Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Host Indiana In Weekend Series
3/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 12, 2014
Game 1: Friday, Mar. 14
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Stadium: Blair Field
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Game 2: Saturday, Mar. 15
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Stadium: Blair Field
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Game 3: Sunday, Mar. 16
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Stadium: Blair Field
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DIRTBAGS HOST INDIANA IN WEEKEND SERIES
Long Beach State will take on Indiana for the first time when the Hoosiers make the trip west for a three-game set at Blair Field. The two teams have taken similar paths in the young season with both teams starting 2-5 over the first two weeks and rebounding to climb above .500 over the next two weeks. The weekend series with be the Dirtbags last home game until April 4.
TRIPLE TAKE
After smashing eight triples in five games last week, the Dirtbags are tied for the most in the nation with 11 triples this year. The Dirtbags hit five three-baggers in two games in Arizona and returned home to hit three more in three games with Utah Valley. To give a little perspective, let's look at some historical numbers with the Dirtbags. Their eight triples last week total more than the entire 2005 season when they had five triples all year long. Their 11 triples through the first 15 games this year are just two less than their 2012 total and one less than the total from 2011.
LEADING THAT TRIPLE CHARGE
Senior Michael Hill entered this season with seven career triples. He now has five in just 15 games this year, which is tied for the nation's lead. His now 12 career triples put him in a tie for the fifth-most in Dirtbag history. He also smashed two of the Dirtbags' four triples in Wednesday's win at Arizona, becoming just the 11th Dirtbag to do so. Two days later, Richard Prigatano became the 12th Dirtbag to accomplish the feat when he hit two against Utah Valley. It marked the first time that the Dirtbags have had players hit multiple triples in back-to-back game and just the second time that two players have done so in the same season. Going back to Arizona, the Dirtbags also set the school's single game record on Wednesday with four triples (Hill 2, DeGoti, Patron).
HAMPSON ON A HIT STREAK
Freshman Garrett Hampson extended his hitting streak to eight games last week and boosted his batting average to .323, which ranks second on the team. He hit .375 in five games last week and scored seven times, running his season total to a team-leading 14 runs scored. Those 14 runs rank fifth in the Big West. Over his eight-game hit streak, Hampson is hitting .389, he has hit three doubles, scored 10 times and the Dirtbags own a 6-2 record.
FRIDAYS WITH SABO
Junior lefty Nick Sabo has owned the mound on Friday nights, especially on his mound at Blair Field. The Dirtbags Friday night starter has posted a 2-1 record this year with a 1.67 ERA. All of his decisions have come at home where he is even more potent than his season stats tell. With a 2-1 record at home in three starts, Sabo owns a 0.44 ERA. He has allowed just one earned run and three total runs - all of which came in his first start. He tossed eight shutout innings against Arizona State and seven against Utah Valley for a current scoreless streak of 16 innings at Blair Field. He also has 20 strikeouts compared to just five walks in home starts and opposing batters are hitting just .183 against him.
ROHRBACH SETTLING INTO SATURDAYS
After a rough first outing on the mound, Andrew Rohrbach has been superb in his role as the Dirtbags Saturday starter. In his next two starts, Rohrbach strung together 14 scoreless innings, including a complete game shutout at Wichita State. The streak ran to 16.1 innings before he surrendered three runs to Utah Valley in the third inning of his last start. However, that would be the only inning that the Wolverines would get to Rohrbach. He went on to earn the win on the mound against UVU with four more shutout innings to complete his seven inning start meaning he has shutout opponents in 20 of his last 21 innings.
OFFENSE BREAKS OUT
The first calendar month of the season proved to be a slow start for the Dirtbags at the plate. As a team, they were hitting just .213 and no one was hitting over .300 individually. The calendar then flipped to March and the Dirtbag offense broke out. Over the last five games, the Dirtbags have hit .333 as a team and raised their team batting average to .256. Three regular starters are now over the .300 mark and Alex DeGoti is hitting over .400 in five starts this year. Johnny Bekakis led the offensive charge at the plate, hitting .563 in the Dirtbags' last five games. As a team, the Dirtbags have also totaled over half of their runs over their last five games. They scored 41 of their 78 runs this year in last week's offensive explosion.
DIRTBAGS PROVING TO BE SOLID DEFENSIVELY
The Dirtbags have been very consistent while out in the field this year. The team has posted an impressive .984 fielding percentage this season, which ranks sixth in the nation. In nine of their 15 games, the Dirtbags have not committed an error. They had a stretch of four error-less games in February and did not commit an error in the entire series against Utah Valley.
