Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Host Black & Blue Rivalry Series With UC Irvine
4/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Friday, Apr. 15
No. 18 Long Beach State vs. UC Irvine
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (Blair Field)
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Saturday, Apr. 16
No. 18 Long Beach State vs. UC Irvine
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (Blair Field)
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Sunday, Apr. 17
No. 18 Long Beach State vs. UC Irvine
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (Blair Field)
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LAST TIME OUT
• The Dirtbags won their seventh series of the season, taking two of three games on the road at CSUN. Due to rain, the games were pushed back into a Sunday doubleheader and a game Monday.
• LBSU swept the Sunday doubleheader in Northridge, making it the third time this year the Dirtbags have swept both games of a doubleheader. The Beach won the first game 6-3, then had its best offensive game of the season in a 12-0 win in game two.
• Joey Sanchez hit the first two home runs of his career in game on, recording a career high three RBIs. Luke Rasmussen drove in a career high four runs in game two, including a massive two-run homer. It's the fifth home run of the season for Rasmussen, who led Long Beach in home runs last season with six. Although, notably, at this time last year he was yet to record his first homer.
• Chris Mathewson and Darren McCaughan had back-to-back 10-strikeout games in Sunday's doubleheader, both recording wins. McCaughan set a career high with that mark and threw seven scoreless innings to also earn Big West Pitcher of the Week honors.
SCOUTING THE ANTEATERS
• Irvine was picked to finish second in the conference according to the Big West preseason coaches poll, and the Anteaters have been solid this season, led by their offense.
• The star in the lineup is sophomore centerfielder Keston Hiura, who leads the team in batting average at .391. He also leads the Big West in home runs (7), slugging (.664), and RBIs (30).
• UCI started Big West action with a trip to conference-leading Hawai'i, where they dropped two of three, then the `Eaters bounced back to win the final two games of a home series with UC Riverside to get back to .500 in conference play.
• UC Irvine won the series between these two teams last year, winning two of three in Irvine.
DAMN, DANIEL
• Junior Daniel Jackson missed the first 18 games of the season recovering from a shoulder injury, but returned with a bang against Columbia on Mar. 19 in his season debut, hitting a go-ahead, two-run single in the victory.
• Jackson followed that up with a two-run home run the next day, part of a three-RBI game vs. the Lions and recorded a hit in each of his first five games this season for a .571 batting average.
• The first baseman has stayed hot, hitting .395 in his first 13 games, making 12 starts. He has two home runs and 10 RBIs in just 43 at bats, slugging .591 so far this season.
BANNY BEING BANNY
• Sophomore catcher David Banuelos has really improved his offensive numbers this season. After hitting .118 in 18 games as a freshman in 2015, he is hitting .364 through 20 games this year, making 14 starts behind home plate. He also recorded his first career home run and has 10 RBIs.
• Banuelos also has four multi-hit games in his last five starts, and in the last month (eight starts) he has 10 RBIs on four extra-base hits, going 12-for-22 at the plate.
• Fueling that production is his ability with runners in scoring position. Banuelos is hitting .500 in those situations, and is batting .545 with runners on base.
PITCHING FACTS
• Sophomore Darren McCaughan has been fantastic this year, making quality starts in seven of his eight trips to the mound this season. He boasts an ERA of 1.54 and opposing batters are hitting just .168 against him. He has set his career high in strikeouts three times this season, most recently in a 10-strikeout performance at CSUN. He threw seven shutout innings allowing just three hits to earn Big West Pitcher of the Week honors for the first time in his career.
• 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 16 appearances, producing a 0.68 ERA in 26.2 innings with a remarkable 46 strikeouts.
• The LBSU bullpen has been solid this season, throwing 23.1 innings before allowing its first earned run. Relievers have thrown 106.1 innings with a 1.95 ERA, surrendering 78 hits and 38 walks while recording 13 saves and 116 strikeouts.
RANKINGS UPDATE
• The Dirtbags entered the national Top 25 rankings on Mar. 14 after going 3-1 vs. Fresno State and Oklahoma. Baseball America ranked Long Beach State at No. 24 in the country and D1Baseball.com's poll had LBSU at No. 22 in the nation. Two weeks later, LBSU moved up as high as No. 16 in the D1Baseball poll and No. 17 in the Baseball America rankings.
• It is the first time Baseball America has ranked the Dirtbags in the Top 25 since the final poll of the 2008 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.
• The 2016 MLB season began with eight former Dirtbags on Opening Day rosters, with plenty more waiting in the wings either on the DL or in Triple-A. Troy Tulowitzki launched the first home run of the 2016 season for Toronto, and Duffy had a homer and 4 RBIs in his Opening Day.
WE ARE THE DIRTBAGS
• The OFFICIAL nickname of the Long Beach State baseball program is the Dirtbags.
