Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags close out home schedule with four games this week
5/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 16, 2011
Long Beach, Calif. -
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Leading Off
Long Beach State hosts its final four home games in a busy week at Blair Field. First, the Dirtbags will play their final midweek game, hosting the Pepperdine Waves on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The Dirtbags will then host Cal State Northridge for a three-game series over the weekend. First pitch on Friday night against the Matadors is at 6:30, while the Saturday game has a different game time, starting in the afternoon at 2 p.m. Sunday's contest is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. As always, fans away from the ballpark can follow the action via live audio and Gametracker at www.longbeachstate.com.
Over The Weekend
There's a lot of action this weekend at Blair Field. First up on Friday is what will likely be the final start at home for junior right-hander Andrew Gagnon, who is projected to be a early MLB draft pick after serving for three seasons as a starter in the rotation for Long Beach State. Then, on Saturday, Angel's pitcher Jered Weaver makes his return to Blair Field on "Weaver Day", where the 2011 AL All-Star will throw out the first pitch and the first 250 fans will be given a free Jered Weaver T-shirt. The weekend then concludes with senior day on Sunday, where the Dirtbags will honor their two seniors, Troy Watson and Matt Hibbert with a pre-game ceremony.
Scouting Pepperdine
Pepperdine enters the weekend with a 20-27 overall record, but the Waves are just 5-10 in West Coast play. Sam Meyer leads the team with a .315 batting average, just in front of Brian Humphries, the team's main hitter at .308. The Dirtbags won the first game between the two this season, with Kirk Singer hitting the team's first homer of the season and Ryan Strufing throwing six innings in his first start the two highlights from a 7-5 win in extra innings. With the win, Long Beach State improved their lead in the all-time series to 64-59-2 all-time.
Scouting Cal State Northridge
Cal State Northridge ends the 2011 season with two Big West series, facing the Dirtbags before taking on Cal State Fullerton. The Matadors have a 21-29 overall record, and are just 4-14 in Big West play, sitting in last place. The Matador bats have done well, however, with utility player Marty Bowen leading the way with a .320 average, just in front of outfielder Drew Muren who is hitting .310. CSUN swept the series between the teams in 2010 at Matador Field, getting an extra-inning win on Friday, before closing out the series with two more wins. Long Beach State holds the edge in the all-time series, leading the Matadors 65-56.
Gagnon. Fridays.
Junior starting pitcher Andrew Gagnon has anchored the Friday night pitching role since the 2010 season and has had tremendous success in 2011. Gagnon has one of the Big West's lowest ERA's at 2.83, and has allowed 27 earned runs over 86.0 innings this season while holding opponents to the league's fourth-best .220 batting average. Gagnon started off the season by matching up against six straight ranked opponents, beating Arizona, Rice and Stanford on Friday nights in the process. Gagnon has also been involved in both shutouts of the season for Long Beach State, striking out eight over seven innings against Pacific before striking out 10 Highlanders and allowing just one hit over eight innings in a 1-0 victory over UC Riverside.
Schedule Strength
Long Beach State once again has had one of the strongest schedules in the country, one ranked third overall and first in non-conference strength going into the 2011 season. The Dirtbags played an astounding 17 teams out of 22 total that received votes in the preseason polls. With seven straight games against ranked opponents, Long Beach State's strength of schedule has gone back up to No. 3 in the nation, just behind Georgia and Stanford with two weeks to play.
