Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State Hosts Tuesday Night Showdown vs. USC
2/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Tuesday, March 1
Long Beach State vs. USC
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (Blair Field)
Listen | | Tickets
LAST TIME OUT
• After dropping the opening game of the Arizona State series, the Dirtbags were able to rally back and win the final two games, clinching a second straight weekend series to start the season.
• Garrett Nelson hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the ninth inning of Friday's contest to provide the highlights fot the Beach. It was his first career home run and the first for a Dirtbag over the new fences at Blair Field.
• Saturday's win was headlined by the work of starting pitcher Chris Mathewson. The powerful righthander struck out a career-high 12 Sun Devils over his seven innings of work, and at one point retired 16 batters in a row. SS Garrett Hampson scored a pair of runs and the bullpen was solid to preserve the 5-2 win.
• Sunday's rubber match was again dominated by Long Beach's starting pitcher, with Darren McCaughan earning his second win of the season with the best performance of his career. The righthander faced the minimum through 7.1 innings of work against ASU, setting a new career high in innings pitched. He allowed just a run on two hits and matched his career high with six strikeouts in the 3-1 victory.
• Sophomore Joey Sanchez started all four games last week in center field and has started the season on a five-game hitting streak. The outfielder with a strong defensive reputation is batting .375 on the year, good for second on the team.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
• USC's record sits at 4-3 after winning last weekend's series agaisnt visiting Wake Forest. The Trojans dropped their opening weekend home series against North Dakota after losing a pair of one-run games to start the year.
• The visit to Blair Field will be the second road game of the season for the Trojans, who were 4-3 winners a week prior on their short trip to LMU. Tuesday's probable starter, CJ Stubbs, was the winner in that game, going six innings and allowing just one run. He was supported by home runs from Timmy Robinson and Adalberto Carrillo.
• 2B Frankie Rios is the leading hitter for USC, batting .429 with a .520 on-base percentage. Carrillo leads the team with two home runs and a .652 slugging percentage.
• The Trojans went 39-21 a season ago including an NCAA Regional appearance. They were picked to finish fifth in the Pac-12 in this year's Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The last time these teams met was for a home-and-home series in the 2014 season, with each home team winning a one-run game. The Dirtbags won the meeting at Blair Field, 2-1, on an eighth inning RBI single from then-freshman Garrett Hampson.
PITCHING & DEFENSE
• The Long Beach State pitching staff is among the nation's leaders in some key statistical categories. Dirtbags hurlers rank sixth in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.9) and are fourth in WHIP (0.91) and walks per nine innings (1.67).
• The Dirtbags have been even more impressive defesnively this season, committing just one error through the first seven games of the season. LBSU's .996 fielding percentage ranks second in the country behind errorless Lehigh.
• The LBSU bullpen has been nearly perfect this season, throwing 18.2 innings without allowing an earned run. Relievers have surrendered just eight hits and five walks while recording three saves and 17 strikeouts. Opposing hitters are batting just .131 against the Dirtbags bullpen this season.
• Freshman reliever Chris Rivera picked up back-to-back saves on Saturday and Sunday and has now worked four scoreless innings with three saves this season.
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.
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.
