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Perry Leads LBSU's Offensive Charge
by Kendall Rogers, Rivals.com
February 17, 2007
When outfielder Robert Perry decided to leave Santa Clara for Long Beach
State, his reasons for doing so were endless.
Not only did Perry think it would help his draft status. He also saw the
move as a chance to help a team reach the College World Series.
Dirtbags outfielder Robert Perry has his sights set on Omaha.
"Playing teams like USC, Texas and Rice weekly is what college baseball
is all about," Perry told Rivals.com "This is a dream for any
college player and hopefully I can help the team go the distance this
spring."
After a solid junior campaign, Perry has approached his senior season
with similar goals.
"It might sound cliché, but my primary goal is to get on base
and score runs," Perry said. "Sometimes I like to be aggressive,
but for the most part, I let the guys around me take care of the dirty
work"
In six starts this season, Perry is batting .409 with five runs, and three
RBIs. He also has a .545 slugging percentage and a .517 on-base percentage.
"What I do at the plate sometimes depends on what the pitcher brings
to the table," the senior said. "So far this year, I've focused
on hitting the ball to the left side of the field and not hitting them
in the air."
While Perry is impressed with the team's pitching and offense, the most
encouraging trait is the team chemistry.
"Our team chemistry has been outstanding and that always helps,"
he said. "When you look at teams that compete for championships,
their team chemistry is always good."
Though the season is still young, Perry and the Dirtbags have the right
mindset. And that should count for something.
With Andrew Carpenter and Jared Hughes in the weekend rotation last
season, Long Beach State entered each series with confidence. However,
at the end of the year, the Dirtbags had a 29-27 record and failed to
reach the postseason.
While Long Beach State's weekend rotation is usually littered with pro
prospects, the Dirtbags have welcomed life on the other side of the spectrum
– at least for now.
The Dirtbags don't have a Jered Weaver, Cesar Ramos, Marco Estrada or
Andrew Carpenter, but what they do have is a talented collection of college
pitchers.
Long Beach State righty Vance Worley has risen to the occasion.
The change of pace has paid dividends for the Dirtbags, who enter the
weekend at Rice with series wins over Southern California and Texas.
"We've played a lot of young guys during the first few weeks and
I think that has been beneficial for our team," Long Beach State
coach Mike Weather said. "We're throwing 10 or 11 pitchers and many
of them are young guys."
JUCO transfer Manny McElroy was one of the more highly touted newcomers,
but struggled before being diagnosed with a rib cage injury. TCU transfer
Omar Arif has been a pleasant surprise, while returnee Vance Worley has
elevated his game.
"Omar (Arif) doesn't throw hard, but knows how to pitch and does
a great job of throwing strikes," Weather said. "With the way
Worley has pitched, we've got a chance to beat anyone on the weekend.
Arif has a 1.86 ERA in 9 2/3 innings, while Worley has a 3.75 ERA in 12
innings.
More than anything else, Weathers is pleased with his freshmen pitchers,
which includes Brandon Godfrey, Adam Wilk, Daniel Wolford and Jason Markovitz.
"Each of these guys (the freshmen) has impressed me in some form
or fashion," Weather said. "Wilk, Godfrey and Markovitz are
solid pitchers, while Wolford deserves much credit for finding himself
since the Christmas break."
The Dirtbags have also relied heavily on experienced pitchers Andrew Liebel
and Bryan Shaw.
Liebel has yet to give up a run in 8 1/3 innings, while Shaw has six strikeouts
in 4 1/3 scoreless innings.
"Shaw and Liebel are two of our three experienced guys, so it's great
to see them putting together productive outings," Weathers said.
"We're really going to count on them as the season progresses and
hopefully they'll elevate their game even more."
For the third consecutive week, the Long Beach State pitching staff will
be tested, as they head to the Lone Star State to face struggling Rice.
And though the Owls suffered growing pains during their first true weekend,
Weathers realizes their potential is through the roof.
"They've got experienced position players, but just haven't gotten
on track this season," he said. "Hopefully they stay cold this
weekend, but the three-game set should be interesting for both teams."
Long Beach State hopes to pass its third test of the young season this
weekend.
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