a 452-634-16 record had is number retired on February 2, while No. 18 Dave Snow, who coached from 1989-2001 and coined the term Dirtbags compiling a 510-294-1 record, had his jersey retired on February 10. Reed Has Successful Summer: OF/1B Jeremy Reed (LaVerne) was the second straight Dirtbag to start for the summer National team, when he did so this summer. Reed led the team with a .366 average, 22 runs, 37 hits, a .505 slugging percentage and nine steals. Reed also hit safely in 21 of 26 starts, had a 10-game hit streak and had 12 multi-hit games. Reed was name a pre-season third team All-American by Baseball America. Drafting For the Future: Last year's team saw 10 players drafted, of which eight signed. SS Bobby Crosby was a first round (25th pick overall) of the A's, while Southpaws Russel Rohlicek (6th) and Chad Bentz (7th) were drafted in the first 10 rounds. RHP Josh Alliston (19th) and LHP Bobby Cramer (38th) both chose to stay for their senior seasons. |
