Long Beach State University Athletics
No. 25 Dirtbags Face Final Midweek Test at LMU
5/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Complete LBSU Game Notes 
| LMU Game Notes
Tuesday, May 17
No. 25 Long Beach State at LMU
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (George C. Page Stadium)
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LAST TIME OUT
• Long Beach State swept its second consecutive home series, taking all three games against San Jose State. The Dirtbags pitching was strong, holding the Spartans to just four runs in the series, with a 19-inning scoreless stretch included.
• After a shaky top of the first inning to open the series, in which LBSU starter Chris Mathewson allowed a pair of runs, the Dirtbags took firm control of the series and allowed just two runs over the next 26 innings.
• Saturday starter Darren McCaughan was the headliner, throwing a one-hit shutout to give the Beach a 2-0 win to clinch the series. It was the first complete game for a Dirtbags pitcher this season, and the first one-hit shutout since Shawn Stuart achieved the feat during the 2012 season.
• The Dirtbags finished off the sweep with a comeback win on Sunday, aided by solo home runs from Daniel Jackson and Garrett Hampson. The bullpen was solid, with Ty Provencher and Austin McGeorge combining to pitch six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and a walk with six strikeouts. Provencher picked up his third win and McGeorge earned his third save of the year.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
• LMU is seventh in the West Coast Conference, sitting right at the .500 mark overall. The Lions are coming off a series against conference-leading Gonzaga in which they were swept at home. LMU scored just one run in the first two games of the series, then lost the finale, 9-7, in 12 innings.
• The Lions are 7-4 in midweek games this season, facing some other Big West teams like UC Irvine (1-1), UC Riverside (2-0) and Hawai'i (1-0). In the previous meeting with Long Beach State, the Lions suffered a 6-4 loss at Blair Field on Mar. 15. Luke Rasmussen hit a home run and LBSU scored four times in the fifth inning to claim the victory.
• Catcher Cassidy Brown is LMU's leader offensively. The junior leads the team in games played (52), batting average (.330), runs scored (29), doubles (17), home runs (6), RBIs (41), and slugging percentage (.510). Phil Caulfield has turned it on in conference play, hitting .375 against WCC opponents and Austin Miller has a team-best 17 stolen bases on the season.
KEEPIN' IT 200
• With a bunt single in the ninth inning of Sunday's game, Garrett Hampson became the 12th player in Long Beach State history to reach 200 career hits.
• Hampson now has 203 career hits, moving him into 11th in program history ahead of former big leaguer Brad Davis at the 200 hit mark. Hampson is also within range of passing MLB award winners Bobby Crosby (206) and Jason Giambi (208) on the all-time LBSU hits list.
• The junior shortstop has recorded at least 62 hits in all three of his seasons in Long Beach, starting all 163 games since he stepped foot on campus. He has a career batting average of .307 and 42 of his hits are for extra bases: 32 doubles, seven triples and three home runs.
LUKE WARM
• Sophomore DH Luke Rasmussen has been on an absolute tear lately. He's on a 15-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 21 straight. He has also recorded multiple hits in eight of his last 12 contests.
• The Dirtbags are 10-2 over that stretch and Rasmussen is hitting .462 (24-for-52) with six doubles, eight runs, 13 RBIs and a .577 slugging percentage.
• Rasmussen had the go-ahead RBIs in all three games vs. Cal Poly, and he is the team leader in home runs (5) and RBIs (37).
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 has now recorded enough at bats to qualify as the team's leading hitter (.328 AVG) and he's also third on the team with 24 RBIs.
• With a solo home run on Sunday against San Jose State, Jackson tied for the team lead in homers with five. He hit just one home run in 105 at bats last season, but already has five in 116 at bats in 2016.
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.
• On May 1, Long Beach State held a special groundbreaking ceremony to begin construction on Phase II of the renovations. The second phase is a $2.8 million project to construct a new batting facility along right field and a three-mound bullpen beyond the right field fence.
• The Troy & Danyll Tulowitzki Batting Facility and the Jered Weaver Bullpen are expected to be completed in November of this year.
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.
