Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State plays next four on the road
4/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 27, 2010
Long Beach, Calif. -
Complete Baseball Release in PDF Format 
Leading Off
Long Beach State plays four on the road this week, and will need to put together another strong performance to keep the team's postseason hopes alive. The Dirtbags start by making a return trip to San Diego State on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. contest. Then the team will make its final overnight road trip to San Luis Obispo, playing Cal Poly in a three-game set over the weekend beginning on Friday. All four games will be covered via Gametracker and live audio at www.longbeachstate.com.
Gaucho Roundup
Capitalzing on the momentum from the team's upset win over UCLA, the Dirtbags carried over the offensive output to Friday, scoring 12 runs on a season-high 19 hits in a 12-1 win over UCSB. Jonathan Jones had four hits for the Dirtbags, and Andrew Gagnon had an underrated outing, going seven innings with one run allowed and six striketouts. The Dirtbags rallied again on Saturday, coming back from a 3-0 deficit to win 8-4 with three RBI from both Jordan Casas and Brennan Metzger. The Dirtbags attempt at their first sweep of the season were denied Sunday, however, as UCSB's Jesse Meaux matched Branden Pinder pitch-for-pitch, each allowing 1 run over eight innings before the Gauchos scored three runs in the ninth to take a 4-1 win.
Making The Most Of The Middle
The middle infield has been a source of success for Long Beach State in 2010, as Devin Lohman and Kirk Singer begin the week leading the team in batting average. Lohman, the team's starting shortstop since the beginning of the year, had three hits Sunday to pop his average over .400 at .403, and ranks third in the Big West in hitting. Joined by sophomore Kirk Singer on the other side, Singer started the season as the team's backup shortstop, but was moved to second base after forcing his way into the starting lineup. Singer is currently hitting .360 and is second on the team with four home runs on the year.
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. All three have averaged over six innings per start, and combined have an ERA under 4.00. Jake Thompson has the highest ERA at 4.66, but also has the best record at 5-1 and a team-high 54 strikeouts, while Pinder has only 11 walks on the year with a 3.52 ERA, and Gagnon has 49 strikeouuts and a 2.98 ERA while primarily pitching on Fridays.
Scouting San Diego State
Long Beach State picked up a 4-3 win in the first meeting between the teams back in the middle of March, and until last week that was the Dirtbags' lone win on a weekday. Both teams enter Tuesday's game with very similar resumes. The Aztecs are an identical 6-6 in Mountain West play, and had a 21-20 overall record with wins over UC Irvine and TCU to bolster the team's resume, and comes in hot with a four-game winning streak after sweeping a four-game series with Wagner. Josh Chasse leads the team with a .370 batting average in 15 games, while the teams regulars are led by Brandon Meredith, who has a .359 average over 41 games.
Scouting Cal Poly
Cal Poly has had what has to be classified as a very disappointing year for Larry Lee's program. The Mustangs have the worst record in the Big West at 10-26 overall, and have only beaten one team, Northern Illinois, more than once on the year. Luke Yoder leads the offense with a .321 average, but the pitching has been the biggest weakness for the Mustangs, posting a 6.69 ERA and having some tough luck outside of it, as the leading ERA of the rotation, Matt Leonard has an 0-5 record with a 4.85 ERA.
