Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Host First-Place Cal Poly This Weekend
4/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Complete LBSU Game Notes 
| Cal Poly Game Notes
Friday, Apr. 29
Long Beach State vs. Cal Poly
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (Blair Field)
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Saturday, Apr. 30
Long Beach State vs. Cal Poly
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (Blair Field)
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Sunday, May 1
Long Beach State vs. Cal Poly
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (Blair Field)
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LAST TIME OUT
• The Dirtbags held on for a 4-2 midweek win over San Diego State, stranding the bases loaded in the ninth inning as Austin McGeorge recorded his second save of the year in a tough spot.
• LBSU scored three times in the first inning and once more in the third, but was unable to pad the lead and thus had to hang on in the ninth. Luke Rasmussen had two hits and two RBIs while Garrett Hampson recorded a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run.
• After an offense-heavy series in Riverside, the Dirtbags pitchers restored order on Tuesday night. Starter Jacob Hughey (3+ innings) and reliever Dave Smith (5+ innings) threw a combined one-hitter through eight scoreless innings. The ninth proved more difficult as the Aztecs loaded the bases with no outs and pushed across two runs, but the Dirtbags held on for the home win.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
• Cal Poly enters the series in a tie for first place atop the Big West standings, even with CAl State Fullerton at 7-2 in conference play. The Mustangs swept UC Santa Barbara in their last series, making a major move up the Big West ladder. CP has also won series at Hawai'i and vs. Fullerton already this season.
• The Mustangs are ranked No. 19 in the country by Collegiate Baseball, and in their last game suffered a 5-4 loss at No. 20 California. That loss on Tuesday night ended a six-game winning streak for Cal Poly as their ninth-inning rally came up short.
• Outfielder Brett Barbier is the top hitter for the Mustangs, batting .384 on the season with a team-best 30 runs scored and an on-base percentage right at .500. John Schuknecht, the reigning Big West Player of the Week, leads CP in RBIs (34) and is second in home runs with four.
• Friday night starter Kyle Smith is the reigning Big West Pitcher of the Week after his 7.1 innings of two-hit, shutout baseball against UCSB. The southpaw did walk five but also recorded nine strikeouts in the 7-0 win.
K's FOR DAYS
• Junior RHP Austin McGeorge has been a strikeout machine out of the Dirtbags bullpen, striking out 58 batters in 34.0 innings of work. That's a rate of 15.4 strikeouts per nine innings and McGeorge has struck out 46% of the batters he's faced this season.
• The Anaheim, Calif. native is first in the Big West in appearances with 22 games this season out of the bullpen. He has compiled an ERA of 0.79 with two saves, allowing just a single run in three of his 22 trips to the mound.
FRESH LINEUP
• After starting junior SS Garrett Hampson in the leadoff spot for 36 straight games, the Dirtbags made a change in the second game of the UC Riverside series, moving freshman Jarren Duran to the leadoff spot for the first time in his career with senior Zack Domingues hitting second and Hampson in the No. 3 spot.
• The change yielded 23 runs over two games against the Highlanders, with all three players recording two hits and three runs scored in the first game with the new batting order. In the two games combined, the trio combined to hit .320 with 12 runs, eight RBIs and six walks.
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 he recorded a hit in each of his first five games this season.
• The first baseman stayed hot, hitting .395 in his first 13 games, making 12 starts. He is now second on the team with four home runs and 16 RBIs in 75 at bats, slugging .547 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 .368 with a 1.058 OPS through 26 games this year, making 19 starts behind home plate. He also recorded his first career home run vs. Columbia and now has three dingers, ranking fourth on the team in RBIs with 15.
• Banuelos also has six multi-hit games on the year and five multi-RBI games. In his last 14 starts, he has 18 hits, seven runs, three home runs, 15 RBIs and nine walks. He's reached base safely in 14 straight starts, reaching base multiple times in 12 of those games.
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.
• Marco Estrada (TOR) and Pinder (NYY) brought the 2016 running total of Dirtbags in the MLB to 10, with Jared Hughes (PIT) also set to return to the big league roster soon.
WE ARE THE DIRTBAGS
• The OFFICIAL nickname of the Long Beach State baseball program is the Dirtbags.
