Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Visit Cal Poly, Play on ESPNU Friday
4/19/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Friday, April 20
Long Beach State at Cal Poly
Time: 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Location: San Luis Obispo, Calif. (Baggett Stadium)
WatchESPN | Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats
Saturday, April 21
Long Beach State at Cal Poly
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: San Luis Obispo, Calif. (Baggett Stadium)
Live Stream | Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats
Sunday, April 22
Long Beach State at Cal Poly
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: San Luis Obispo, Calif. (Baggett Stadium)
Live Stream | Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats
LAST TIME OUT
• The Dirtbags have won four of their last five games, including a road series win at CSUN. It was LBSU's first series win in conference, getting back to .500 in Big West play.
• Freshman catcher Chris Jimenez was a weapon behind the plate for Long Beach in the CSUN series, throwing out a total of seven baserunners. The Matadors were 0-for-5 in stolen base attempts against Jimenez, plus had a runner picked off at first and a runner thrown out trying to retreat to third base on the final play of the series.
• LBSU defeated LMU on Tuesday, scoring nine runs on just four hits. The top of the order came through in the win, with leadoff man Clayton Andrews going 2-for-3 with a pair of walks, a run, two RBIs and a stolen base. Brooks Stotler had a career-high four RBIs out of the No. 2 hole, including a three-run triple in the eighth inning.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
• Cal Poly was selected third in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll, but has struggled on the mound with a team ERA of 5.19. The Mustangs are coming off a series win last weekend against UC Davis, but were actually outscored 27-25 by the Aggies in the series.
• Junior CF and leadoff man Alex McKenna is one of the top players in the Big West, and he's hitting .333 with a team-best .497 slugging percentage. Freshman infielder Tate Samuelson is hitting .314 with team-highs in home runs (4) and RBIs (26) and is one of five Mustangs hitting over .300. Senior Elijah Skipps recently returned from injury and has been hot, hitting .462 with two homers and seven RBIs in just 13 at-bats this season.
• Senior lefty Trent Shelton, an Oregon State transfer, has been the most effective starter for the Mustangs, posting a 3.98 ERA in seven starts. He's struck out 45 batters in 40.2 innings and, despite issuing just six walks, opposing batters are hitting .35 against him.
• The Dirtbags won two out of three against the Mustangs last season, and swept the series in 2016 in Long Beach. This is LBSU's first trip to San Luis Obispo since the 2015 season, when the Mustangs won the series against the Dirtbags.
HUGHEY AND THE NEWS
• Redshirt sophomore Jacob Hughey rewrote the Dirtbags record books at Fresno State, leading LBSU to a 24-10 win going 6-for-7 at the plate with six runs scored and five RBIs. All were career highs and the performance came in just his fourth career start as a hitter. Hughey's six hits tied Jaron Madison for the program record for hits in a game, set back in 1998. Hughey also became the first Dirtbags player ever to score six runs in a game.
• On the mound, Hughey made his first start of the season Apr. 10 against No. 17 UCLA, racking up career highs in innings (6.0) and strikeouts (7) as LBSU dropped the Bruins, 5-2. Hughey also had a pair of hits and three RBIs in the win.
BOHL DIAMOND AT BLAIR FIELD
• Long Beach State received a multi-million dollar donation during the offseason from longtime supporter Marilyn Bohl. In recognition of her generous gift, the Dirtbags' home field has been renamed Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.
• Bohl has been actively involved in supporting the Blair Field renovation project for years, and previously gave a one million dollar gift to help kick off the initial phase of the renovations prior to the 2016 season.
• So far, the renovation efforts have included a new outfield fence, the Troy & Danyll Tulowitzki Batting Facility, the Jered Weaver Bullpen, and improvements to the Dirtbags locker room. Future plans include new stadium lighting, improved field drainage, a new multi-purpose team room along the left field line, plus restroom and seating upgrades.
LB IN MLB
• For the eighth consecutive year, Long Beach State had more players in the major leagues than any other university in 2017. There were 15 former Dirtbags who played in the majors in 2017, and the all-time total for LBSU is 48 big league representatives.
• There were two former Dirtbags who made their MLB debuts in 2017. First, it was RHP Shane Carle who appeared for the Colorado Rockies on April 14. Later in the season, C Mike Marjama made his debut with the Seattle Mariners on September 3.
• Long Beach State began the 2018 season with 10 former players on MLB rosters, with a handful of others waiting in the minor leagues. LBSU's list of current big leaguers is: Shane Carle (Atlanta), Matt Duffy (Tampa Bay), Marco Estrada (Toronto), Jared Hughes (Cincinnati), Evan Longoria (San Francisco), Mike Marjama (Seattle), Bryan Shaw (Colorado), Troy Tulowitzki (Toronto), Jason Vargas (New York Mets), and Nick Vincent (Seattle).
