* Dirtbags Head to Arizona State, Yet Another Top-25 Team
* Beach Won Three Straight Prior to Break
* LBSU Third-Straight Pac-10 This Weekend
March 6, 2007 PDF VERSION OF THE RELEASE College World Series (4): 1989, 1991, 1993, 1998 Super Regionals (2): 2003, 2004
NCAA Regionals (15): 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
Record: 8-4 Big West: 0-0 | High Rank: No. 19 (Coaches Poll/B.America)
vs. Ranked Teams: 6-4
Dirtbags Return to Action: The No. 19-ranked Dirtbags (8-4) return to action this week after a 12-day layoff when they travel to No. 11-ranked Arizona State (12-5) this weekend. With Arizona not recognizing Daylight Savings Time, LBSU will begin on 6 p.m. Pacific on Friday with sophomore RHP Vance Worley (1-0, 3.16) against LHP Josh Satow (4-1, 1.60). On Saturday at noon, senior LHP Omar Arif (1-2, 2.41) will go against LHP Brian Flores (2-0, 1.98). Sunday at 1 p.m. will have two un-named starters. When the team's current seven-game road trip is over, LBSU will have played 17 of their first 19 games against top-25 opponents. For Assistant Coach Nick Walsh, an all-conference utility player for the Sun Devils, this will be his first trip back to his alma mater.
On-Deck: The Dirtbags travel to UCLA on Tuesday (March 13) before heading out to Kansas for a three-game series with Wichita State (March 16-18).
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 moved up to No. 19 nationally two weeks ago and remain their in Baseball America and the Coaches Poll. They remain No. 20 in Collegiate Baseball. 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.
Dirtbags Sweep Past Pac-10 Foes: The Beach swept past two Pac-10 opponents to close out February, pounding No. 15-ranked UCLA (W 14-1) and then defeating Cal twice (W 4-1 and W 8-3). Against UCLA, Andre Lamontagne struck out a career-best six in relief and Dustin Rasco also rebounded from a tough outing at Rice to hold the Bruins to just four hits. Big West Player of the Week Danny Espinosa began his week with three hits as the No. 20-ranked Dirtbags broke open the game with eight runs in the eighth. On Friday night, Vance Worley picked up his first victory of the season as Espinosa drove in all four runs. Worley went seven strong innings, while Bryan Shaw got the first of his two saves in the series. On Saturday Jason Corder went 3-for-4 against his former team, including an RBI, as Andrew Liebel picked up the win with 4.2 career-high innings. Liebel gave up an unearned run, snapping his scoreless streak to begin the season, but still kept an 0.00 ERA.
Espinosa Has Hot Start: Sophomore shortstop Danny Espinosa (Santa Ana) is batting .319 to enter the week, having already been named Big West Player of the Week twice this year. Espinosa has a team-best five multi-hit games this season and has driven in a team-best 11.
It Must Be Hot Up the Middle: Danny Espinosa isn't the only middle infielder having a strong start to 2007. Second baseman Matt Cline (Huntington Beach) is batting .324 on the year over 11 starts and 12 games. He has hit safely in five of the last six games after coming on as as defensive replacement on Feburary 11 against Texas.
Middle is Red Hot, Part III: Senior outfielder Robert Perry (Sunnyvale), who has patroled center this year, is batting .318 on the season, scoring a team-best seven runs. Perry, a two-time all-conference pick, has a team-best five multi-hit games on the season.
Exchangable Parts: The early asset for this year's team is how many different players can be moved in and out of the lineup. Seven players have already played the outfield, three have started at first and another three behind the plate. The infield of third baseman Jason Tweedy, shortstop Danny Espinosa and second baseman Matt Cline have remained the most constant this year, each starting at least nine games.
Nelson Plays Through It: Riverside Junior College transfer Chris Nelson was slated to miss time due to a hamate bone injury suffered in practice. Nelson instead was a late inning defensive replacement and a pinch runner. He hit for the first time the last week of February, getting hits in all three games that week and is slated to start this week at ASU.
Late Innings Belong to Liebel and Shaw: The bullpen core of righthanders Bryan Shaw (Livermore) and Andrew Liebel (Pomona) have yet to allow an earned run in a combined 27.1 innigns. The duo has been a part of each victory this season, as they have gone a combined 3-0 and saved another five games.
And to Think He Was a Reliever: Senior LHP Omar Arif (Mesquite, TX) is 1-2 on the young season with a 2.41 ERA over four starts as a Dirtbag. The former TCU reliever for three seasons has already gone longer in three of his first four starts (at least four innings), then he did at TCU.
Worley Continues Strong Start: Sophomore RHP Vance Worley (Sacramento), who finished off a strong campaign in the Cape Cod League is 1-0 with a 3.16 ERA over his first four starts. Opponents are batting just .222 against him this year, striking out 21 and walking just five.
Playing Them Close: Against top-25 teams, the Dirtbags have already played seven games within two runs, winning two one-run affairs in extra innings (top-10 ranked Rice and Texas) and are 3-3 overall in one-run games.
Comeback Kids: The Dirtbags have already come back from two seven-run deficits this year (at Pepperdine and against Texas), and also came back in the eighth inning to win at No. 6-ranked Rice. Four of the team's five victories have had LBSU coming from behind to win.
McElroy Out 4-6 Weeks: RHP Manny McElory (1-0, 9.00), the team's Saturday starter the first two weeks, will miss four to six weeks with a torn rib cage in his back. McElroy was a former junior college All-American at Bakersfield City College last year. McElroy is expected back near the end of March. The schedule will be forgiving for The Beach, as the two-week break misses two weekend starts.
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 is No. 1 nationally. The season began with nine ranked opponents on the schedule.
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.
Major League Talent: With camps opening in February, 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.
Dirbags Picked in the Middle of the Pack: According to the conference's coaches, LBSU is picked as the fourth-best squad in the Big West. Baseball America agrees with that assestment, while Rivals.com has LBSU ranked third.
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 $100,000 en route to $150,000 over five years. Those interested can call (562) 985-4662 for more information.
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