Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Host Holy Cross On Opening Weekend
2/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Friday, February 19
Holy Cross at Long Beach State
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (Blair Field)
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Saturday, February 20
Holy Cross at Long Beach State
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (Blair Field)
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Sunday, February 21
Holy Cross at Long Beach State
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (Blair Field)
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OPENING WEEKEND
• The Dirtbags and the Crusaders will have their first ever meetings to kick off the 2016 season.
• Long Beach State has an all-time record of 34-27-1 on Opening Day, winning last year's opener, 3-2, over Michigan.
• During Troy Buckley's tenure, the Dirtbags have gone just 1-4 in their openers, but have faced a national Top 10 team in three of those games.
SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS
• Holy Cross returns 24 letterwinners from last year's team, which tied for second place in the Patriot League. The Crusaders were 24-26 overall, but went 12-8 in conference play and had an impressive 7-1 road record in Patriot play.
• The Patriot League Preseason Coaches Poll ranked Holy Cross second in the conference behind predicted champions, Navy. The Crusaders also received three first-place votes, compared to six for the Midshipmen.
• Three of their top four starters return, including junior ace Brendan King. The 6-foot-1 righthander was 3-1 as a sophomore with a 2.16 ERA over 58.1 innings pitched.
• Four Crusaders were named to the 14-player Preseason All-Patriot League Team, including King, relief pitcher Sean Gustin, first baseman Anthony Critelli and shortstop Nick Lovullo.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
• Long Beach State was picked to finish third in the Big West by the conference's coaches, anticipating a healthy jump from last season's sixth-place finish. Interestingly, the Dirtbags were also given three first-place votes, just one fewer than preseason favorite, and defending champion, Cal State Fullerton.
• The Dirtbags had two players--junior shortstop Garrett Hampson and sophomore starting pitcher Chris Mathewson--earn Preseason All-American accolades going into the 2016 campaign. It's the first time a Beach player has earned that distinction since Danny Espinosa in 2008.
LOOK WHO'S BACK
• LBSU returns seven regular starters to the lineup, including last year's leader in hits, stolen bases and runs scored (Hampson), the home run leader (Luke Rasmussen) and RBI leader (Zack Rivera).
• The Dirtbags lineup retains 94% of its home run production from a season ago, 80% of its runs scored, 77% of its RBIs and 95% of its stolen bases.
• Friday night starter Kyle Friedrichs is the biggest loss in the pitching staff, but the return of the other two weekend starters from 2015--Mathewson and senior Tanner Brown--help soften the blow. Sophomore Darren McCaughan is expected to be used more as a starter this season and senior Ryan Cruz has the experience of starting eight games last year.
• Closer Ty Provencher is one of six seniors on the roster and will be the closer once again for the Dirtbags. At the start of this season, he was included on the watch list for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award, given annually to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I.
WELCOME TO THE BEACH
• Freshman Jarren Duran has claimed the starting job at second base, and is one of several newcomers expected to contribute in 2016. Classmate Jacob Hughey should start some games on the mound, adding a lefty to the Dirtbags rotation. Freshman righthander Chris Rivera has the flexibility to start games or pitch out of the bullpen.
• Junior college transfers will be important once again for the Beach. Righthanded starter Dave Smith has worked his way into the weekend rotation, Lucas Tancas is a major power threat at first base, and Alex Muzzi has shown a productive bat during the preseason to highlight the group.
A NEW BLAIR FIELD
• The 2016 season will be the first played at a modified Blair Field. The multi-phase renovation project began in January of this year with the construction of a new outfield fence that is closer to the batter's box. The old dimensions of 348-387-400-387-348 have been reduced to a slightly more hitter-friendly 335-380-393-380-330 moving from left to right field.
• The new fence is part of the initial phase of the renovations, which will also include a new state-of-the-art batting facility down the right field line, new bullpens behind the outfield walls, a new home clubhouse, grandstand renovations and much more. The estimated total cost of the project is $17 million.
HOME COOKING
• The Dirtbags will get a nice long look at their evolving ballpark to start the season, playing 11 of their first 12 games in Long Beach. In total, LBSU will play 33 of its 56 games at Blair Field this season.
• That slate of home contests also includes some important matchups. Not only do the Dirtbags host a few marquee non-conference series against Arizona State and Nebraska, they'll also have the benefit of hosting important Big West matchups. Long Beach State will host the other three teams (UCSB, UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton) expected to finish in the top four of the conference standings based on the preseason coaches poll.
LB IN MLB
• For the sixth straight year, Long Beach State had more players in the major leagues than any other university. The 2015 total for Dirtbags in the bigs was 16, up from 14 players in 2014.
• Branden Pinder became the 46th former Dirtbag to get the call, having a productive year in the bullpen for the New York Yankees.
• After the Kansas City Royals claimed the World Series title, Jason Vargas became the second straight Dirtbag to win a world championship ring. Third baseman Matt Duffy won a ring with the San Francisco Giants in 2014.
• Playing his first full season in the majors in 2015, Duffy finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting, finishing behind Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs.
WE ARE THE DIRTBAGS
• The OFFICIAL nickname of the Long Beach State baseball program is the Dirtbags.
