Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Host Four This Week
2/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dirtbags Host Four Games This Week PDF VERSION OF THE RELEASE Record: 9-4 Big West: 0-0 | High Rank: No. 15 | vs. Ranked Teams: 4-1 Beach Set to Host Four This Week: The No. 15-ranked Dirtbags (9-4) will close out its four-game home stand this week when they host UCLA (5-9) on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and No. 22-ranked Baylor (6-2 prior to Tuesday's game vs. Texas State) this weekend. On Tuesday, lefthander Shane Peterson (0-0, 3.86) will be making his first career start against lefthander Brian Schroeder (1-0, 3.14). This weekend should see some pretty good pitching matchups as Big West win leader Jared Hughes (3-0, 3.65) takes to the mound against Ryan LaMotta (2-1, 5.23) at 6:30 p.m., before two-time Big West Pitcher of the Week Andrew Carpenter (2-0, 1.29) opposes lefthander Cory VanAllen (1-1, 4.50) at 2 p.m. In Sunday's finale, RHP Vance Worley (1-2, 3.86) will oppose Baylor's Tim Matthews (0-0, 2.08) at 1 p.m. Third baseman Evan Longoria (Downey) continues tear into the opposition, posting seven multi-hit games and batting .439 overall with a Big West leading .756 slugging percentage and .586 on-base average. Carpenter Repeats as Big West Pitcher of the Week: Andrew Carpenter and his one-hit shutout of Illinois-Chicago gave the junior righthander his second straight Big West Pitcher of the Week honor, sharing the honor with two other Big West pitchers, a rarity for the conference. Carpenter's 1.29 ERA currently ranks second in the conference. A Look at UCLA: UCLA enters Tuesday's contest at 5-9 overall, batting just .257 as a team with a 3.73 ERA.... UCLA was swept by CS Fullerton last weekend, have recently have won two of three from Pacific... they have lost series to Fresno State and Miami... the Bruins, after going 15-41 last year under first year Head Coach John Savage are picked to finish eighth in the Pac-10... the Bruins feature a freshman-dominated lineup this year as they were projected to start four freshmen... Tuesday starter, Brian Schroeder (4-6, 4.77 last year), the son of former Redskins quarterback Jay Schroeder, was projected as a weekend starter to begin the year... Jermaine Curtis is batting .345, while Brandon Crawford posts a .340 average... UCLA has used 12 pitchers already this season. A Look at Baylor: No. 22-ranked Baylor enters its Tuesday game at Texas State at 6-2 after dropping two of three to Arizona State in Waco last weekend... Baylor has not played on three consecutive Friday's due to rain (the LA area forcast chance of rain Friday and sunny the rest of the weekend)... the Bears had won its first five prior to the ASU series... the team's trip West is the Bears first trip out of Texas this season... Baylor is the third Big-12 team LBSU will face this season (Texas and Oklahoma) as they are picked to finish fourth by Baseball America after going 46-24 last year... catcher Zach Dillion leads the club in hitting at .316, as Baylor is hitting just .222 as a team to start 2006... the pitching staff's ERA is 3.57 as Sunday starter Tim Matthews has an .190 opponent batting average... Jeff Mandel has converted two saves in two appearances out of the pen. Pitching and More Pitching Dominate UIC: The No. 17-ranked Dirtbag pitching staff was business as usual for its series with visiting Illinois-Chicago, limiting the Flame to score in just one inning and bat just .144. On Friday, Jared Hughes pitched eight scoreless innings of two-hit ball, before tiring in the ninth and giving up three runs. On Saturday, it was Andrew Carpenter's turn, as the righthander pitched the first one-hitter since 1991 (and fourth overall), using just 94 pitches to do so. Carpenter retired 14 in a row, gave up a hit in the seventh and then retired the final seven. He pitched to just one over the minimum, walking one and striking out eight. Kip Masuda's first career homer, a three-run shot to left, was part of a five-run second. On Sunday, Vance Worley pitched eight scoreless innings of six-hit baseball to lead The Beach to the sweep, 10-0. LBSU used a seven-run second to cruise to the victory. Courting the Rankings: The 49ers moved up to No. 16 in both Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America and are No. 15 in the ESPN/Coaches first regular season poll. LBSU's highest ranking was on February 6 when they were No. 12 in Collegiate Baseball. The Dirtbags began the season ranked in the top-25 in all three national polls for the 16th time since 1989. Year Two for the Weathers Show: Cirivello's Restaurant at 4115 Viking Way in Long Beach will again the site for the Mike Weathers Show every Wednesday, from an even earlier 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. time slot. This week's show will feature Brandon Godfrey and Donnie Hume. 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 or during the game to radio voice Rob Buska at kwrmsports@yahoo.com. Carpenter Simply Dominating: Using just 94 pitches, junior righthander Andrew Carpenter (West Covina) hurled just the fourth one-hitter in school-history last Saturday, and first since 1991. Over his last three starts, the junior has gone 2-0 with an 0.78 ERA, striking out 18 and walking just four. His 1.87 ERA ranks fifth amongst starters in the Big West, while he ranks second in opponent batting average (.167) and seventh in strikeouts (23). Mr. 400: Third baseman Evan Longoria (Downey) enters the week having produced seven multi-hit games over his first 13 starts, ranking second in the Big West with a .439 average. According to Baseball America's Allan Simpson, Longoria has "passed most draft boards as the top position player available" for the 2006 draft. Longoria ranks in the top-five in seven Big West categories, leading the Big West in slugging and on-base percentage and ranking second in home runs (3) and walks (13). Hughes Has Best Outing of the Season: Pre-season All-American Jared Hughes (Laguna Beach) produced his best outing of the season on Friday against Illinois-Chicago, pitching eight scoreless innings before tiring and giving up three runs in the ninth. Hughes, the Big West win leader, at 3-0, ranks 19th in the conference with a 3.65 ERA and has opponents hitting .232 against him. Dominant Three Back Again for The Beach?: The Dirtbag staple over the past half decade has been its three-man rotation. Freshman righthander Vance Worley's (Sacramento) eight shutout innings on Sunday gave LBSU starters seven quality starts this season (six innings of three or less runs). Worley has a 1.29 ERA over his last two starts as his ERA is now down to 3.86 after his first collegiate win against UIC. Since 2002, LBSU starters have gone a combined 127-46(.734), hurling records of: 30-10 (2002), 31-10 (2003), 34-11 (2004) and 26-13 (2005) over the last four seasons. Outfielders Trade Time on the "DL": The Dirtbags got some good news and some bad news last week as senior Tom Wolf (Antioch) was granted his fifth year of eligibility by the NCAA, while fellow senior outfielder Sean Boatright (Mission Viejo) missed the UIC series after tweaking his back. Boatright remains day-to-day. Ranking A Top the Conference: The Beach ranks near the top of the conference in all three major statistical categories to start the week, ranking third in average (.298) and fielding (.974) and second in ERA (2.63). The conference features three teams ranked in the top-25, No. 7-ranked CS Fullerton, No. 15-ranked Long Beach State and No. 22-ranked Cal Poly. Masuda Has Strong Series: Freshman catcher Kip Masuda (Kaneohe, HI) made two starts on the weekend for the first time in his young career, launching a three-run homer in Saturday's contest and going 3-for-7 with four RBIs for the weekend. Masuda is batting .412 in five starts this season with five RBIs and a .706 slugging percentage. He has also thrown out 3-of-4 would-be base runners. Gold Glove Infield: If there was such a thing as the nation's top defensive infield, Long Beach State's four infielders around the horn from Brandon Godfrey (1B) to Chuck Sindlinger (2B) to Danny Espinosa (SS) to Evan Longoria (3B) may be it. The quartet has combined for a .970 fielding percentage and routinely gobble up anything in their paths. Longoria (.439), Godfrey (.324) and Espinosa (.306) are also three of the team's top hitters, with Longoria and Espinosa starting the first 13 games. Hume Settles into the Bullpen: Sophomore lefthander Donnie Hume (Vacaville) has settled into the bullpen after being projected as a weekday starter to begin the year. Hume has produced an 0.87 ERA over his first six appearances, allowing just a .216 opponent batting average. Bradley Keeps His Bat in the Lineup: Senior 1B/DH Scott Bradley (Pleasanton) continues to find a way into the lineup batting .364 over his first nine games and five starts, driving in six runs thanks to two doubles. Your Turn in Leftfield: The team's one question mark this season has been in leftfield as four different players have started so far. Lefthanded pitcher and designated hitter Shane Peterson is the latest to try out the position, playing as a reserve late in Sunday's game. Not A Bad Set of Wins: So far this season the Dirtbags have beaten some pretty good pitchers. LBSU has five wins over All-American arms (pre-season or former winners), including two over USC closer Paul Koss, one over Cal's Brandon Morrow and a pair of victories over National Pitcher of the Year candidates Ian Kennedy (USC) and Joe Savery (Rice). Playing Them Close: Prior to the team's jaunt with Illinois-Chicago, LBSU had played nine of its first 10 games within three runs. Three of the team's four losses have been by a single run. March Just Around the Corner: Maybe the toughest month in Division-I baseball is just around the corner for the Dirtbags, as the team will face perennial powers Baylor, Wichita State, Texas and CS Fullerton in three-game series during the month. It's not wonder sebaseball.com called LBSU's non-conference schedule the toughest in the nation to begin the year. Dirtbags Picked Second in Big West: 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. Hard Look at this 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. Some of the Best Tools?: According to Baseball America, Evan Lonogoria, the sixth-best college player in the country, is one of the nation's best pure hitters, while Jared Hughes, the 15th-best collegian, has some of the nation's best command, amongst college players. According to Baseball America's Allan Simpson, "Longoria is a late bloomer, who came of age last summer in the Cape Cod League..." 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 (8) and RBIs (35). 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. In Review: 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. 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, now with Milwaukee) each made their Major League debuts. Both the 10 prospects and the 13 Major Leaguers, are amongst the most from any college program. 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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