Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Host UCI To Wrap Up Regular Season
5/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 20, 2014
Thursday, May 22
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Stadium: Blair Field
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Friday, May 23
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Stadium: Blair Field
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Saturday, May 24
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Stadium: Blair Field
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DIRTBAGS HOST UCI TO WRAP UP REGULAR SEASON
Long Beach State and UC Irvine will meet at Blair Field for a three-game series this weekend as both teams wrap up the 2014 regular season. Second place in the Big West standings is on the line with the Dirtbags owning a 14-7 record in conference games and UCI coming into this weekend with a 15-6 record. The two teams will meet at Blair on Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. Nine Dirtbag seniors will be celebrated prior to Saturday's finale.
DIRTBAGS LOOKING TO CONTINUE LATE PUSH
The Dirtbags look to be peaking at the right time and have caught fire toward the end of the 2014 season. LBSU has won 11 of its last 14 contests to climb five games over .500 for the first time this season and into the top-50 in the RPI. As of Monday's latest release the Dirtbags RPI is 47, which is the highest it's been this season and is the third-highest mark in the Big West. At 29-24, the Dirtbags are five games over .500 for the first time under the tenure of head coach Troy Buckley. One more win next weekend with give Buckley his first 30-win season.
HAMPSON HAVING HISTORIC FRESHMAN CAMPAIGN
Garrett Hampson has been leading the Dirtbags at the plate for most of the year with a remarkable freshman campaign. He recently joined Bobby Crosby and Chris Wright as the last freshmen to tally 60 hits in a season. Both Wright and Crosby reached the benchmark in 1999. As it stands now, Hampson leads the team with 69 hits and a .324 batting average. If he continues to lead the team through this weekend and through any possible postseason games, Hampson will be the first freshman since 1993 to lead the Dirtbags in hits. Jeff Liefer had 84 to lead LBSU in 1993. He may also become the first freshman in Long Beach State to lead the team in batting average.
PRIGATANO A DRIVING FORCE
Richard Prigatano had his sights set on a big junior campaign when practice began back in January. He has delivered a big season with 40 runs batted in to date. His 40 RBI lead the squad and rank seventh in the Big West. He is the first Dirtbag to reach the 40 RBI benchmark in Buckley's four years at the helm of the program. Joey Terdoslavich was the last Dirtbag to drive in 40 runs when he completed the 2010 season with 46 RBI. Prigatano has more than doubled his career total this year as he collected 37 RBI combined in his first two seasons at the Beach. He also ranks second on the team with a .311 batting average and 30 runs scored.
ROSSETTA REAPS BENEFITS OF RARE RELIEF FEAT
Nick Rossetta was rewarded for his 27-out relief performance last week with Big West Pitcher of the Week honors. The weekly away is the first of Rossetta's career at the Beach. He came out of the bullpen early in the first inning against a high-powered San Diego offense and recorded all 27 outs in the nine inning game to pick up his second
HOLDING 'EM DOWN IN BLAIR
The Dirtbags are 16-11 in their pitcher-friendly home park this season and have season some outstanding pitching while playing in Blair Field. Visitors in Blair Field are hitting just .222 and averaging less than three runs per game. Those visitors include a few high octane offenses, which were stifled by the Dirtbag pitching at home. UC Santa Barbara came into town hitting .307 as a team while Cal Poly came into Blair Field the next week hitting .306 as a team and left hitting .296. Both offenses were also shutout for just the second time and scored well below their respective averages. Pepperdine came in to Blair in between the two series scoring about five and a half runs per game but failed to get on the board while managing only seven hits. Most recently, San Diego's high-powered offense, which leads the nation with 121 doubles and ranks among the top-10 in batting average, was held to just five singles and one run. The Gauchos, Mustangs, Waves and Toreros combined to hit just .178 in eight games at Blair Field despite all four entering the respective matchups hitting over .300 as a team. Overall, the pitching staff owns a 2.59 ERA in their home park and are holding their opponents to a .222 batting average.
PATRON LEADING THE SURGE
Winners of seven out of their last 10 and 11 of their last 14, the Dirtbags are surging at the end of the season. Senior Ino Patron has been the spark plug in the surge with a late season emergence at the plate. He is hitting .396 over the last 14 games to help the Dirtbags climb farther over .500 than any other point in his career. As the season wears on, he seems to just keep getting hotter. He has 17 hits in his last 10 games for a .436 average. His season beating average has been boosted all the up to .303, joining Garrett Hampson, Richard Prigatano and Johnny Bekakis with batting averages over .300.
YES, WE'RE REALLY CALLED THAT
The OFFICIAL nickname of the Long Beach State baseball program is the Dirtbags.
