Long Beach State University Athletics
Baseball to host Hawaii, travel to Oregon State
3/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 23, 2010
Long Beach, Calif. -
Complete Baseball Release in PDF Format 
Leading Off
After four games on the road and three coming up this weekend, Long Beach State makes a brief stopover at Blair Field on Wednesday to host Hawaii in a midweek matchup. The Dirtbags are playing the Rainbows on Wednesday due to Hawaii's travel schedule, which is a little out of the norm. The Rainbows finished a four-game series with Air Force on Monday, playing four games in four days, and will then face the Dirtbags on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.before playing a weekend series with Cal State Fullerton. Long Beach State also hits the road for three games, taking their only plane trip of the year to play No. 9 Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore. beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, March 26.
Two In A Row
Long Beach State earned their second series victory in a row by picking up two road games this weekend at UNLV. The Dirtbags brought the lumber in the first two games, taking a 17-3 lead on the way to a 17-8 win on Friday night, and then won the second game 10-1 before falling in a tight contest in the last game of the series on Monday, losing 2-1 despite seven shutout innings from starter Branden Pinder.
TJ And Triples
Senior right fielder TJ Mittelstaedt broke his first school record this weekend, hitting two triples to get to 17 in his career and pass Don Anderson's 16 for the most in Long Beach State history with half the season to go. Mittelstaedt also currently ranks fourth in career walks with 90. Three more and he'll pass Lamarr Rogers, and then will look towards a couple early Dirtbags, including the leader, Jason Giambi, who had 116 over three years. Mittelstaedt also continues to climb in games played, and should be among the all-time leaders for Long Beach State before the year is out.
Scouting Hawaii
Hawaii has a couple of big wins to its credit helping staunch an 11-9 overall record. The Rainbows took a game from Oregon State in their first series of the year before winning another four-game set with Oregon three games to one. This is the first trip for Hawaii off of the island though, as the Rainbows play five on the mainland before heading back, last sweeping a series with Air Force. The Dirtbags last played Hawaii in a three-game series at Hawaii, and holds a 4-1 all-time record with the Rainbows. Hawaii has a balanced lineup, with Kolten Wong leading the regulars with a .361 average.
Scouting Oregon State
Oregon State has climbed all the way to No. 9 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, and has been ranked all season. The Beavers' most notable wins actually came against Hawaii on the road, but Oregon State also took a series against the SEC's Tennessee at home, winning twice. The Beavers have done well with their pitching, holding a 2.73 team ERA led by Tanner Robles, a starter who holds a 1.72 ERA and the team leads in innings pitched (31.1) and strikeouts (34).
Watching the Weather
Head Coach Mike Weathers is approaching two major career milestones in 2010. With 3 more wins, the skipper picks up win number 300 as the head coach of the Dirtbags. Additionally, 24 more 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.
Gonzo for Gagnon
Sophomore righty Andrew Gagnon has taken over Friday night pitching duties after a trio of solid starts. In his first start, Gagnon took the loss in a 6-2 defeat at the hands of Oregon, striking out four and giving up two earned runs. Since then, Gagnon has pitched two beauties in Dirtbag wins. In Tucson, Gagnon pitched six innings of four-hit ball and had plenty of backing in a 10-3 win. Then, in his best start to date, Gagnon went the distance in a 3-1 victory, allowing three hits and one unearned run. Gagnon then struck out a career-high 12 batters in a loss to Wichita State, but rallied back to get his third win in his last start, striking out six Rebels in a win over UNLV.
