Long Beach State University Athletics
No. 24 Long Beach State Hosts LMU Tuesday Night
3/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Tuesday, March 15
Long Beach State vs. Loyola Marymount
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (Blair Field)
Listen | | Tickets
LAST TIME OUT
• Long Beach State won its fourth straight weekend series to start the season by taking the first two games on the road at Oklahoma. For the second consecutive weekend, LBSU swept a Saturday doubleheader, winning 7-3 in game one and 6-3 in game two.
• Brock Lundquist extended his hitting streak to 11 games over the weekend, doing the most damage in the opening game. The sophomore LF hit a triple, double and single, producing three RBIs and scoring twice in the win.
• Luke Rasmussen launched his first home run of the year to give the Dirtbags a lead in game two, which would ultimately stand up. The powerful DH led LBSU with six bombs last year, and might be about ready to get his bat going after a productive series.
• Not to be outdone, 1B Garrett Nelson drilled his third home run on of the year on Sunday to put the team ahead 3-2 in the seventh inning. All three of his HRs have been two-run shots.
• The Dirtbags stole seven bases as a team during the opening game vs. Oklahoma, a new season high. All seven steals came in the first four innings of play.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
• LMU concludes a nine-game road trip Tuesday in Long Beach, and the Lions will have played just two of their first 17 games at home to start the season. LMU has played three-game series at TCU and San Jose State, then four-game sets at Florida International and Nebraska.
• The visit to Nebraska was the most recent trip for LMU, and it was a difficult one against a common opponent. The Cornhuskers won all four games in Lincoln, outscoring the Lions 21-8 including a pair of shutouts.
• Niko Decolati (.359, 2 HR, 12 RBI) and Cassidy Brown (.356, 21 H, 5 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI) lead the offense, but the Lions have struggled in that department, scoring fewer than four runs per game with a .242 team batting average.
• LMU has won four straight against the Dirtbags the past two seasons, winning a pair of close games in 2015: 7-6 at Blair Field and 4-2 in Los Angeles.
RANKINGS UPDATE
• The Dirtbags entered the national Top 25 after going 3-1 last week vs. Fresno State and Oklahoma. Baseball America ranks Long Beach State at No. 24 in the country and D1Baseball.com's poll has LBSU at No. 22 in the nation.
• It is the first time Baseball America has ranked the Dirtbags in the Top 25 since the final poll of the 2008 season.
PITCHING FACTS
• Sophomore Darren McCaughan has been fantastic this year, making four quality starts, allowing more tha none run just once. He boasts an ERA of 1.65 and opposing batters are hitting just .161 against the Downey, Calif. native.
• Austin McGeorge struck out seven consecutive batters against Nebraska, throwing five scoreless innings from the 8th-12th, to finish with a career-high nine Ks. McGeorge has been a reliable late game set-up man for head coach Troy Buckley, making a team-high eight appearances, producing a 0.69 ERA in 13.0 innings with 20 strikeouts.
• The LBSU bullpen has been solid this season, throwing 23.1 innings before allowing its first earned run. Relievers have thrown 48.2 innings with a 1.66 ERA, surrendering 38 hits and 16 walks while recording six saves and 49 strikeouts.
LEFT SIDE, STRONG SIDE
• The left side of the Dirtbags infield (senior 3B Zack Domingues and junior SS Garrett Hampson) has gotten off to a terrific start. They are the top hitters in the lineup, with Domingues hitting a team-best .432 (good for 2nd in the Big West) and Hampson hitting at a .397 clip while starting all 12 games in the leadoff spot. Hampson also leads the team in hits (23), runs (14), walks (11), and stolen bases (8 in 11 attempts).
• Domingues has been a pleasant surprise offensively after hitting .183 a season ago, and has adjusted to his new position shifting from second base to third. Meanwhile, Hampson has been great at short once again and has yet to commit an error 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.
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.
