Beach Will Play at USD on Tuesday, at Miami This Weekend, Host USD Next Wednesday April 15, 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 Hit Road for Four, at San Diego, Weekend Series at Miami
* ONE OF THE NATION’S HOTTEST -- LBSU Has Won 16 of Last 20
* Beach Remain in First in Big West Conference Standings
Record: 23-10 Big West: 8-1 | Highest Current Ranking: 13th (BA)
DATE | DIRTBAG
STARTER | USD
STARTER | GAME TIME | | Apr. 16 | RHP-Baumback
(0-0, 3.38) | LHP-Oseguera
(5-1, 2.30) | 2:30 p.m. | DATE | DIRTBAG
STARTER | MIAMI
STARTER | GAME TIME | | Apr. 19 | LHP-Alvarez
(8-1, 1.97) | TBA | 4 p.m. | | Apr. 20 | RHP-Eisentrager
(5-2, 3.92) | TBA | 4 p.m. | | Apr. 21 | RHP-Weaver
(5-2, 3.35) | TBA | 10 a.m. | DATE | DIRTBAG
STARTER | USD
STARTER | GAME TIME | | Apr. 24 | TBA | TBA | 6:05 p.m. | | Listen to all games on the net at www.kbeach.org |
Next Series: UC Irvine (Apr. 26, 27, 38), at LMU (Apr. 30), at Cal Poly (May 3,4,5)
Hitting the Road with the Dirtbags: The No. 13-ranked Dirtbags (23-10, 8-1 Big West) will hit the road for four games beginning on Tuesday when they travel to No. 28-ranked San Diego (29-12) on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. RHP Jeff Baumback (0-0, 3.38) will make his first start of the year against LHP Rich Oseguera (5-1, 2.30), the team’s top reliever, making only his second start of the year. The Beach will then head to the Sunshine State for a three-game series with Miami (18-18). Friday and Saturday’s games are at 4 p.m. PDT, while Sunday’s game is at 10 a.m. All the action can be heard live at www.kbeach.org. Saturday’s game will be on Fox Sports Net Florida on a tape delayed basis. The rotation for LBSU will be LHP Abe Alvarez (8-1, 1.97), RHP Daniel Eisentrager (5-2, 3.93) and Jered Weaver (5-2, 3.35), while Miami’s is uncertain, but could be similar to last week against Florida State, in RHP Dan Touchet (3-2, 4.66), RHP T.J. Prunty and RHP Kiki Bengochea (2-5, 7.12). The Dirtbags return home for a game with the Toreros on Wednesday, April 24 at 6:05 p.m. in a 2-for-1 ticket night. LBSU OF Chris Wright is just 14 hits away from breaking Chuck Lopez’s (1997-2000) school-record for hits (245).
UPCOMING OPPONENTS
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SAN DIEGO TOREROS 28th | Record: 29-12, 11-7 WCC
Head Coach: Rich Hill, 4th season (126-87-2)
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Team Notes: Coach Rich Hill has led the Toreros to their best record in his tenure at USD as well as a top-25 national ranking...USD has had a resurgance under Hill, with back-to-back 30-win seasons... they are currently No. 28 in the coaches poll, splitting their last eight... San Diego leads the WCC in both batting (.317) and pitching (4.03)... San Diego took two out of three from Santa Clara last weekend... USD will play at Saint Mary’s this weekend before traveling to LBSU on Wednesday.
Players to Watch (adapted from Baseball America): 3B David Bagley leads the club with a .474 average, nine homers and 37 RBIs while C S.C. Assael is batting .344 with 30 RBIs... Bagley also has a .793 slugging percentage... OF Tony Perez is batting .331... USD is hitting .315, while the defense is posting a .962 fielding percentage... on the mound, the team posts a 4.01 ERA as Tuesday’s starter LHP Mike Oseguera leads the bullpen with a 2.30 ERA and 5-1 record... fellow spot starter, Tony Perez is 2-2 with a 2.91 ERA, while Tom Caple is 7-1 with a 3.44 ERA.
Series Notes: The Beach lead the all-time series 25-22 (.532), as LBSU has won four of five since 1989. Last year, LBSU took both contests.
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MIAMI HURRICANES unranked | Record: 18-18, independent
Head Coach: Jim Morris, 9th year (411-137-1)
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Team Notes: The defending National Champions are 18-18 entering the series with The Beach, unranked, after being ranked No. 2 in the pre-season polls... the Hurricanes have lost four in a row and seven of their last nine... against common opponents, Miami has defeated UCLA three times, and Fullerton at the Kia Bash in March.
Players to Watch (adapted from Baseball America): The Canes, like LBSU, are homegrown, 31 players are from the tri-county Miami area... 19 players have been drafted in their careers... Miami features four players who were considered amongst the top 100 college prospects in the 2002 draft, including RHP Kiki Bengochea (#6), IF Kevin Howard (#23), RHP T.J. Prunty (#56) and SS Javy Rodriguez (#72)... Bengochea was a first team pre-season All-American, while RHP Luke DeBold (13.50 ERA), Howard, RHP George Huguet (2.34) and Rodriguez were also pre-season All-Americans... Rodriguez leads the club with a .350 average and 32 RBIs, while Jim Burt and Howard are each batting .336... Burt leads the squad with a .566 slugging percentage... Danny Matienzo has 10 homers and 32 RBIs, both club highs... the team is batting .303, but has a 5.46 ERA... Huguet is solid out of the pen with a 2.34 ERA in 23 appearances, as opponents are batting just .234 against him... Dan Touchet is 3-2 with a 4.66 ERA in 45.1 innings... Bengochea has struggled with a 7.12 ERA and 0-3 mark, while Prunty is 4-3 with a 5.90 ERA in 10 starts.
Series Notes: The Hurricanes lead the all-time series 9-6 (.600), all since 1989... the two teams last met in 2000, with The Beach losing two of three in Florida... LBSU is 1-1 in the CWS against the Canes, both in 1998, winning 6-3 to eliminate Miami before losing to Arizona State... LB won two out of three in Florida in 1993.
Most Famous Baseball Alum: Mike Piazza, Mets, Charles Johnson, Marlins
RECENT GAMES
April 9 (LONG BEACH, CA) After a five-day layoff it was business as usual for the No. 14 Dirtbags. Nate Beucler pitched a career-best 7.0 innings, giving up two runs on five hits, while striking out seven as LBSU scored five runs over the first three innings and held on to win 5-3.
April 12, 13, 14 (LONG BEACH, CA) The No. 14 Dirtbags took two out of three from UCSB to move to 8-1 in the Big West. On Friday, The Beach won their seventh in a row, defeating the Gauchos 8-5. Abe Alvarez struck out nine over 6.2 innings to improve to 8-1, while Paul McAnulty and Kevin Randel each homered. On Saturday, LBSU came back from 5-1 in the eighth and than again from 6-5 in the ninth, only to lose 13-6 in 10 innings as the bullpen imploded for six unearned runs (out of seven) in the first extra frame. Chris Wright set a career-high with four hits. On Sunday, it was back to business, as LBSU won their 16th contest over their last 20, defeating UCSB 4-2. Jered Weaver started it off with five innings to improve to 5-2, while BWC Pitcher of the Week, Nate Beucler pitched the final 4.0 innings for his first career save. Chris Wright went 3-for-3 on the day and 9-for-11 in the series.
BEACH NOTES
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 is 302-290 record in 11+ years as a head coach. Win No. 300 came on April 3 vs. LMU (5-3). Weathers was a head coach at Utah for two seasons in the early 80's and at Chapman from 1984 to 1992.
Hurling Past the Competition: Nate Beucler became the third LBSU hurler to be named BWC Pitcher of the Week, after a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings last week. Beucler pitched a career-high seven innings in his first win of the season on Tuesday against LMU, before four shutout inninngs on Sunday against UCSB for his first career save. Beucler is the fourth Dirtbag honored this season, joining pitchers Abe Alvarez (Feb. 4) and Jered Weaver (Mar. 12) and OF/3B Nick Covarrubias (Apr. 1).
Rank and File: The Beach moved into their highest ranking of the season this week, at No. 13 by Baseball America, hopscotching CS Fullerton for the first time this season, as well. LBSU moved up to No. 18 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. They remained at No. 21 in Collegiate Baseball. Since entering the polls three weeks ago, this was the first time since February 12, 2001 that all three polls have ranked The Beach in the top-25. Currently five opponents are ranked in the top-40.
Pitching Notes: The Dirtbags have one of the nation’s top ERAs (fourth last week) with a 2.90 ERA... the starting staff has a combined 3.03 ERA, while relievers post a 2.70 ERA and a .250 opponent batting average... ace sophomore Southpaw Abe Alvarez (Fontana) continues to amaze, striking out nine while walking one in his last start, Alvarez is 8-1 with a 1.97 ERA in 59.1 innings... Alvarez has struck out 56 and walked just 11 as opponents are batting .220... Saturday starter junior RHP Daniel Eisentrager (Elk Grove) has won just once since mid-March, but still posts a strong 5-2 mark and 3.93 ERA... Eisentrager has struck out 40 and walked just four... freshman RHP Jered Weaver (Simi Valley) after a rough start (15 ER over first four starts) to his LBSU career, Weaver is 5-0 with a 1.32 ERA in his last six starts... Weaver is 5-2 with a 3.35 ERA with a .224 opponent batting average... fellow spot starter senior RHP Nate Beucler (Huntington Beach) has a 2.45 ERA in four starts this year... Beucler has walked just two in 30.1 innings... from the pen, senior RHP Chris Demaria (Torrance) has yet to allow an earned run or a walk in 15 appearances and 21.2 innings... junior RHP Carlos Muniz (Wilmington) is solid as well with a 0.79 ERA in 12 appearances, opponents are batting .220.
Hitting Notes: The Beach are amongst the Big West leaders in hitting at .314... senior OF/3B Nick Covarrubias continues to lead the team with a .378 average, along with 28 runs and 22 RBIs... Covarrubias has a .519 slugging percentage... Covarrubias has six multi-hit games in his last 11 games... thanks to a 9-for-11 series vs. UCSB, senior OF Chris Wright (Valencia) is batting .352... Wright is also just 13 hits away from tying the school-record (245)... freshman C Brad Davis (Mission Viejo) is batting .347 in 19 starts... junior SS Kevin Randel (Montclair) and 1B Paul McAnulty (Oxnard) both lead the team with four homers... McAnulty has also taken over the team lead in slugging (.531) and RBIs (24)... junior 3B Tim Hutting (Newhall) was 4-for-7 in his three games at third this week and is batting .391 on the season.
Defensive Notes: The team has a .962 fielding percentage, fourth-best in the Big West... the team is 2-6 when making three or more errors in a game, including six at LSU in early March.
Time Changes: Games times for the Cal Poly series in April in San Luis Obispo have been changed to a 5 p.m. start on Friday, and 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Also, on most schedules that were printed, the San Diego home game in April was listed incorrectly, it should be for Wednesday April 24.
A Little Help From My Friends: The last complete game by The Beach was on March 17, 2000 when Jeff Leuenberger beat Nevada 6-1. Entering the week, it has been 127 games since that time. The team has thrown eight combined shutouts. Also, it is the first time since 1990 that five players have posted saves for The Beach. In 1989, the team’s first CWS appearance, LBSU had six pitchers with one or more saves.
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 had the second toughest non-conference schedule in the country (LMU is No. 1) entering the season. No surprise, eight of the 10 are on the West Coast. The BWC is considered the second toughest conference behind the West Coast Conference. Regular M*A*S*H Unit: 3B Edgar Varela played two innings of defense on April 3 before reinjuring his hand in the cages on April 12. His status is now uncertain as of press time. RHP Bo Ashabraner (right elbow) continues to be available out of the bullpen. Ashabraner had missed nearly two months. OF Paul Macaluso (hamstring) missed most of March but is back now, while 3B/C Todd Jennings sufferred a bruised knee on April 12 and missed the remainder of the UCSB series.
PLAYER | HOMETOWN | INJURY | SS | PROGNOSIS | RHP MATT PAZ | STOCKTON | RT ELBOW | TOMMY JOHN | SEASON | OF SEAN BOATRIGHT | MISSION VIEJO | LOWER BACK | HERNIATED DISCS | SEASON | LHP BOBBY CRAMER | ANAHEIM | LT ELBOW | TOMMY JOHN | SEASON | 3B EDGAR VARELA | E.RANCHO DOMINGUEZ | RIGHT HAND | UNCERTAIN | UNKNOWN | OF JOHN BOWKER | SACRAMENTO | RIGHT WRIST | SIX WEEKS | LATE APRIL |
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, IF/OF Steve Velazco and infielders Kevin Randel, Nick Orlandos, Adam Heether and Tim Hutting. 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.
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.
NATIONAL POLLS
BASEBALL
AMERICA
1. Clemson
2. Stanford
3. Rice
4. Alabama
5. Wake Forest
6. Georgia Tech
7. Houston
8. South Carolina
9. Wichita State
10. Florida State
11. Texas
12. Ole Miss
13. LONG BEACH
14. Florida
15. CS Fullerton
16. Baylor
17. FL Atlantic
18. Texas A&M
19. Richmond
20. East Carolina
USA TODAY COACHES POLL
1. Clemson
2. Stanford
3. Rice
4. Alabama
5. Georgia Tech
6. Wake Forest
7. South Carolina
8. Florida State
9. Texas
10. Houston
11. Wichita State
12. Ole Miss
13. Florida
14. Arizona State
15. Baylor
16. CS Fullerton
17. Oklahoma St.
18. LONG BEACH
19. Nebraska
20. Texas A&M COLLEGIATE BASEBALL
1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Stanford
4. Rice
5. Wake Forest
6. Georgia Tech
7. South Carolina
8. Wichita State
9. Ole Miss
10. Houston
11. Florida
12. North Carolina
13. Florida State
14. Texas
15. Oklahoma St.
16. Texas A&M
17. Baylor
18. FL Atlantic
19. CS Fullerton
20. Nebraska
21. LONG BEACH |
