Dirtbags Hit the Road For Four
3/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Beach Take on LMU, Texas This Week Record: 10-7 Big West: 0-0 | Hi Rank: No. 19 | vs. Ranked Teams: 5-3
Lion's Share of a Texas Two-Step: The No. 19-ranked Dirtbags (10-7), losers of three of four, continue with the nation's toughest non-conference schedule when they face off against WCC finalist Loyola Marymount (6-11) on Tuesday and No. 16-ranked Texas (10-8 prior to there game at Rice on Tuesday) this weekend. The contest with LMU will be the first of two games with the Lions, who will return the favor at Blair Field on May 9. Tuesday's game will be at 2 p.m. as Scott Turmail (1-1, 2.84) will make his second collegiate start against LMU's Nathan Keadle (0-0, 3.38). On the weekend, The Beach will travel to the defending national champions for three, with games at 4:15 p.m., 12 p.m. and 11 a.m. Pacific. The series will also feature two of the best position players in the country in LBSU's 3B Evan Longoria and Texas OF Drew Stubbs. Texas will feature righthanders Kyle McCulloch (1-2, 3.33) and Adrian Alaniz (3-0, 2.37) in the team's first two games with Sunday's starter yet to be announced. The Beach will counter with the trio of righthanders Jared Hughes (4-0, 3.69), Andrew Carpenter (2-1, 2.10) and Vance Worley (1-3, 4.30). Courting the Rankings: The 49ers dropped to No. 19 in the Coaches Poll, No. 22 in Baseball America, and to No. 25 in Collegiate Baseball. 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. Beach Fall to Bears: After a 4-3 series opening win by LBSU, No. 22-ranked Baylor edged the No. 15-ranked Dirtbags by two runs in each of the final two games to take the series. LBSU batted just .211 for the week, but saw the emergence of 2B Matt Cline, who played for a flu-ridden Chuck Sindlinger, and went 5-for-11 for the series. In the opener, Jared Hughes moved to 4-0 on the year and 11-1 since March, 2005, retiring the final seven batters he faced before a five-pitch eighth by Bryan Shaw set up Donnie Hume's fourth save of the year in the ninth. Hume after putting runners on the corners, got two called strikes to end it. On Saturday, Baylor scored five unanswered after LBSU scored three unearned runs in the fourth, to even the series. Andrew Carpenter's 17-inning scoreless streak came to an end in the sixth. On Sunday, Baylor jumped on Vance Worley for three first inning runs and stayed ahead for the rest of the contest. 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 Matt Cline and Mike Malott. 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. One Tough Cookie: The Dirtbags schedule in March features four perennial College World Series teams in Baylor (lost two of three), at Texas (this weekend), Wichita State (at Blair Field) and at CS Fullerton. LBSU, which features one of, if not the toughest, non-conference schedule in the country, has 17 of its 21 opponents with RPIs better than 100. In fact, 10 of those teams have RPIs of 50 or better and 12 are nationally ranked. Longoria Continues Torrid Spring: Third baseman Evan Longoria (Downey), rated as one of the top position players in the country, according to Baseball America, enters the week batting .426 with a conference leading trifecta in average, slugging (.685) and on-base percentage (.568). Longoria also leads the league in walks (16), is second in homers (3) and is third in hits (23) and total bases (37). What might be most impressive about Longoria's numbers is just four strikeouts in 73 plate appearances. Boatright Remains Out of the Lineup: The Dirtbag offense has struggled without its cleanup hitter Sean Boatright (Mission Viejo) the past two weeks, batting just .245 and going 4-3 over that span. Boatright missed the Illinois-Chicago series after re-injuring his back, before missing last week with the flu. Boatright, who continues to lead the Big West in doubles, despite missing two weeks, is batting.289 with a .605 slugging percentage. He remains day-to-day. Cline Makes Most of the Opportunity: With incumbent 2B Chuck Sindlinger (Reno) also on the sidelines this past week with the flu, junior college transfer Matt Cline (Huntington Beach) continued a hot stretch, raising his average to .391 over nine games and seven starts. Cline, who played shortstop at Orange Coast College, has not missed a beat playing second this year. Cline enters the week on a six-game hit streak. Hughes Racks up the Wins: March 26, 2005 may have just been a turning point in the career of righthander Jared Hughes (Laguna Beach). Struggling midway through his sophomore season,, Hughes pitched a complete game four-hitter to win the series against No. 1-ranked CS Fullerton and since then, has never looked back. Including that game and his 4-0 record as the No. 1 starter this year, Hughes is 11-1 during the college season and 18-1 if you include his 7-0 record in the Cape. Hughes comes into his Friday night start with a 3.69 ERA over five starts in 2006. Bump in the Road for Carpenter: Saturday's start against Baylor for Andrew Carpenter (West Covina) is likely a bump in the road for the junior righthander. The two-time Big West Pitcher of the Week, who threw the school's first one hitter since 1991 against Illinois-Chicago, saw his 17-inning scoreless streak come to an end on Saturday in picking up his first loss of the year. Carpenter is still 2-1 with a 2.10 ERA over five starts, having struck out 26 and walked just six on the year. Hume Solid Out of the Pen: Sophomore lefthander Donnie Hume (Vacaville) continues to develop into a solid reliever out of the pen for the Dirtbags, compiling an impressive 0.63 ERA over eight appearances. Hume has posted just a .196 opponent batting average, as he has converted all four save opportunities. Freshman Shortstop Doesn't Miss a Beat: Freshman Danny Espinosa (Santa Ana) has filled the seamless transition of All-American shortstops for The Beach over the past half decade, batting .292 on the season with a team-best 12 runs and 11 RBIs. Espinosa has also been solid in the field, fielding at a .969 clip. Catcher of the Future: Freshman Kip Masuda (Kaneohe, HI) has played exceptionally well to start the season, batting .364 over seven starts at catcher and throwing out 3-of-4 potential base stealers. The last stat should not be surprising as Masuda throughout 17-of-20 base stealers as an all-state senior last year. 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. Matt Cline, a junior college shortstop, has not missed a beat playing at second base as well. 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. 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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