Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Begin Season with USC
1/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dirtbags Open Season with USC Record: 0-0 Big West: 0-0 | Hi Rank: No. 16 | vs. Ranked Teams: 0-0 USC Series Open Season on Friday: The No. 16-ranked Dirtbags (0-0) open its 2006 season with the No. 17-ranked Trojans (0-0) starting on February 3 when the team hosts USC at Blair Field on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at noon. Saturday's game will be played at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles at 1 p.m. Friday's opener will feature two National Player of the Year candidates in USC's 12-game winner Ian Kennedy against eight-game winner Jared Hughes. Saturday will feature junior college transfers RHP Shawn Olsen for USC and Andrew Carpenter for The Beach, while the Sunday finale will have freshman RHP Vance Worley against an un-named Trojan pitcher. The Dirtbags open the season with a Baseball America sweep, of sorts, of the conference pre-season awards in Player of the Year, Evan Longoria (Downey), Pitcher of the Year Jared Hughes (Laguna Beach) and Freshman of the Year Vance Worley (Sacramento). The team has a whole features 23 newcomers and just 12 returners. Ode to a Legend: Prior to first pitch on Friday, the Dirtbags will honor legendary USC Coach Rod Dedeaux with a moment of silence. The long-time head coach, who was an ambassador for the sport and who passed away in mid-January at 91, will also be honored by some of the schools in the region with his No. 1 retired on the outfield walls. A Look at USC: Ranked No. 17 in Baseball America, the Trojans feature National Pitcher of the Year candidate Ian Kennedy (12-3, 2.54 ERA last year) at the front of their rotation, as USC was just one game away from the College World Series last year, finishing 41-22... another pre-season All-American closes out the bullpen in Paul Kloss (14 saves in 2005)... USC much replace the bat of Catcher Jeff Clement, as Cyle Hankerd looks to do that after posting a .298 average in 2005. Courting the Rankings: The Dirtbags begin the season ranked in the top-25 in all three national polls for the 16th time since 1989. LBSU is ranked as high as No. 16 in Collegiate Baseball, No. 20 in the ESPN Coaches Poll and No. 22 in Baseball America. Cold Case: The Dirtbags reached its 15th NCAA Regional in 2005, falling at home and watching USC advance to the Super Regionals, finishing 37-22. The team has appeared in four College World Series and two Super Regionals. They have hosted three-straight playoff series. Since becoming Head Coach in 2002, Mike Weathers-led teams have produced 31 professional players and watched seven players make it to the Major Leagues. Eight players have been drafted in the first three rounds over the last four years. How I Met Your Pro Alumni...: In the team's annual exhibition game prior to the season, the Dirtbags behind four no-hit innings and five shutout innings of two-hit ball from freshman Vance Worley (Sacramento), defeated its Pro Alumni 9-2 in 11 innings. The game went 11 innings due to the abundance of professional pitchers. Evan Longoria had three hits, and leadoff hitter Robert Perry had two hits and a run for the current squad. Freshman righthander Scott Turmail (Florissant, MO) pitched three no-hit innings following Worley. Two and a Half Standings: According to the pre-season coaches poll and Baseball America's college preview issue, Long Beach State is picked to finish second to CS Fullerton. The Titans are ranked as high as No. 5 nationally this season. As usual, the teams will play two series this season, one from March 24 to 26 at Goodwin Field, and the conference series to close out the Dirtbags regular season from May 26 to 28. CSI: Long Beach: The Beach offer season tickets for as low as $110 for the season, which features home games against ranked opponents, USC, Wichita State, Baylor, Pepperdine and CS Fullerton. For information call (562) 985-4949. Next on the Airwaves (we promise to stop with the CBS references): For the second season, veteran broadcast Rob Buska will broadcast the team's games over the radio and internet. All home games can be heard in the Long Beach area on 1370 AM, with all games after 6 p.m. heard on KWRM's larger signal available in Orange County and the Inland Empire. Fans traveling with the team can tune their radios to 88.1 FM and listen to the Long Beach State broadcast at the visitor's ballpark. All games will continue to be over the internet at www.longbeachstate.com. Season Two for the Weathers Show: Cirivello's Restaurant at 4115 Viking Way in Long Beach will again to the site for the Mike Weathers Show. The show will debut on Tuesday, January 31 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and then move to its normally scheduled day on Wednesday, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. The show will not only feature Coach Weathers, but a select player from the team. Prizes and tickets will also be given away during the show. Fans can email questions to the show at kwrmsports@yahoo.com. Nation Takes a Hard Look at Dirtbag Duo: Infielder Evan Longoria (Downey) and Friday night righthander Jared Hughes (Laguna Beach) made a couple of pre-season national of player of the year watch lists, as the duo are both on the Wallace Player of the Year list, while Hughes is an initial candidate for the Roger Clemens Award, given two years ago to former Dirtbag Jered Weaver in its first year of existence. National Recognition for Duo: Evan Longoria (Downey) and Jared Hughes (Laguna Beach) were both placed on pre-season All-America teams, as Longoria was a first team selection by Baseball America, and made the third team in Collegiate Baseball. The NCBWA and Baseball America each chose Hughes as a third team All-American. According to Baseball America, Longoria was rated as the 10th-best prospect for the 2006 draft, while Hughes was the 33rd-best prospect. Strong Summers: Infielder Evan Longoria (Downey) was named the Cape Cod MVP and a first team Summer All-American after leading the Cape in homers and RBIs. Jared Hughes (Laguna), who went a perfect 7-0 in the Cape, and was a two-time Cape player of the week, was also a Summer All-American (second team). The duo were starters for the East at the Cape Cod All-Star Game. Second baseman Chuck Sindlinger was named an All-Star out of the Central Illinois League after batting .300 with a .435 on-base percentage. Nation's Toughest Non-Conference Schedule: According to Sebaseball.com, the Dirtbags feature the nation's toughest non-conference schedule, featuring series against No. 1-ranked Texas and fellow top-25 programs, Wichita State, Baylor, USC, and CS Fullerton and single games against Pepperdine, Rice and Oklahoma. And Your Name is?: Fans and the team's sports information director a like, will be using the team's scorecard to remember the 23 new players on this year's team. Amongst the newcomers set to ready to make a name for themselves are switch hitting freshman shortstop Danny Espinosa (Santa Ana), from the CIF state champions; junior centerfielder Robert Perry (Sunnyvale), a transfer from Santa Clara who was an All-WCC pick; and designated hitter Chris Lopez (West Covina), who hit 28 homers in two years at East LA Junior College. On the pitching staff, which only features a combined 41 innings from last year outside of Hughes, junior college transfer Andrew Carpenter (West Covina) and freshmen righthanders Scott Turmail (Florissant, MO) and Vance Worley (Sacramento) are expected to see heavy workloads. Freshman lefthander Shane Peterson (Temecula), is a two-way player in the mold of former Dirtbag Jason Vargas, who is now pitching for the Marlins. Since Leaving The Beach...: Former Dirtbag players have prospered in professional baseball since leaving The Beach, as 10 former players are amongst Baseball America's list of top prospects for the 30 Major League teams, according to the South Day Daily Breeze. In 2006, LBSU had a record 13 players playing in the Major Leagues, as Jason Vargas (Florida) and Chris Demaria (Kansas City) each made their Major League debuts. Both the 10 prospects and the 13 Major Leaguers, are amongst the most from any college program. Also, former players Troy Tulowitzki (Colorado), Jered Weaver (LA/Anaheim), Russel Rohlicek (Chicago), John Bowker (San Francisco) and Todd Jennings (San Francisco) have all been invited to Major League spring training camps. World Baseball Classic Features the Dirtbags: Two former pitchers are members of the World Baseball Classic and Team Italy in February in Astros reliever Mike Gallo and Angels farmhand and Italian Olympian Kasey Olenberger. Gallo, who just completed his third year in the Majors, was the team's keynote speaker at the Leadoff Dinner on January 26. Baseball to Endow Scholarship for Coach: The baseball program is in the process of endowing a scholarship named after former Head Coach Bob Wuesthoff (1964-69), who led the 49ers to their first conference title in 1964. The seven-man committee of former players and coaches, led by LBSU's first coach John McConnell has already raised $60,000 en route to $150,000 over five years. Those interested can call (562) 985-4662 for more information. |
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