Long Beach State University Athletics
Regular Season Wraps With Televised Rivalry Series
5/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 19, 2015
Thursday, May 21 on ESPNU
Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
RHP Kyle Friedrichs vs. RHP Thomas Eshelman
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Friday, May 22 on ESPNU
Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
RHP Chris Mathewson vs. LHP John Gavin
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Saturday, May 23 on Prime Ticket
Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
TBA vs. TBA
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THE MATCHUP
- Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton meet for the second time this season with the Dirtbags taking the first series two games to one. The rivals split a pair of extra-inning games to open the series before the host Dirtbags took the finale 6-1.
- Cal State Fullerton has put together a hot streak to end the season, going 20-11 since the last time these two faced off at Blair Field. The Titans come into the series as the leaders in the Big West standings. Their magic number to clinch the conference is two.
- Last year, the teams split six games evenly with each team winning its home series. The Dirtbags are 85-140 all-time against Cal State Fullerton but have won the last two series in the rivalry.
CATCH THE DIRTBAGS ON TV
- Every game of the final regular season schedule will be televised with Thursday and Friday night games being broadcast nationally on ESPNU. Saturday's finale will air live on Prime Ticket.
- Jason Benetti and Wes Clements will call the games on ESPNU. Christian Miles and John Jackson will take over the play-by-play and color duties on Saturday.
- The first two games of the series will also be available on the WatchESPN app.
FRIEDRICHS AT THE CENTURY MARK
- Redshirt senior Kyle Friedrichs has had a breakout year as the Dirtbags Friday night starter. That breakout year can be capped with a milestone as he is just two strikeouts away from 100 on the year.
- The last time the Dirtbags had a pitcher reach 100 strikeouts was 2005 when current Major Leaguer Marco Estrada struck out 104 batters.
- With 98 strikeouts this season, Friedrichs has already doubled his career total. In his previous three years on the mound (used primarily as a reliever), he totaled 97 strikeouts with a season-high of 39 when he was an All-Big West reliever in 2012.
- He has four games of double digit strikeouts this season.
- Friedrichs also ranks 10th in the country in strikeout-to-walk ration. His opposing starter on Thursday, Thomas Eshelman, is the national leader in that category.
FANTASTIC FRESHMAN
- Freshman Chris Mathewson already has his name in the Dirtbags record book as the starter of the first no-hitter in program history, but has a chance to further write his name into history.
- With a 1.75 ERA going into his final start, Mathewson currently ranks ninth for best ERA in a season. Of the current single season top-10 ERA list, only two are starters.
- Jered Weaver posted a 1.62 ERA in 2004 as a junior and John Keisler owned a 1.53 ERA as a sophomore in 1970. As it stands now, Mathewson would have the third-best ERA of any starter in Long Beach State history.
- An argument can also be made that Mathewson has had one of the best freshman campaigns in Long Beach State history. His current 1.75 ERA is the best of any freshman starter. He has also tallied 72 strikeouts against just 20 walks and has limited opposing hitters to a .184 batting average, which is the lowest in the Big West.
YOUTH IN THE LINEUP
- As the lineup has solidified over the last couple of week, the Dirtbags have seen the youth emerge. The top half of the lineup has consisted of three freshmen and a sophomore.
- Those three freshmen (Tristan Mercadel, Brock Lundquist and Luke Rasmussen) and sophomore (Garrett Hampson) are leading the Dirtbags at the plate with the top four batting averages over the last 10 games and have combined to score 28 of the Dirtbags 50 runs in that span while driving in 18 more.
- Mercadel is hitting .333 over the last 10 games to lead the teams while Hampson is hitting .325 and Lundquist is hitting .324 with nine RBI.
- In Big West games, freshman Joey Sanchez has also proved to be a tough out while in the lineup. He owns a team-best .357 batting average as a part-time starter in Big West games.
FRESHMAN POWER
- Brock Lundquist and Luke Rasmussen have provided an offensive lift over the latter half of the season. The freshmen in the middle of the order have provided some needed power.
- Nearly half of Lundquist's hits (15 of 34) have gone for extras bases. He is tied for the team lead with 12 doubles while also smashing three home runs.
- Rasmussen has five home runs on the year -- the most by a Dirtbag since 2010. He is hitting .340 through his first 97 at-bats. With four double and two triples, Rasmussen is slugging .577. If he had five more at bats to reach the minimum for Big West stat rankings, he would rank second in the conference.
- The freshmen have also combined for 33 RBI and 35 runs scored.
PROVENCHER OUT OF THE PEN
- Junior Ty Provencher notched his sixth and seventh saves of the season last weekend with two scoreless outings in the ninth.
- His two scoreless outings lowered the closer's ERA to 1.90 through 23 and two-thirds innings. With his current ERA, Provencher would post his second consecutive sub-2.00 ERA season
HUTTING IN THE CLUTCH
- Eric Hutting ranks second on the team this season with 24 RBI, which has doubled his career total. His RBI outburst is thanks in large part to clutch hitting with the bases loaded.
- Hutting has come to the plate three times this season with the bases full and has come through all three times.
- At Arizona State, he hit a grand slam for the first home run of his career. The bases were full again for Hutting at Indiana and again he launched a grand slam over the left field wall. Last weekend, he delivered a two-run double with the bases loaded as part of the Dirtbags seven-run first.
FRESHMEN COMBINE FOR HISTORIC NO-HITTER
- March 1, 2015 will be a date forever remembered in the Dirtbags history book as the first no-hitter in school history. Freshmen Chris Mathewson and Darren McCaughan combined for the historic feat with Mathewson throwing the first seven innings and McCaughan tossing the last two. The Dirtbags defeated Wichita State 4-0 in the Sunday afternoon game at Blair Field.
WE ARE THE DIRTBAGS
- The OFFICIAL nickname of the Long Beach State baseball program is the Dirtbags.
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