Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Open Big West Play at UC Santa Barbara
3/30/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Friday, March 31
Long Beach State at UC Santa Barbara
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Uyesaka Stadium)
Watch: BigWest.TV | Listen: KBeach Radio | Live Stats
Saturday, April 1
Long Beach State at UC Santa Barbara
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Uyesaka Stadium)
Watch: BigWest.TV | Listen: KBeach Radio | Live Stats
Sunday, April 2
Long Beach State at UC Santa Barbara
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Uyesaka Stadium)
Watch: BigWest.TV | Listen: KBeach Radio | Live Stats
LAST TIME OUT
• The Dirtbags split a pair of midweek contests in Northern California, capping off a stretch of five games in five days. LBSU started the stretch with a sweep of Cal State Fullerton in non-conference action last weekend, recording the program's first sweep of the Titans since 2002. After a quick trip up north, LBSU defeated Cal, 3-1, and lost at No. 11 Stanford, 7-3.
• The win over Cal was No. 200 in the career of Dirtbags head coach Troy Buckley. making him the fourth coach in Long Beach State history to reach that milestone.
• LBSU was able to hang on late against Cal as the tying run was on base with one out in the ninth inning. Sophomore Chris Rivera struck out all four batters he faced in the 8th and 9th innings to match his career high, earning his fourth save of the year in the process. AJ Jones delivered a strong start, striking out eight in 6.0 innings while allowing just a solo home run to the Golden Bears.
• Brock Lundquist started the Stanford game on a high note, hitting a leadoff solo home run for his first big fly of the season. David Banuelos also added a solo shot, his team-leading fourth home run on the year. That wasn't enough to keep LBSU's four-game winning streak going, however, as the Cardinal took a 7-3 victory.
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
• UCSB entered the 2017 season with high expectations after a thrilling run to the College World Series in last year's postseason. The Gauchos return several key contributors off the team that went to Omaha, but they've gotten off to a slow start to the season and have dealt with injury issues.
• The Gauchos are 8-3 at home this season and just 2-9 on the road. They are on a three-game winning streak, however, winning the final two games of their series vs. New Mexico State before winning a midweek game against Pepperdine. UCSB outscored those opponents 25-5 during the last three contests.
• Junior 2B Colton Burns leads the team with a .385 batting average, plus has two home runs and nine RBIs. Junior 1B Austin Bush is the power bat in the Santa Barbara lineup, with a team-high three home runs and 20 RBIs. Sam Cohen is second on the team in driving in runs with 11 RBIs on the year.
• Pitching was a strong suit for UCSB last season, and the staff has struggled by comparison. Preseason All-American Kyle Nelson leads the rotation with a 3-2 record and a 3.48 ERA. He has allowed 29 hits and 12 walks in 33.2 IP with 28 strikeouts. He has also surrendered eight extra-base hits including four home runs.
• These teams opened Big West play at Blair Field in 2016 with the Gauchos winning the first two games of the series. UCSB was the only team to hand Darren McCaughan a loss last year, as the Dirtbags righty was 10-1 on his way to winning Big West Pitcher of the Year.
CAR RAM ROM
• Junior 3B Ramsey Romano has been a welcome addition to the Dirtbags lineup, leading the team with a .360 batting average and an active 19-game hitting streak. He leads the squad with 32 hits and six doubles, and is third on the team with 14 RBIs.
BLAIR FIELD RENOVATIONS
• The ongoing improvements at Blair Field took a major step forward during the offseason with the construction of the Troy & Danyll Tulowitzki Batting Facility along the right field side of Blair Field.
• Also constructed during the offseason was the Jered Weaver Bullpen beyond the fence in right field. There was also an update to the Dirtbags locker room which includes new lockers, general maintenance and repairs and new designs and graphics on the interior walls to honor the history of Long Beach State Baseball.
• The renovation efforts began prior to last season with the installation of a new outfield fence. The old dimensions of 348-387-400-387-348 were reduced to a slightly more hitter-friendly 335-380-393-380-330 moving from left to right field. The result was an increase in home runs hit at Blair Field from four in 2015 to 23 last season.
USA BASEBALL
• LBSU head coach Troy Buckley was announced as a pitching coach for the 2017 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team this summer. This will be Coach Buckley's first coaching stint with Team USA, becoming the third straight Dirtbags head coach to work with the Collegiate National Team.
• Buckley will join former Dirtbags head coach and LBSU Hall of Famer Dave Snow as a pitching coach with the Collegiate National Team. Coach Snow worked as a pitching coach last season, and 2017 will be his fifth time coaching with the CNT in his career.
• The Dirtbags have also had a player on each of the past two Collegiate National Teams. In 2015, shortstop Garrett Hampson was selected and last summer Darren McCaughan was a pitcher for Team USA. LBSU has had 12 players selected to the Collegiate National Team in its history.
LB IN MLB
• For the seventh straight year, Long Beach State had more players in the major leagues than any other college or university. There were 13 former Dirtbags who played in the Major Leagues in 2016 and the all-time total for Long Beach State is 46 big league representatives.
• When the Chicago Cubs won the World Series, first base coach Brandon Hyde became the third former Dirtbags player in as many seasons to win a ring. Matt Duffy and the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in 2014 and Jason Vargas and the Kansas City Royals were World Champions in 2015.
• It was a very productive year for former Dirtbags in the big leagues, led by Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marco Estrada, who was named to his first All-Star Game last season.
WE ARE THE DIRTBAGS
• The OFFICIAL nickname of the Long Beach State baseball program is the Dirtbags.
