Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Go South For Monday Matchup At USD
4/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 21, 2014
Monday, Apr. 21
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: San Diego, Calif.
Stadium: Fowler Park
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DIRTBAGS GO SOUTH FOR MONDAY MATCHUP AT USD
Long Beach State will leave the confines of Blair Field for the last time in April for a quick trip down to the University of San Diego. The Dirtbags are coming off their series win over No. 17 UC Santa Barbara last weekend while San Diego has lost four in a row and five of its last six. The Toreros pack some pop in their bats with 29 home runs this year and a .463 team slugging percentage.
A BUSY TIME AT BLAIR
The Dirtbags are currently in a home-heavy part of their schedule that features 11 of 12 games for the at Blair Field, including three Big West series in a row. Long Beach State welcomed UCSB for three last week before heading to San Diego for today's 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.
MILLISON STAYS SHARP
Tonight's starter Ryan Millison will be making his third midweek start in a row. In each of his two previous starts, Millison has provided a solid four innings and has yet to surrender an earned run. The regular long reliever for the Dirtbag bullpen owns a 1.67 ERA and has held opponents to a .196 batting average. In starts, Millison is even better with a 0.00 ERA through eight innings. He has surrendered just one unearned run on four hits. The senior right-hander has also struck out eight and has not walked or hit a batter while in a starting role.
FRYE IS BIG WEST PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Senior right hander Josh Frye was selected as the Big West Pitcher of the Week after his career-best performance in Friday's win over No. 17 UC Santa Barbara. Frye tossed a complete game shutout in leading the Dirtbags to the 1-0 win. This is the first-ever weekly award for Frye.
In his first-ever start in his hometown, Frye delivered the best performance of his career. He needed only 91 pitches to complete all nine innings and get his first shutout. He limited the Gauchos to just five hits while plunking a batter but not walking anyone. The scoreless start was the third consecutive scoreless start for Frye and extended his scoreless streak to 25 consecutive innings.
Frye jumped into the rotation for the first time in his career at the start of the Big West season and has made a case to stay there. The Dirtbags are 4-0 in games that the Long Beach native starts on the mound. Frye is 3-0 with a no-decision in his first start at Cal State Northridge and owns a 0.96 ERA in a starting role.
FRESHMAN CONTINUING TO SET TABLE FOR DIRTBAGS
With five hits last weekend, freshman Garrett Hampson recorded surpassed the 50-hit mark for the season. He now leads the Dirtbags with 51 hits this year and a .331 batting average. The freshman from Reno, Nev. also legged out his 10th double of the season, which is also tied for the team lead with Michael Hill. He also has a triple and a home run this year while starting in all 37 games. Last weekend, he also swiped his sixth stolen base and is 6-for-8 on the season. He scored the only run of the game on Friday and leads the squad with 26 runs scored this season.
PATRON CONTINUES CLIMB UP HISTORY
Senior Ino Patron continued his climb up the all-time hit list with four last weekend and he now has a couple of Major Leaguers in his sights. Patron's 205 hits currently rank eighth all-time in Long Beach State history. He passed Mike Hofius last weekend for that spot. Next on the list are Bobby Crosby's 206 hits and Jason Giambi's 208 hits. A big day on Monday could move Patron all the way into sixth and put his name above an AL Rookie of the Year and an AL MVP.
SHAKING THE MIDWEEK SLIDE
Long Beach State will be looking for its first midweek win in over a month when it takes the field in San Diego on Monday. Since sweeping Arizona in a two-game midweek series in Tucson, the Dirtbags have dropped four midweek games in a row. Three of those midweek losses have come by a single run (at LMU, at UCLA, at USC). LBSU's game at San Diego will be the first Monday game of the season as all other midweek games have been played on Tuesday or Wednesday. The Dirtbags played a Thursday-Saturday series last weekend and will now be playing on Monday, meaning the Dirtbags have played on every day of the week during the 2014 season.
YES, WE'RE REALLY CALLED THAT
The OFFICIAL nickname of the Long Beach State baseball program is the Dirtbags.
