Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags host UCLA, travel to Arizona this week
2/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 23, 2010
Long Beach, Calif. -
Complete Baseball Release in PDF Format 
Leading Off
Long Beach State readies for one final home game this week, hosting No. 17 UCLA in the team's first weekday game. Freshman Eddie Magallon takes the hill for Long Beach State, and will match up with the Bruins' Garrett Claypool, with first pitch coming at 6:30 p.m. on February 23 at Blair Field. The Dirtbags will then get their first true series of the year, hitting the road to take on Arizona in Tucson for three games beginning on Friday. All four games can be followed via broadcast or gametracker at www.longbeachstate.com.
Opening Up
The first weekend for Long Beach State showcased very different results. In front of nearly 2,000 fans on opening night, Dirtbag fans were treated to a great pitchers' duel, as Long Beach State's Jake Thompson outmatched Pepperdine's Cole Cook to lead the Dirtbags to a 2-1 win over the Waves. The next two games, the 49ers continued to have trouble getting the big hit and scored three runs combined in losses to Oregon and CS Fullerton.
Starting On The Mound
Jake Thompson's bid to become a high draft pick and live up to a long-line of successful Friday night aces at Long Beach State started off on a high note in the Dirtbag opener on Sunday. Thompson threw the program's first complete game since 2008 and the first of his career in a 2-1 win over Pepperdine. Thompson struck out six and allowed just three hits, facing 33 batters total, and allowed just the one run in a quality first start. In all, the Dirtbags received solid work from all three starters on the weekend as well, sheltering an as-yet untested bullpen for the most part. Andrew Gagnon pitched 5.2 innings and struck out four in his first start Saturday against Oregon, allowing two earned runs, and Branden Pinder pitched six innings at No. 3 Cal State Fullerton, giving up three hits in four innings before running into some late trouble.
Scouting UCLA
The Bruins, with a high ranking of No. 17 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, made quick work of three lesser opponents in the first weekend of the year, dropping Southern 16-2, Bethune-Cookman in Compton 10-3, and then beating CS Northridge 15-5 in Westwood. The team hit .398 overall on the weekend, lead by Beau Amaral who was 5-for-10 with four RBI and three runs. The Bruins will start Garrett Claypool, who found success against the Dirtbags in two wins at Jackie Robinson stadium last season, and who pitched one hitless inning in 2010. Long Beach State trails in the all-time series with UCLA 37-54, but has a 24-20 lead in games played since 1989.
Scouting Arizona
Arizona started out the season 3-0 against Utah Valley State, but dodged the weather and one bad start to do so. The Wildcats began the year with an 8-1 win over Utah Valley State behind 13 strikeouts from freshman Kurt Heyer but were forced into a Sunday doubleheader. An eight-inning start from Kyle Simon and a lot of offense led to an 18-1 win in the second game, but a six-run second inning off of Daniel Workman put the Wildcats in a big hole in the third game. Arizona rallied to tie the game, and eventually won 8-7 in ten innings to complete the sweep. Four players hit over .500 against the Wolverines, led by Joey Rickard who hit .583 and Steve Selsky, a returning starter who hit .571.
Catching The Show
Speaking of Blair Field, fans can expect another great schedule from the Dirtbags, as Long Beach State continues to face one of the strongest schedules in the nation. In non-conference play, Long Beach State started off the season with two ranked teams in Pepperdine and Oregon, and will also host Washington and Wichita State for weekend series before the start of Big West play. The Big West is again shaping up to be one of the best conference in the nation, and Long Beach State will play Pacific, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine and CS Fullerton at home while shoehorning in one extra series with Stanford in the middle. In all, the Dirtbags will play 15 teams that received votes in the preseason polls for 2010.
Watching the Weather
Head Coach Mike Weathers is approaching two major career milestones in 2010. With 12 wins, the skipper picks up win number 300 as the head coach of the Dirtbags. Additionally, 33 wins over the course of the season will tally up to 600 career wins for Weathers in his 20th year as a head coach of the Dirtbags, Utah and Chapman.
Buck's Back
The Dirtbag coaching staff will have a new, yet familiar, look in 2010 after the return of Troy Buckley as the pitching coach. Buckley returns to the program after two years as the Minor League Pitching Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Pirates. His return brings the experienced eye of one of baseball's most respected pitching coaches, as well as the coordinator of some of Long Beach State's best pitching staffs, including the 2004 rotation of Jered Weaver, Cesar Ramos and Jason Vargas who are all in the MLB along with the 2005 squad that led the nation in ERA.
Home Sweet Home
Be on the lookout for some small changes and some major ones at Blair Field, as Long Beach State and the Dirtbags make the field their permanent home, as Long Beach State assumes operations from the City of Long Beach as part of an extended lease with the city. The Dirtbags, despite having played their home games at Blair since 1993, will now be able to call Blair Field their true home, practice at the facility, and will be the primary tenants of the historic facility. The arrangement allows the Long Beach State to make much-needed improvements to the infrastructure of the facility, as well as make additional touches that will be beneficial to the program and should also increase the enjoyment of the fan experience at what has already been named "one of the 10 best college baseball facilities" in the nation by Baseball America.
