Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Break From Big West For Trip To Indiana
5/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 6, 2015
Long Beach State Game Notes 
Friday, May 8
Long Beach State at Indiana
Time: 3:05 p.m. (PT)
Location: Bloomington, Ind. (Bart Kaufman Stadium)
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Saturday, May 9
Long Beach State at Indiana
Time: 1:05 p.m. (PT)
Location: Bloomington, Ind. (Bart Kaufman Stadium)
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Sunday, May 10
Long Beach State at Indiana
Time: 10:05 a.m. (PT)
Location: Bloomington, Ind. (Bart Kaufman Stadium)
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THE MATCHUP
- Long Beach State makes the return trip to Indiana this weekend after hosting the Hoosiers in March of last year.
- Last year's series featured two NCAA-bound teams that played three one-run games. The Dirtbags won two of three in the series at Blair Field with two walk off wins.
- Last year's series was the only history between the two programs.
- Both teams sport similar above-.500 records but both have also slipped below-.500 in conference play. Indiana swept nationally-ranked Maryland last week to climb closer to .500 in the Big Ten but Long Beach State was swept by Hawaii to slip below .500 for the first time this year.
WEATHER FORECAST
- Some inclement weather is forecasted to be rolling into Bloomington this weekend with rain and thunderstorms being predicted on Saturday.
- Long Beach State has not lost a game to weather this year but did alter a game time at home to avoid some predicted rain.
- Follow the Dirtbags on twitter (@LBDirtbags) or on LongBeachState.com for updates.
POWER UP
- Dirtbags hitters found some extra power in Las Vegas, leaving the yard three times in a comeback win.
- Junior Alex DeGoti hit the first home run of his career when the Dirtbags were trailing 5-0 in the fifth inning. His solo homer sparked a two-run inning and breathed life into the comeback.
- Freshman Brock Lundquist later smashed his first career home run for a pair of insurance runs. With Zack Rivera on base, Lundquist sent a "no-doubter" over the wall in right center for the front end of back-to-back home runs.
- Luke Rasmussen was the third to turn up the power with his third homer of the year. Two pitches after Lundquist's homer, Rasmussen sent his solo shot over the scoreboard in left field.
RASMUSSEN'S POWER
- With his solo homer on Tuesday, Luke Rasmussen tied for the team lead with three home runs this year.
- Rasmussen was a part-time player until a few weeks ago and only has 71 collegiate at bats under his belt. He still has the second-most homers of any active Dirtbag behind Zack Rivera, who has four.
- With four doubles and a triple to go along with his three homers, Rasmussen is slugging .549 and one-third of his hits have gone for extra bases.
- Rasmussen and Rivera are already tied for the Dirtbags most homers in a season since 2010. Joey Terdoslavich launched seven homers in the final year before the BBCOR era.
COMEBACK SPECIALISTS
- The Dirtbags last two road games have not lacked drama. In the Sunday finale at Cal Poly, the Dirtbags came from seven runs down to win 12-11 in 10 innings. On Tuesday, they were down 5-0 before coming back again to win 12-7.
- Slow starts have not slowed down the Dirtbags as they have scored most of their runs in the latter half of the game.
- In the last two road games, the Dirtbags have trailed by a combined score of 15-4 after the first five innings. In the latter four innings (plus one extra frame at Cal Poly), the Dirtbags have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 20-3.
MATHEWSON'S HOT STREAK ON THE MOUND
- Chris Mathewson has not disappointed in his freshman season. After allowing only a run in his last start, Mathewson owns a league-best 1.39 ERA.
- He has thrown 71 and one-third innings over his first 10 starts, meaning his average start lasts over seven innings.
- His ERA ranked ninth in the nation through last weekend's games and is the lowest ERA of any freshman in the country.
- He has allowed just three earned runs over his last three starts while tallying 22 strikeouts in 23 innings. His 1.14 ERA in Big West games is also the top mark in the conference.
A QUANTITY OF QUALITY
- The starting pitching has continued to be outstanding in the weekend rotation. Despite being swept last weekend, the Dirtbags still received two quality starts from Kyle Friedrichs and Chris Mathewson.
- The Dirtbags have gotten at least two quality starts in every series except the series at Arizona State.
- The Dirtbags have 29 quality starts in total this year. Kyle Friedrichs leads the rotation with 11 quality starts, which means he has been quality in every start except one. Mathewson has been quality in eight out of 10 starts this year.
OUT OF THE GOLDEN STATE
- The Dirtbags are 2-2 in their only trips out of the state of California this year. The trip came back in early March when the Dirtbags went to Phoenix, Ariz. for a three-game series with Arizona State. The second was the trip to UNLV on Tuesday.
- Last year, the Dirtbags found success outside of their home state with an 8-3 record over three out of state trips, including a 2-2 mark at the Gainesville, Fla. regional.
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.
Players Mentioned
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