Dirtbags Visit USC for First Midweek Road Test

Tuesday, March 19
Long Beach State at USC
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Dedeaux Field)
Pac-12 Network Live Stream | Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats

Probable Pitching Matchup:
LBSU – RHP Sagun Gainey (0-1, 4.50 ERA)
vs.
USC – RHP Chandler Champlain (0-3, 10.95 ERA)

LAST TIME OUT
•   Long Beach State dropped three of four games last week, with a midweek loss to now-No. 1 UCLA, plus a series loss to Minnesota over the weekend. LBSU won the middle game of the series with the Golden Gophers with a 6-4 victory.
•   Junior Jacob Hughey had five RBIs in the Minnesota series and now leads the team with 12 runs batted in on the season. He was 4-for-9 (.444) in the series with a pair of doubles, walking twice and collecting a pair of sacrifice flies. Senior Laine Huffman was 3-for-3 on Sunday to help him hit .667 (6-for-9) in the Minnesota series.
•   Sophomore southpaw Adam Seminaris delivered his third straight quality start in Saturday's win over Minnesota, working into the eighth inning for the first time in his career. He wasn't quite as sharp as he'd been in previous starts, allowing four runs (three earned) including a two-run home run, but was perfect in his last three full innings and picked up his second win of the season.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS
•   USC opened Pac-12 play over the weekend, winning the series at Cal with victories in the first two contests before dropping the finale, 9-8. The Dirtbags will play a weekend series in Berkeley this season as well, heading up to play the Golden Bears next weekend. The Trojans played their first 13 games of the season on their home field, going 5-8 at Dedeaux Field so far.
•   The Trojans are led offensively by catcher CJ Stubbs, who has a team-high 10 extra-base hits and 10 RBIs. Sophomore 1B/OF Jamal O'Guinn is hitting .302 and leads the team with three homers and 14 RBIs.
•   Probable starter Chandler Champlain has made five appearances and four starts this season. The freshman righthander has struggled thus far, allowing 15 earned runs and 11 walks in 12.1 innings pitched, though he has piled up 14 strikeouts.
•   These teams split the season series in 2018, with the road team winning both matchups. LBSU earned a comeback 8-5 win at Dedeaux Field on Apr. 24 by scoring two runs in the eighth and four runs in the ninth to capture the victory. USC leads the all-time series 84-46 but has just a 44-35 edge since 1989.

LB IN MLB
•   Long Beach State had more former players in the big leagues than any other college or university from 2010-17, with 13 MLB representatives in 2018, again placing the Dirtbags among the nation's leaders.
• Three Dirtbags made their MLB debuts last season, all in the span of two weeks. RHP Drew Gagnon debuted for the Mets on July 10, followed by infielder Garrett Hampson's debut on July 21 for the Rockies and INF Jeff McNeil on July 24 for the Mets.

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Players Mentioned

Sagun Gainey

Laine Huffman

Jacob Hughey

Adam Seminaris

Long Beach State University Athletics