* Dirtbags To Host Regional at Blair Field
* Beach Begin Post-Season Push Having Won 23 of 30
* Seven Named All-Big West
College World Series (4): 1989, 1991, 1993, 1998 Super Regionals (2): 2003, 2004
NCAA Regionals (16): 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007
Record: 37-18 Big West: 15-6 (2nd) | High Rank: No. 16 (Collegiate Baseball)
vs. Ranked Teams: 15-15 PDF VERSION OF THE RELEASE
Post-Season Begins at Blair Field: The No. 16-ranked Dirtbags (37-18), one of 16 hosts for an NCAA Regional, will host a four-team regional Blair Field starting on Friday. This regional will include second-seeded and third place UCLA (30-26), No. 24-ranked, third-seeded and third place Pepperdine (35-20) and fourth seeded and Horizon League Champion Illinois-Chicago (34-19). UCLA and Pepperdine will matchup in the first game and The Beach will host Illinois-Chicago in the nightcap. The Beach have won 23 of their last 30 games, which included a 13-game winning streak, the fourth-longest win streak in school-history. Game times will be Friday and Saturday at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. and Monday (if necessary) at 6 p.m. The regional is a double elimination tournament, with the winner headed to the Super Regional, which is a best of three series. The College World Series features the final eight teams. The Dirtbags have played an impressive 30 games against ranked opponents this season, going 15-15, losing nine of those games by a single run.
Post-Season Information: Super Regional announcements will come on Monday June 4 at 8 p.m. Pacific. Super Regionals will take place at eight sites from June 8 to 11 with all games on the ESPN family of networks. The College World Series bracket will be announced on Monday, June 11 at 8 p.m., with the World Series beginning on June 15 and running through June 25.
Post-Season Success: Since the birth of Dirtbag Baseball in 1989, the program has reached four College World Series, two Super Regionals and 16 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).
In Post-Season Play: LBSU returns to the NCAA Regional after a one-year absence and the 16th time since 1989. The Dirtbags will be hosting their third Sub-Regional (2003, 2005, 2007) and fourth overall. They also hosted a Super Regional in 2004. LBSU is 4-2 in sub-regional play in Long Beach and 5-4 overall in the International City. The Dirtbags are 37-22 overall in the Regionals, 1-4 in Super Regionals (2003, 2004) and 6-8 in the CWS (1989, 1991, 1993, 1998). Mike Weathers, in his sixth season, is 9-3 in the sub-regional and 1-4 in Super Regional play.
Seven Named Easton All-Big West: Catcher Travis Howell, outfielder Robert Perry and designated hitter Shane Peterson were all named first team All-Big West, while second baseman Matt Cline and shortstop Danny Espinosa were second team selections, and righthander Andrew Liebel and outfielder TJ Mittelstaedt were honorable mention selections. Perry and Peterson, both second team selections last year, moved up to the first team. Perry, a career .300 hitter in four Division-I seasons at LBSU and Santa Clara, was named to an all-conference team for the third team. He was an honorable mention All-West Coast Conference pick in 2004. Espinosa, last year's Big West Freshman of the Year, was honorable mention last year. Cline, a senior, earns his first selection. Liebel and Mittelstaedt also earned their first awards.
Courting the Rankings: LBSU moved up to No. 16 in Collegiate Baseball, No. 18 in the Coaches Poll and No. 21 in Baseball America. The Dirtbags achieved their highest ranking of the season (No. 11 in Collegiate Baseball) on May 14. LBSU had a No. 1 RPI on March 20, as they currently have an RPI on No. 7.
Major League Draft Coming: The MLB Draft will take place on June 7 and 8, with the first round live on ESPN,2 starting at 11 a.m. and continue until 3 p.m. Pacific. The draft will conclude by 5:30 p.m. and begin again at 8:30 a.m. on June 8. Fifty rounds will occur with third-year players and seniors at LBSU available.
LAST WEEK
Beach Win Rivalry with Titans: The No. 16-ranked Dirtbags took their final regular season series of year, rebounding from a four-game losing streak heading into Saturday, before taking the final two games of the series with No. 28-ranked CS Fullerton (L 6-7, W 10-6, W 11-8). On a warm weekend, the team hit .336, averaging eight runs a game. In the opener, Manny McElroy cruised as The Beach built an early 6-1 lead, before the Titans rallied with a five-run sixth inning to tie it, before a run in the eighth led to the series opener for CSF. In game two, The Beach rallied with seven runs over the final two innings to even the series following a 10-6 win. Travis Howell had a four-hit day and threw out two runners, and Brandon Godfrey drove in three runs over the final two frames, giving Andrew Liebel is third win as a starter (8-3). On Sunday, LBSU took two leads, watching the Titans tie it twice. But The Beach would have the final strike, scoring three times in the seventh and another time in the eighth to put the game away. Robert Perry drove in four runs on Sunday.
TEAM NOTES
Weathers to Coach Team USA: Head Coach Mike Weathers will be the head coach for U.S.A. Baseball this summer, which combines the best freshmen and sophomores in the country. The team, which plays from mid-June to early August, will participate in the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and in a tournament in the Netherlands. The team is based out of Durham, NC. This is the third time Weathers has been involved with USA Baseball, playing on the team in the 1970's and serving as an assistant in 2003. Weathers won his 500th game at LMU on May 15.
Against the Conferences: The Beach has winning records against every conference, except for two, Rice's Conference USA and Wichita State's Missouri Valley. LBSU finished 8-2 against the Pac-10, 3-1 against the West Coast Conference and 2-0 over the Mountain West and 2-1 against the Big-12. They finished 16-8 against the Big West this year, finishing a game back in second place at 15-6.
Inside the Wins: LBSU has picked up a lot of games this season, when other opponents have not. Consider heading into last week, Texas was 12-5 on the road this year, with two of the losses coming to the Dirtbags. Two of ASU's three home losses this year (27-2) were to The Beach. Also, Rice was 28-3 at home this season, with one of the losses coming to LBSU.
Something to Consider: With 37 wins this season, LBSU has done so without its starting centerfielder (Chris Nelson) for five weeks, without two thirds of its starting rotation for parts of the year (McElroy-six weeks, Worley-out five weeks), a starting first baseman (Godfrey-out a month) and a shortstop (Espinosa-six games). And at the end of the day, LBSU has been ranked in the top-30 all year with the toughest schedule in the nation.
Nice to Be Home: The Dirtbags are 19-9 this season at Blair Field and are 213-142-2 at their home park since 1993. A true ‘pitcher's park', the team has won at least 20 games at the park in 11 of the last 14 seasons. The team's ERA at home this year is 2.86 entering the regional with the Dirtbags posting a sub-3.00 ERA in five of the last six years.
Versatility: The Beach have used a number of players in different roles over the past few years, leading to the team's added depth. Consider 3B Taylor Krick is a converted catcher, OF TJ Mittelstaedt was a prep infielder, 1B Brandon Godfrey was a high school shortstop, and junior college transfers 2B Matt Cline, and SS/3B Jason Tweedy were both shortstops at their last level. Shane Peterson was a prep centerfielder, pitcher and first baseman, who has pitched, played left and first while at LBSU.
Winning it Late: 12 times this season LBSU has won a game in their last at-bat. Second baseman Matt Cline has done it twice (at Rice in the 11th inning and last weekend versus Oral Roberts in the ninth). The team has also seen game-winning hits from Bobby McMurray (Texas), Brian Capon (Texas, too), Jason Corder (Cal), Brandon Godfrey (Wichita State), Taylor Krick (Pacific) and Steve Tinoco (CS Fullerton). Against UCSB, LBSU scored three runs in the eighth and then eight in the 11th to sweep, a day after giving up eight runs in the eighth to trail, 8-4, before putting up a six-spot to win 10-8.
Getting Older by the Minute: LBSU is a combined 9-11 in one-run games this season and have won six of nine games in extra innings (top-10 ranked Rice and Texas and lastly against Pepperdine). The entire Wichita State series was decided by single runs each game. Two games have gone 14 innings. LBSU has also won nine games when trailing after six and eight when trailing after seven. Four more wins have occurred when trailing after eight.
PLAYER NOTES
Second Half Rally: 1B/LHP Shane Peterson (Temecula) has made the most of the second half of the season, producing a 22-game hit streak and leading the team heading into regional play with a .344 average. Peterson is second on the team with 40 RBIs and is one of three players with a better than .500 slugging percentage (Corder and Espinosa are the others), slugging at a .503 clip. Peterson also leads the team with 10 steals.
Liebel Tallies Wins When Ever, Where Ever: RHP Andrew Liebel (Pomona), the team's Saturday starter during the final month of the regular season, made 54 career relief appearances before starting the five weekends for the Dirtbags. Liebel has three wins as a starter and is 8-3 overall with a 2.83 ERA over 92.1 innings. Opponents are batting just .252 against him.
Godfrey Rallies Following Injury: After missing 14 games due to a wrist injury, 1B Brandon Godfrey (Cypress) has watched is average raise to .333 with 25 runs. Godfrey has hit safely in each of the seven games he has appeared in since returning.
Setting the RBI Table: At the top of the order, OF TJ Mittelstaedt (Mission Viejo) leads the team with 32 walks, despite not starting regularly until April. Meanwhile, No. hitter, 2B Matt Cline (Huntington Beach) is batting .332, ranking amongst Big West leaders in hit by pitches (17) and sacrifice bunts (17). Cline is second on the team with nine steals.
Driving Them In: Senior OF Robert Perry (Sunnyvale), a child hood teammate of current Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, leads the club with 50 RBIs, while slugging at a .498 clip. Perry also leads the club with 47 runs, after starting the season as the team's leadoff hitter, he has settled into the middle of the order. Perry has a team-best 24 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI games, which also leads the club.
Lineage Continues: Sophomore SS Danny Espinosa (Santa Ana), continues the Dirtbag lineage of highly drafted infielders, including major leaguers SS Bobby Crosby and SS Troy Tulowitzki, veteran infielder Chris Gomez and then-3B Jason Giambi. Epinosa is batting .318 on the year with 36 RBIs and a team-best seven home runs. He is also one of three players with 11 or more doubles, leading the club with 13.
Howell Gains Starting Spot: After battling with two other catchers for the first half of the season, the catcher's job is Travis Howell's (Los Gatos) to lose. Howell is batting .310 on the season and enters the weekend having thrown out 15-of-40 would-be base runners (38%)
PROFESSIONAL NOTES
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 won his first nines starts as a Major Leaguer.
How about That: Dirtbag alum, Troy Tulowitzki, became the 13th Major Leaguer all-time to turn an unassisted triple play, when he did so against the Braves on April 29. Tulowitzki is in his first season as the starting shortstop for the Rockies.
Making the Club: LBSU, with the callup of Jason Vargas to the Mets have had nine players in the Majors this season. Former first round pick Troy Tulowitzki is the starting shortstop for the Rockies, while veterans Chris Gomez (Orioles), Steve Trachsel (Orioles), Jason Giambi (Yankees), Jered Weaver (Angels) and Bobby Crosby (A's) all return for another season in the Majors. In addition, Paul McAnulty and Terrmel Sledge both made the Padres following strong springs.
Barn Storming: According to research done by the Daily Breeze, LBSU currently has 21 former players in the minor leagues to start the season. Amongst those in Triple-A are: Abe Alvarez (Red Sox), Mike Gallo (Rockies), Jeremy Reed (Mariners), Kasey Olenberger (Angels) and Jason Vargas (Mets).
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).
Organized Talent: 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.
OLDER TIDBITS OF WISDOM
Streak Comes to an End: Shane Peterson's 22-game hit streak finally came to an end on May 12, the fifth-longest in school-history. After starting the season 3-for-38, he has raised his average to a team-best .338 with 34 runs and 37 RBIs. Todd Jennings and Rob Townley continue to own the record, at 28 games.
How About This 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. On April 29, LBSU did it again when TJ Mittelstaedt and Shane Peterson have five hits a piece as part of a 22-hit attack at Pacific. Chris Nelson had five hits at LMU, giving LBSU five players with five hits this year, more than in any other year.
Comeback Kids: Over a span of one week earlier in the season, LBSU came back from two seven-run deficits (at Pepperdine and against Texas). They won both of those games in extra innings.
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.
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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