* Big West Play Begins with UC Irvine
* Beach Have Lost Last Two Weekend Series
* Dirtbags Play Ninth Series Against Top-25
March 28, 2007 PDF VERSION OF THE RELEASE
Record: 13-9 Big West: 0-0 | High Rank: No. 20 (Collegiate Baseball)
vs. Ranked Teams: 10-9
Conference Play Opens in Irvine: The No. 20-ranked 49ers (13-9, 0-0 Big West) will open up Big West play this weekend when they at No. 24-ranked UC Irvine (19-6-1, 0-0 Big West) on Friday and Saturday nights at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. This will be the ninth series against a top-25 opponent this year, helping The Beach to a No. 2 RPI in the country. The weekend showdown will feature RHP Vance Worley (1-0, 3.16) on Friday and LHP Omar Arif (1-3, 3.09) on Saturday for the Dirtbags against RHP Scott Gorgen (4-1, 3.07) and RHP Wes Etheridge (7-0, 1.44) for UCI. Neither team has announced a Sunday starter. Friday's game will be on Cox Cable in Orange County. UPCOMING SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
#24 UC Irvine
Anteater Field | 6 p.m. | Irvine, CA
LB: R-Vance Worley (1-0, 3.16)
UCI: R-Scott Gorgen (4-1, 3.00)
SATURDAY
#24 UC Irvine
Anteater Field | 6 p.m. | Irvine, CA
LB: L-Omar Arif (1-3, 3.09)
UCI: R-Wes Etheridge (7-0, 1.38)
SUNDAY
#24 UC Irvine
Anteater Field | 6 p.m. | Irvine, CA
LB: to be announced
UCI: to be announced
ABOUT THE ANTEATERS (19-6-1):
BA: .327; ERA: 3.54; FLD: .979
The Anteaters own the trifecta of leading the league in hitting, ERA and fielding this season... Matthew Morris leads the league in hitting at .426, while Aaron Lowenstein is fourth in the league at .359... Cody Cipriano is also in the top-10 at .361... on the mound, Saturday starter Wes Etheridge has a league-best 1.38 ERA out of the pen with a 7-0 record and 52.0 innings pitched... Dave Serrano's club is ranked No. 24 nationally and has an RPI 25.... UCI had won seven straight prior to their loss at UNLV off of four errors on Tuesday.... Big West saves leader Blair Erickson is back with eight saves this year and an 1.59 ERA.
UCI SERIES NOTES: LBSU leads the all-time series since 1989 by a margin of 20-9... LBSU swept the Anteaters last year when they were No. 36 and lost two out of three at UC Irvine two years ago... LBSU won the two previous series with the Anteaters and are 10-7 against UCI since their re-start in 2002 and are 8-1 since a 2-6 start in the series.
DIRTBAGS AGAINST THE ANTEATERS: Danny Espinosa had two multi-hit games in the series last year... Matt Cline had hits in all three wins... Vance Worley had a save in the finale on Sunday... Andrew Liebel had two scoreless outings last year
On-Deck: LBSU then hosts 12-straight at home through April 24, beginning with Oral Roberts on Easter Weekend starting on Thursday and Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Anyone Craving a Dirtbag Game?: Individual and group packages for the 2007 season are on sale online at www.longbeachstate.com and by calling the ticket office at (562) 985-4949.
Courting the Rankings: The Dirtbags dropped to No. 20 in Collegiate Baseball and No. 23 in the Coaches Poll and Baseball America. The team's RPI dropped to No. 2 to begin the week. It was No. 1 for the week of March 20. LBSU began the year ranked No. 30 for the first two weeks. LBSU was ranked to begin the year for the 16th time in the pre-season since 1989.
Blood Rivalry Part One Goes to Fullerton: No. 13-ranked CS Fullerton took the series with No. 18-ranked Long Beach State, as all three games were won in the late innings (L 4-7, W 4-3 (14) and L 5-7). In the opener, after leading twice in the early going and another solid outing from Vance Worley, Fullerton scored three runs in the seventh. Shane Peterson began to break out of his season-long slump with two multi-hit games in the series starting on Friday. In a marathon on Saturday, lasting five hours and 43 minutes, LBSU finally won it in the 14th inning paced by an RBI single from Steve Tinoco. Omar Arif gave up one unearned run over 6.2 innings while striking out six, before Bryan Shaw blew the save in the ninth. Andrew Liebel got his fourth win in relief with four shutout innings. On Sunday, Peterson pitched 4.1 shutout innings to start as LBSU gave it over to Shaw in the ninth for the series with a 4-3 lead. Fullerton though scored four runs in the ninth to take the series 7-5.
Pre-Season Picks Re-Visited: The Dirtbags and Anteaters were picked in the middle of the pack before the season started with CS Fullerton and UC Riverside fronting the list. According to the rankings, CSF, LBSU and UCI are ranked in the top-25 and including the Highlanders, four have RPIs under 40. UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly both have RPIs in the 70's, making for an interesting conference season.
Making the Club: With 13 Major Leaguers last year, 2007 should be another good year for Dirtbags in the Majors. With Opening Day coming next week, former first round pick Troy Tulowitzki was named the starting shortstop for the Rockiest this week, while veterans Chris Gomez (Orioles), Steve Trachsel (Orioles), Jason Giambi (Yankees), Jered Weaver (Angels) and Bobby Crosby (A's) are expected to make their major league clubs. In addition, Jeremy Reed (Mariners), Paul McAnulty (Padres) and Terrmel Sledge (Padres) are on 40-man rosters.
Television for the Dirtbags: The Beach will twice be on College Sports Television twice this spring, at San Diego State on May 8 and at CS Fullerton on May 25. In addition, Cox TV in Orange County will televise Friday's game vs. UC Irvine. CSTV.com, its online venture, also provides webcasts and gametracker software for following other LBSU games this season.
Scheduling Changes: Get out an eraser, as the team's continuation with Pepperdine in the ninth inning and the team's regularly scheduled game versus the Waves will be on April 10. It all starts at 6:30 p.m. The team's home game against UC Riverside has been moved up an hour to 1 p.m.
Getting Older by the Minute: Against top-25 teams, the Dirtbags have already played 14 games within two runs, winning three one-run affairs in extra innings (top-10 ranked Rice and Texas) and are 6-6 overall in one-run games. The entire Wichita State series was decided by single runs each game.
Good to Be Free: Brandon Godfrey (Los Alamitos) enters the weekend leading the club with a .323 average thanks to nine RBIs and nine runs. Godfrey batted .150 for the first month of the season before exploding against Arizona State to be named Big West Player of the Week.
Solid at Short: Sophomore shortstop Danny Espinosa (Santa Ana) continues the family tree of solid Dirtbag infielders, beginning with 3B Jason Giambi and SS Chris Gomez in the early 1990's and continuing with current Major League shortstops Bobby Crosby and Troy Tulowitzki and last year's first round pick, 3B Evan Longoria. Espinosa has made just one error this year and is batting .318 with a team-best 17 RBIs and 16 runs. His slugging percentage sits at .529.
Freshman Earns Playing Time: Freshman outfielder Steve Tinoco (Coto de Coza) has earned playing time in the outfielder, batting .316 in limited appearances, with nine starts, two homers and nine RBIs.
Perry Continues Solid Season: Senior OF Robert Perry (Sunnyvale) continues to have a solid final collegiate season, batting .302 with a team-best 17 runs from the top of the order. Perry has started mostly in center, and with the return of Chris Nelson to centerfield, likely will move to right field, with the duo making up the top of the order for the Dirtbags.
Relief Ace: Junior RHP Andrew Liebel (Pomona) has put together a solid season as the team's setup man and long reliever, producing a 1.50 ERA and team-best f four wins. He has thrown 30.0 innings and has a .209 opponent batting average.
Solid Starts: Despite just a combined four wins from the team's starting rotation, Friday starter Vance Worley (Sacramento) has had five quality starts this season and Saturday starter Omar Arif (Mesquite, TX) has had four. The duo both have ERA's under 3.20, but just one win to show for it.
Peterson Develops: Sophomore LHP Shane Peterson (Temecula) did not have a lot of time to work on the mound last year because of his bat, which earned him second team All-Big West honors. This year, despite a slow start at the plate, his mound work has been stellar. Peterson has delivered a 1.29 ERA in four pitch-count starts this season, pitching 11 scoreless innings over his last three starts.
Comeback Kids: The Dirtbags have already come back from two seven-run deficits this year (at Pepperdine and against Texas). The team's win at Wichita State in the ninth last Friday was the team's fifth win in its last at-bat. Six of the team's victories have had LBSU coming from behind to win.
You Don't See That Everyday: The team's three-straight one-run games in one series is a rarity, and maybe even a first. Since 1980 (the team's recorded history), LBSU has played three-straight one-run games just three times, 1996 against Washington State, Pepperdine and Ohio State and in 1985 and 1981.
There's a First: 1B Brandon Godfrey and SS Danny Espinosa became the first set of teammates to each have five hits in a game when they did so on March 11 at Arizona State as part of a 23-hit attack.
McElroy Close to Returning: Saturday starter RHP Manny McElory (1-0, 9.00) who has been out since the third week of the season with a torn rib cage in his back is expected back for the Oral Robert series. McElroy was a former junior college All-American at Bakersfield City College last year.
Boyd is It Tough: After having arguably the toughest schedule in Division-I baseball last season, LBSU gets the dubious honor again, as according to Boyds World, the Dirtbags strength of schedule was No. 1 nationally to begin the year.
| And Your Name is?: After seeing 35 players head off to professional baseball over the last four seasons, this year's team is very young, featuring 21 underclassmen. Two of those sophomores, shortstop Danny Espinosa and righthander Vance Worley, are two of the Big West's top prospects for the 2008 draft. Another sophomore, designated hitter Shane Peterson, is the program's top returning hitter (.328). The pitching staff features seven freshmen and five sophomores.
Best Young Talent: Baseball America put out its annual list of top-100 young players and Long Beach State alums, Evan Longoria and Troy Tulowitzki are in the publciation's top-15. Longoria, who ended 2006 in Double-A after being taken third overall in 2006, is rated as the seventh-best young prospect, while Colorado Rockies shortstop, Troy Tulowitzki, is No. 15.
Major League Talent: Long Beach State Baseball,which has produced 28 Major Leaguers all-time, had 13 former players in The Show last year, amongst the most in Division-I baseball. Since 1999, according to Baseball America's research, LBSU has had the eighth-most Major Leaguers (18). The veterans have included 10-year men, Chris Gomez, Steve Trachsel and Jason Giambi, while the ‘newer' crop has the likes of Bobby Crosby, Mike Gallo, Jeremy Reed, Jered Weaver and the newest Major Leaguer, Troy Tulowitzki.
Organized Talent: As if 13 Major Leaguers is not enough, the next crop is well on its way as eight former players are amongst their organization's top-30 prospects. Not including Rockie shortstop, Troy Tulowitzki, who is the top prospect in that organization, 2006 first round pick, Evan Longoria is No. 2 in Tampa Bay and former lefthanded reliever, Steve Hammond, is No. 7 in Milwaukee. Among others: in the top-20 are Cesar Ramos (No.10 in San Diego), Andrew Carpener (No. 17 in Philadelphia), Paul McAnulty (No. 18 in San Diego) and Brian Anderson (No. 19 in San Francisco).
First is Always Best: According to Baseball America, since 1999, the Long Beach State program has produced the fourth-most first round picks (Crosby, Weaver, Tulowitzki, Longoria), being only outdistanced by Stanford (6), Rice (5) and USC (5). The first three have all made the Majors, while Longoria finished off his first professional season in Double-A.
Post-Season Success: Since the birth of Dirtbag Baseball in 1989, the program has reached four College World Series, two Super Regionals and 15 NCAA Regionals. Despite missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six seasons in 2006, the Dirtbags have reached more College World Series then all but nine other programs since 1989. As part of Baseball America's research, they placed the Dirtbags at No. 15 nationally based on the program's success from 1999 to the present (the expansion to the 64-team field).
Video Killed the Radio Star: EA Sports came out with their latest edition of its MVP 2007 College Baseball Game and Angels rookie and former National Player of the Year (and alum) Jered Weaver is on the cover. Weaver completed his first Major League season in 2006, going 11-2 with a 2.56 ERA. Weaver won his first nines starts as a Major Leaguer.
On the Air and on the Net: Every game this season will be over the internet at www.longbeachstate.com. The games will also be available through CSTV's Gametracker software and CSTV's Webcast software. The webcast will be a static camera behind home plate as fans can see the action at Blair Field and on a given Tuesday night can open their front doors to really feel like they are at the friendly confines.
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 over $120,000 en route to $150,000 over five years. Those interested can call (562) 985-4662 for more information.
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