Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags to host Pacific to start Big West competition
3/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 30, 2010
Long Beach, Calif. -
Complete Baseball Release in PDF Format 
Leading Off
To dodge the Easter Holiday, Long Beach State gets an early week this week, playing Pacific for a three-game set beginning on Thursday, at 6:30 p.m. in Blair Field. The teams will then meet for another night game on Friday beginning at 6:30 p.m. before closing out the series with a 2 p.m. start on Saturday. The series also marks the beginning of Big West play, where the Dirtbags were picked to finish fourth in the league.
Night and Day
The only plane trip of the season for Long Beach State started off badly, as a 3-1 deficit prior to the team's first rain delay of the season ballooned into a 16-4 loss to No. 9 Oregon State, with help from a season-high in errors as well as a rough night for the bullpen. The Dirtbags turned it around the very next day, however, putting together two of the season's best performances back-to-back to win a road double-header over a top-10 opponent. In the first game, starter Jake Thompson tied a season-high with seven strikeouts over seven innings, helping the Dirtbags extend an early lead and take a 7-1 victory over the Beavers. Then in the nightcap, the Dirtbags again got a seven-inning start from the mound, this time coming from Branden Pinder. Offensively, the Dirtbags pounced on Oregon State starter Tyler Waldron for a five-run first inning and held on for a 8-4 win.
Scouting Pacific
Pacific has been one of the major surprises to this point in the season, posting a 16-7 record and and receiving votes in the latest coaches poll. The Tigers defeated their first ranked opponent last week against Stanford, and also took a series victory over USC at home before sweeping San Jose State. While the staff has a high ERA (5.01), the team has been picking up wins on the strength of their offense, which is hitting .346. 2009 First-team All-Big West selection Nick Longmire has been in the middle of the pack for the Tigers, instead leaning on J.B. Brown, leading the regulars with a .418 batting average, while designated hitter John Haberman is hitting .509 in 15 games. Historically, Long Beach State has had great success against Pacific, leading the all-time series 72-21, and the Dirtbags swept Pacific in Stockton last season.
Watching the Weather
Head Coach Mike Weathers is just one win away from picking up win No. 300 with Long Beach State as the team's head coach, reaching the milestone in his ninth season at the helm of the Dirtbags. Additionally, 22 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.
Wednesday Woes
Long Beach State took an early lead in the third inning on Wednesday, moving out 1-0, but Hawaii scored the next three runs to grab the lead and took advantage of the Long Beach State bullpen in an 8-2 loss Tuesday. Nate Underwood surrendered three hits over 4.2 innings, but left trailing 3-1, and the Rainbows scored five runs in the eighth and ninth innings to close out the win. Joey Tedoslavich, Kirk Singer and Matt Duffy all had a pair of hits for the Dirtbags, who out-hit the Rainbows 10 to six but also walked five and hit two batters to fall to 1-4 in midweek games.
TJ And Triples
Senior right fielder TJ Mittelstaedt broke his first school record against UNLV, 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 91. Two 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.
Starting Off
Long Beach State's starting rotation of Andrew Gagnon, Jake Thompson and Branden Pinder has anchored the weekends since the start of the season and the trio has been solid throughout. Gagnon and Thompson have each thrown a complete game in a victory, and Pinder and Gagnon each have a quality start with no earned runs, while posting an 8-6 overall record. Combined with a pair of freshman in Nate Underwood and Eddie Magallon who have worked the team's midweek contests, the Dirtbags have a 3.83 ERA from the team's starters and have worked 127 innings for Long Beach State this season.
A Brief Look Back
With Big West play beginning this week, it's time for the official standings to count and as good of a time as any to try and reset the conference race. Cal State Fullerton was the runaway winner to take the conference championship, receiving seven first-place votes. UC Irvine was picked second with two first place votes. Cal Poly was picked third, but is the only team to enter league play with a record under .500. Long Beach State was picked fourth, followed by UCR and UCSB, with the team sporting the Big West's best record right now, Pacific, slated to finish seventh. Cal State Northridge, the team picked to finish in eighth place prior to the season, is currently receiving votes, an indicator of how strong the conference is from top to bottom.
News and Notes
Junior Jordan Casas is tied for the national lead in sacrifice hits with eight, and is also the NCAA's top push-along batter in sacrifice hits per game ... Sophomore Brennan Metzger is taking his leadoff role seriously, getting on base anyway he can. Metzger currently ranks sixth in the country with 13 HBP halfway through the season ... Six more and Metzger will reach the top-five in single-season history for Long Beach State ... Working the small ball, second baseman Derek Legg also ranks in the top 20 nationally in sacrifice hits ... As a team, the Dirtbags rank 16th in the country with 24 sacs this season.
