Long Beach State University Athletics
Big West Season Begins At Northridge
3/27/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 27, 2014
Friday, Mar. 28
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Northridge, Calif.
Stadium: Matador Field
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Saturday, Mar. 29
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Northridge, Calif.
Stadium: Matador Field
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Sunday, Mar. 30
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Northridge, Calif.
Stadium: Matador Field
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BIG WEST SEASON BEGINS AT NORTHRIDGE
Long Beach State opens the Big West season this weekend with a three-game series at Cal State Northridge. The teams will meet on Friday at 3 p.m. while the first pitch for Saturday and Sunday will be scheduled for 1 p.m. The Matadors are 11-14 on the season but have won the last three straight and four out of the last six coming into this weekend's series.
THE BARN JUST KEEPS ON BURNING
Call it a barnburner, nailbiter or any other cliché you can think of. Long Beach State has had seven of their last eight games decided by a single run. Unfortunately for the Dirtbags, they have come out on the wrong end of the majority those close games, owning a 3-4 record in the one-run contests. It all started with a three-game series against Indiana, in which the Dirtbags walked off twice with wins of 4-3 and 2-1. They also dropped an extra inning 2-1 game to Indiana in the middle of the series. Next was a narrow 4-3 loss at LMU, followed by a 3-2 win and a 6-5 loss at Cal State Fullerton. The nailbiting run continued into this week with a 2-1 loss at UCLA. To add to the high drama of a one-run game, LBSU had the tying run in scoring position in each of the last two game when the game ended.
HUTTING CUTTING THE RUNNING
Sophomore backstop Eric Hutting has thrown out 64 percent of the runners trying to swipe a base from him. Opponents have been successful just five times out of 14 when taking off with Hutting behind the plate. That 36 percent success rate for opponents is a far cry from where things stood a year. As a freshman in 2013, Hutting allowed 32 stolen bases on 48 tries, which equates to a nearly 67 percent success rate for opponents. Hutting has thrown out each of the last three attempted base stealers, including two on Tuesday at UCLA, and has picked off another three runners drifting too far from the bag.
DIRTBAGS ON BACK END OF LONG ROAD SWING
Long Beach State entered into its longest road trip of the season with a 10-8 record and having won seven of the previous nine games. The trip began with a narrow loss at LMU and a series loss at No. 9 Cal State Fullerton for a 1-3 record so far on the trip. On Tuesday, the Dirtbags again fell by the narrowest of margin in a 2-1 loss at UCLA. Three games at CSUN this weekend and a quick trip to USC will bring a welcomed end to the road trip with the Dirtbags currently owning a 1-4 record on the trip and a 4-7 record away from Blair Field.
BATTERS SIGH AGAINST FRYE
Senior Josh Frye has come out of the bullpen seven times this year and has allowed runs in just one of those appearances. Take away Frye's lost outing against Arizona, when he allowed two runs and last just one third of an inning, and Frye has tossed 11.1 shutout innings. He was charged with a pair of runs against Arizona in a game that the Dirtbags led 11-2 when Frye entered the game but has been near flawless since then. He has allowed just two hits, struck out six and walked just one in his last 8.1 innings pitched, which spans his last four appearances. He threw a career-high 3.1 innings on Sunday and shutdown a Cal State Fullerton offense that had rattled off six runs in the three innings prior to his entrance.
BULLPEN LOCKDOWN
Long Beach State's bullpen has been spectacular over the last two weeks, combining for 23 scoreless innings over its last 24 innings of work. The bullpen's efficiency in holding opponents at bay is a big reason the Dirtbags have played in several one-run games in the last two weeks. As a unit, the bullpen owns a 3.46 ERA with three pitchers having at least 10 innings pitched and sporting a sub-2.00 ERA.
PROVENCHER AT HOME OUT OF THE PEN
Sophomore Ty Provencher began his season with a start against a top-10 team in Vanderbilt. He surrendered four runs, nine hits (including four doubles) and a walk through 5.2 innings in the start. Since then, he has appeared exclusively out of the bullpen and been extremely effective. In nine relief appearances, he has thrown 13.1 innings and allowed just one run to cross the plate for a 0.68 ERA while putting together a 4-1 record with a six-out save. Opposing batters have just eight hits against him (they are hitting .170 against him) and only one has gone for extra bases.
IT STARTS AT THE TOP
For the last four games, the Dirtbags have sent out the 1-2 punch of senior Colby Brenner and freshman Garrett Hampson to start off the day. Both hitters have responded by hitting an identical .400 while hitting 1-2 in the lineup. Both are 6-for-15 and the two have combined to score four times. Brenner has played his way into the lineup, hitting .326 through 12 starts this year. Hampson is enjoying his freshman season as leads the team with a .355 average and 18 runs scored.
YES, WE'RE REALLY CALLED THAT
The OFFICIAL nickname of the Long Beach State baseball program is the Dirtbags.
