Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Host Titans in Rivalry Series
3/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dirtbags and Titans Ready to Battle Record: 16-9 Big West: 0-0 | Hi Rank: No. 29 | vs. Ranked Teams: 6-3 Dirtbag Lowdown: The greatest collegiate baseball rivalry rears its head this weekend before Easter when the No. 29-ranked Dirtbags (16-9) host top-ranked CS Fullerton (16-4) for three games at Blair Field starting on Thursday. All three non-conference games will be played at 6:30 p.m. The Big West matchups will close out the regular season in April. Lefthander Cesar Ramos (4-3, 1.65) has been red hot as of late as he will face off with another All-American and national teammate in lefthander Ricky Romero (5-1, 1.70) on Thursday. Ramos beat fellow All-American Mike Pelfrey and Wichita State last weekend 1-0. On Friday, both starters put their perfect records on the line, when righthander Marco Estrada (5-0, 1.94) duels with lefthander Ryan Schreppel (4-0, 1.86). On Saturday, righthander Jared Hughes (1-2, 4.34) will look to get back on track against the very popular and undefeated (since 1839), Tiberius Bowman Armstrong, or TBA. The Dirtbags have won their last four series and 11 of their last 14. Both teams will begin conference next week. This is also the start of a seven-game homestand for the Dirtbags. Ramos Named Pitcher of the Week: Lefthander Cesar Ramos was named the Big West's co-Pitcher of the Week for his performance over No. 14-ranked Wichita State last weekend, when the lefthander produced 11 groundballs and outdueled Mike Pelfrey 1-0 to open up the three-game series. This is Ramos second career weekly honor. Rank and File: Three series wins over top-15 teams hasn't made a dent on the national scene as the Dirtbags dropped to No. 29 in the coaches poll but re-appeared in the Collegiate Baseball poll at No. 30. Durham-based Baseball America continues to keep The Beach out of the top-25. 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 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 Saturday starter Marco Estrada and catcher Tito Cruz. 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. THE OPPOSITION Series: CS Fullerton, after winning four of six last season, lead the all-time series 42-39 since 1989. Both teams won their last Big West title on the opponent's home field, with the Titans paying back LBSU's triumph in 2003, with their own win in 2004. The series has also featured the Dirtbags eliminating Fullerton from post-season play (2002), two 16-inning affairs (2001, 2002), and 10 one-run decisions since 1999. Four of the five largest series crowds at Blair Field have come against the Titans. LAST WEEK DIRTBAG BITS Strong Non-Conference Schedule: According to boydsworld.com, the Dirtbags feature the 10th toughest schedule in the country, as The Beach have done quite well so far, especially against the best in the country. LBSU has won three series over top-15 teams, all on the road, to raise their RPI from 117 a month ago to 27 this week. Friday Night Lights: Lefthander Cesar Ramos (Pico Rivera) has stepped it up a notch over his last five starts, posting an 0.96 ERA to move to 4-3 with a 1.65 ERA on the season. Last Friday, Ramos outdueled fellow All-American and National teammate Mike Pelfrey in a four-hit shutout. Ramos with 22 wins on the year is one win short of tying All-American and current Red Sox farmhand Abe Alvarez for most wins by a 49er lefthander (23). Ramos has hit the sixth inning in all eight of his starts this season, reaching at least the eighth in four of his last five starts. Ramos has also been involved in some very close games, as all three of his losses have been by a single run, with three of the four wins by two or fewer runs. Estrada Racking Up the Wins: Righthander Marco Estrada (San Fernando), who was slated to be part of the back-end of the Dirtbag bullpen or one of the team's starters, has excelled as the team's No. 2 starter this season, remaining perfect on the season (5-0) with another 7.0 strong innings last Saturday. Estrada has allowed one or fewer runs in four of his seven starts, as he is now 5-0 with a 1.94 ERA. Estrada has won his last four decisions. BA Shuts the Door: Over the last two seasons, setup man Brian Anderson (Aliso Viejo) has slugged out two impressive scoreless streaks out of the bullpen. Anderson's first streak lasted 23.0 consecutive innings, which he has surpassed this season. Anderson's current streak is fifth-best all-time, with 24.1 consecutive scoreless innings, as he has now not allowed a run in 20.1innings this season. Opponents are batting just .077 against the righthander. Major leaguer Rocky Biddle (1995) holds the record with 33.1 innings. Look at the New Guy: To enter the weekend, the Dirtbags have employed nine different outfielders, resulting in 15 different combinations. Freshman Zach Barger (San Diego) is beginning to make a name for himself after making his first start on February 27. Barger enters the week batting .348, with four starts in left and three at designated hitter. Ninth Belongs to Jamison: Righthander Neil Jamison (San Diego), turned down a chance to go pro after being drafted by the Mets last season, and instead returned for his senior season, where he has been just as solid. Jamison has not allowed a run in 12 appearances this season, racking up seven saves and a 2-0 record. Jamison's opponents are batting .132 against him. Mocny Ready to Return: Third baseman/outfielder Danny Mocny (Santa Rosa) returned to the lineup in the opener at Baylor on March 4 to extend his hit streak to eight games, but has not played since then as he continues to re-hab his left shoulder. Mocny, who re-injured his left shoulder at third base against California on February 20, originally injured the shoulder in fall ball in the outfield. Mocny should be available this weekend. Tulowitzki Close to Ready: All-American shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (Sunnyvale), who has been out since week two with a left hand (hamate) injury is beginning condition himself for a possible return by next weekend. His cast came off during the week of March 14, as he took grounders for the first time last week. He has done some light hitting this week. 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. Longoria Settles In: Slated as the team's starting third baseman and designated hitter prior to Troy Tulowitzki's injury, Evan Longoria (Downey) has settled in at short this season, batting .327 with a team-best 12 runs. Longoria has seven multi-hit games on the season and a team-best six doubles. Jones Earns Catching Duty: Junior Chris Jones (Fresno) has earned a spot at the team's starting catcher, settling in behind the plate 17 this this season, while batting a team-best .359 on the season. Jones has six multi-hit games. Sindlinger Solid at Second: Junior Chuck Sindlinger (Reno) has quietly developed into a very solid second baseman, raising is average to .305 to start the week, with eight multi-hit games. Sindlinger also has a team-best four multi-RBI games. Sindlinger, a three-year starter, has also made some great defensive plays, earning a spot on ESPN's Web Gems during last year's playoffs. Multi-Hitting Godfrey: Listed as a utility player, Brandon Godfrey (Los Alamitos) has started his Dirtbag career at first base, 22 times in fact, as he enters the weekend with a .318 average and team-best 15 RBIs. Godfrey also has a team-best 10 mutli-hit games. Jacobsen Makes Most of Opportunity: Senior utilityman Cole Jacobsen (Fresno) has earned a spot at third base, after driving in the game-ending runs against Houston two weekends ago. Jacobsen has started seven games at third this year, batting .310. We Remember You Guys: Aside from the established former Dirtbags in the Major Leagues, a four-some are trying to make Big League rosters for the first time in lefthanders Abe Alvarez (Red Sox) and Russel Rohlicek (Cubs) and outfielders Jeremy Reed (Mariners), Paul McAnulty (Padres). All are on spring training rosters to start the week. 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. 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). LBSU is the only school that had: the American League Rookie of the Year, Bobby Crosby, the last player to get a hit for the Montreal Expos (Terrmel Sledge) and a player with a World Series ring (Abe Alvarez). 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. He was the 12th overall pick by the Angels in the 2004 draft. |
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