Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Start Home Stretch With No. 17 UCSB
4/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 15, 2014
Thursday, Apr. 17
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Stadium: Blair Field
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Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Stadium: Blair Field
Listen Online | Tickets
Saturday, Apr. 19
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Stadium: Blair Field
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DIRTBAGS START HOME STRETCH WITH NO. 17 UCSB
A home-heavy stretch of the 2014 schedule gets underway this weekend as Long Beach State hosts No. 17 UC Santa Barbara in a three-game Big West series. The series will take place Thursday through Saturday this week with the Thursday and Friday games at 6 p.m. and the Saturday game at 2 p.m. UCSB is fresh off a series win over Cal State Fullerton that boosted its record to 22-8 overall and 4-5 in the Big West.
A BUSY TIME AT BLAIR
Eleven of the next 12 games for the Dirtbags will be played at Blair Field, including Big West series in each of the next three weeks. Long Beach State welcomes UCSB for three this week before heading to San Diego for a midweek contest. After the short trip, the Dirtbags will play eight in a row at home. The home schedule features three games with No. 3 Cal Poly, three with No. 23 Cal State Fullerton and midweek contests with No. 25 Pepperdine and San Diego State. Four of the five opponents to come into Blair over the next three weeks are ranked in at least one of the major Division I baseball polls.
PATRON JOINS 200 HIT CLUB, MOVES INTO TOP-10
Senior Ino Patron hit a bouncer in front of the plate on Saturday at UC Davis and beat out the throw to first for the 200th hit of his career. He became the 11th Dirtbag to join the 200-hit club and moved into a tie for 10th all-time. Mike Hofius and Brad Davis (a former major leaguer and current Dirtbag Undergraduate Assistant Coach) were the last to reach the mark in the 2004 season. Davis finished with exactly 200 hits (10th all-time) and Hofius ranks ninth with 204 hits. Patron passed Davis for 10th all-time with a double on Sunday. He had already entered the record book for games played and started in a Dirtbag uniform and could end up very near to the top of both lists. His 198 games played ranks 32nd among all active players in the NCAA Division I.
SWIPE AWAY
Long Beach State was off and running all weekend at UC Davis. The Dirtbags were a perfect 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts against the Aggies with six different Dirtbags stealing a base. Richard Prigatano, Johnny Bekakis and Michael Hill each had a pair of stolen bases. Colton Vaughn, Colby Brenner and Garrett Hampson also swiped a bag. Prigatano upped his season total to 13 stolen bases, which more than doubles his career total and also ranks second in the Big West. His six stolen bases in Big West games are the most in the conference.
STARTING ON FRYE-DAY
Senior Josh Frye is seizing his first opportunity as a starting pitcher for the Dirtbags. The career reliever for Long Beach State has been the Dirtbags Saturday starter for each of the last three weeks. After not getting a decision in his first start at Cal State Northridge, Frye has gone on to win each of the his last two outings for a 2- record this year. The Dirtbags are 3-0 when Frye starts. The Long Beach native has dazzled in his first three starts and has not allowed a run in his last 16 innings. He has allowed just five hits in his last two starts and fanned 11 batters.
FRIEDRICHS FOR THE SAVE
Junior Kyle Friedrichs closed out his sixth save last Saturday to secure a 2-0 Dirtbag win. With the perfect inning, Friedrichs is now 6-for-6 in save opportunities this year and is near perfect in those opportunities. The Dirtbag closer has pitched the ninth inning in all six instances and has not allowed a run while going for the save. He has not issued a free pass of any kind and has struck out four. Opponents have only touched him for two hits in the six innings, hitting just .105 against him. After allowing four runs to Utah Valley in a non-save appearance, Friedrichs has gone eight consecutive appearances (nine innings) without surrendering a run.
TAKING CARE OF THE BASEBALL
Dirtbag fielders have been limiting the extra opportunities for opponents this year at a school record pace. After committing just one error last weekend, the Dirtbags fielding percentage is back up to .980 for the season. That mark ranks eighth in the nation and is currently tied for the highest in school history. The 2003 Dirtbags finished the season with a .980 fielding percentage. This year's Dirtbags have committed just 27 errors through their first 34 games with every regular starter owning a fielding percentage of .950 or better.
YES, WE'RE REALLY CALLED THAT
The OFFICIAL nickname of the Long Beach State baseball program is the Dirtbags.
