Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Begin Midweeks with Pepperdine
2/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Mid-Weeks Begin with Pepperdine, Travel to Baylor This Weekend February 28, 2005 Record: 8-6 Big West: 0-0 | Hi Rank: No. 25 | vs. Ranked Teams: 2-1 Dirtbag Lowdown: The No. 22-ranked Dirtbags (8-6), fresh off a sweep of San Diego State, will close out a seven-game homestand Tuesday when they host Pepperdine (6-6) in the first midweek affair of the season at 6:30 p.m. Righthander Cody Evans (0-2, 2.25) will oppose fellow rightie Doug Konoske (0-0, 0.00), who will be making his collegiate debut. This weekend The Beach will travel to No. 14-ranked Baylor (6-4 prior to Tuesday game versus UT-San Antonio) for three games with a couple of Southpaws getting the call in the opener at 5 p.m. PST, as Cesar Ramos (2-2, 2.32) will oppose Trey Taylor (2-1, 1.42). On Saturday at 2 p.m. PST, righthander Marco Estrada (2-0, 1.59) will look to stay perfect against Baylor lefthander Cory VanAllen (2-1, 3.63). On Sunday righthander Jared Hughes (1-0, 0.56) will oppose fellow rightie Mark McCormick (0-1, 6.75). This will be the first of two trips LBSU will make out of California in March, with the other coming in two weeks at Wichita State. Rank and File: The Dirtbags fell to No. 25 in the Sports Weekly/Coaches Poll this week and remained out of the national polls for Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. LBSU achieved its highest ranking on February 18 when it was ranked No. 12 by Sports Weekly. A New Radio Home For The Beach: Long Beach State will have most of its schedule on KWRM-1370 AM this season. All night games as well as Sunday games (started in progress at 2 p.m.) will be on the larger signal. The games can still be heard through the Long Beach State website at www.longbeachstate.com as well as at every ballpark LBSU plays in with a normal radio. Veteran radio announcer Rob Buska will serve as the play-by-play man. Fans can all track the game live with CSTV's Gametracker software. Mike Weathers Show: Long Beach State skipper, Mike Weathers, 404 career wins and all, will have his own one-hour talk show every Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. live from Cirivello's Restaurant at 4115 Viking Way in Long Beach. This week's show features third baseman Danny Mocny. Fans are welcome to attend all season long as Rob Buska and Coach Weathers will take your questions and offer giveaways, which will include autographed baseballs, jerseys, tickets and more. The show can always be heard on the internet. A Look at Baylor: Prior to their Tuesday affair with UT-San Antonio, Baylor is 6-4 after winning two of three from Oral Roberts last weekend... they are ranked as high as No. 14 in the nation... Baylor is hitting just .275 as a team with a 3.94 ERA and a .968 fielding percentage... first baseman Kyle Reynolds leads the club with a .457 average and 16 RBIs, while catcher Zach Dillon is batting .321... Abe Woody has three saves out of the pen with a 3.00 ERA, while Friday starter, lefthander Trey Taylor, has a 1.42 ERA and .176 opponent batting average... Sunday starter, Mark McCormick, was a first team pre-season All-American by Baseball America and the publication's pick for Pitcher of the Year in the Big 12... Head Coach Steve Smith was recently named the Head Coach for Team USA this summer... Baylor went 29-31 last year and are picked to finished behind Texas in the Big 12 this year... LBSU leads the all-time series 7-2, sweeping the series at Blair Field in 2004, and winning two out of three against at then-No. 6-ranked Baylor in 2003. LAST WEEK Jones Earns Spot at Catcher: Junior catcher Chris Jones (Fresno) has earned a spot as the starting catcher this season, batting a team-best .407 over the first 10 games with five runs and four RBIs. Jones, a backup last year after transferring from Fresno City College, has made seven starts at catcher. Godfrey Settles in at First: Redshirt Brandon Godfrey (Cypress) has settled in as the team's first baseman starting 12 games this season, while leading the team with six multi-hit games and nine RBIs. Godfrey is batting .333 overall with five doubles and one triple. He also has a team-best five walks. Both first base and catcher were key question marks to start the season due to the stability of the positions over the past five years. Rotation Begins to Take Shape: The Dirtbag pitching rotation has begun to take shape as The Beach as a whole have produced an impressive 2.02 team ERA thanks to starters Cesar Ramos (2.32), Marco Estrada (1.59), Jared Hughes (0.56) and Cody Evans (2.25). Ramos is the only returning starter, as the three others are transfers. Ramos (2-2) and Estrada (2-0) both co-lead the club with two wins. Boatright Returns to the Lineup: Outfielder Sean Boatright (Mission Viejo) returned after three weeks on the shelf (hamstring) and started twice at designated hitter over the weekend against San Diego State. The junior outfielder contributed three hits on Sunday to raise his average to .333 to start the season. Boatright, who had pinch-hit against Cal on February 20, had not seen action in a game since the season opener. Relieve Core Headlined by Jamison and Anderson: The eighth and ninth innings belong to Dirtbag relievers Brian Anderson (Aliso Viejo) and Neil Jamison (San Diego). Jamison, third all-time in career saves with 17, and a former eighth round pick of the Mets, has not allowed a run in his first six appearances, while Anderson, with a save of his own this season, has not allowed a run in eight appearances. Opponents are batting just .088 against Anderson and .118 against Jamison allowing a combined five hits over 16.0 innings. Tulowitzki Out Five to Six Weeks: All-American shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (Sunnyvale) will have surgery this week on his left hand (hamate) and be out for five to six weeks. The junior is expected back at the start of conference play to begin April. Tulowitzki has the same injury second baseman Chuck Sindlinger had last season. Sophomore Evan Longoria (Downey) will fill in at short. Tulowitzki, who entered the season with 88 career RBIs, is a first team pre-season All-American after starting for Team USA last summer and earning Regional Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors in the 2004 playoffs. He was batting .526 over the first five games. Mocny Re-Injures Shoulder: Third baseman Danny Mocny (Santa Rosa) was forced to leave last Sunday's first game against Cal after landing hard on his left shoulder in the early going of game one. It is the same shoulder he injured in fall ball in the outfield. Mocny will be re-evaluated right before the team's trip on Thursday to Baylor. Duo Named to Clemens Award Watch List: The award that Jered Weaver won last year, may just go to another Dirtbag, as two hurlers, lefthander Cesar Ramos (Pico Rivera) and righthanded closer Neil Jamison (San Diego) are both on the initial watch list for the Roger Clemens Award. Ramos is also on the watch list for the Wallace National Player of the Year Award. PRE-SEASON INDICATORS Pre-Season All-Conference: In Baseball America's annual college preview, LBSU has two players picked by the publication to be all-conference selections, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (Sunnyvale) and lefthander Cesar Ramos (Pico Rivera). Tulowitzki is also slated to be the conference's Player of the Year, while Ramos will have to battle with CS Fullerton's Ricky Romero to keep the Pitcher of the Year honors in the family. Tulowitzki (1st), Ramos (2nd) and Neil Jamison (San Diego) are expected to be three of the top five players drafted out of the Big West next June. Top Newcomers to The Beach: The 49ers have two of the top five newcomers in the Big West, according to Baseball America, potential weekend starters righthanders Jared Hughes (Laguna Beach) and Cody Evans (Huntington Beach). Hughes is tabbed as the third-best 2006 prospect out of the Big West in the June Amateur Draft. Top Rated Players: Baseball America has put out its annual list of top players, and it's no surprise Long Beach State is amongst the nation's brightest. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (Sunnyvale) is the sixth-best junior, while lefthander Cesar Ramos (Pico Rivera) is the 18th-best junior. Righthander Neil Jamison (San Diego) is rated as the third-best senior, while Jared Hughes (Laguna Beach) is the 31st-best sophomore. For the second straight year Tulowitzki's is the conference's top defensive shortstop with the best arm. Ramos has the best control in the conference. We Knew We Had A Few in the Majors: With four former players making their debuts in 2004, upping the total to a record 11, Long Beach State baseball knew it had a few former players in the Major Leagues. But when the publication came out with its list of alumni playing in the majors, The Beach made out with the third-most Major Leaguers in the nation, behind USC (14 Major Leaguers) and Stanford (12). Last year LBSU is the only school that had: the American League Rookie of the Year though, Bobby Crosby, the last player to get a hit for the Montreal Expos (Terrmel Sledge) and a player with a World Series share (Abe Alvarez). Solid Experience in the Field: The Dirtbags return five starters to the field, three of which who earned all-Regional Tournament honors in the team's win at Palo Alto last season. Junior Troy Tulowitzki (Sunnyvale) will be flipping to second baseman Chuck Sindlinger (Reno), who has 74 career starts, while third baseman Danny Mocny (Santa Rosa) earned honorable mention All-Big West honors last season after batting .318. In the outfield, Sean Boatright (Mission Viejo) will play center, after batting .330 in 30 games, while Steve Velazco (San Marcos) will take his 126 career games to right field. Boatright, Mocny and Tulowitzki all earned all-regional tournament honors last season, while Tulowitzki being named MVP. Velazco had the game-winning RBI in the team's first win of the 2004 playoffs, in the ninth inning over St. John's. Bullpen Stronger Than Ever: The bullpen will yet again be strong, especially at the end of games. Neil Jamison (15 saves) and junior college transfer Macro Estrada (San Fernando) can both start or relief, while senior Brian Anderson had a 2.98 ERA as a setup man last season. All three can also close. LBSU will also feature a rarity, in three lefthanders in sophomore Brandon Villalobos (Glendora), and transfers Steve Hammond (Martinez) and Donnie Hume (Vacaville). How Good We Had It: An unfamiliar spot (or two) for The Beach this season will be at first and catcher, as the team looks to replace two long-time known anchors. At first, redshirt freshman Brandon Godfrey (Cypress) and junior Scott Bradley (Walnut Creek) are the leading candidates to replace four-year starter Mike Hofius, while others could also be in the mix. Three players, Godfrey, Bradley and Kyle Bradburry (Mustang, OK) all started in the ASU series. At receiver, it may be Tito Cruz' (Glendale) time to shine, after backing up draftees Todd Jennings (second round pick) and Brad Davis (fifth) the past couple of seasons. Cruz is the most experienced with 35 games of Division-I experience, but will also have backup Chris Jones (Fresno), and transfers Jordan Struble (Murietta) and Tom Sarti (Elk Grove) to contend with. Drafting Dirtbags as easy as 1-2-3: LBSU produced its most successful draft class of all-time in 2004 as seven players were drafted on June 7 and 8, highlighted by the Anaheim Angels selection of Jered Weaver as the 12th overall pick. Weaver was the second highest Dirtbag to be drafted. With Jason Vargas (2nd), John Bowker (3rd) and Brad Davis (5th) all going in the first five rounds, most selected first five rounds of action in LBSU history. Current righthander Neil Jamison was drafted in the eighth round and decided to go back to The Beach, while National Player of the Year, Jered Weaver, continues to be in talks with the Los Angeles Angels on Anaheim. Weaver Named Nation's Top Player: In 2004 righthander Jered Weaver (Simi Valley) was named a first team All-American by Sports Weekly and Collegiate Baseball, becoming the first LBSU player to be two-time first team All-American. Weaver was named the Player of the Year by eight different organizations, including the Golden Spikes Award, Dick Howser Trophy and the Roger Clemens Award, also a first for the LBSU program. |
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