Friday, March 22
Long Beach, Calif.
6 p.m.
Long Beach State University
vs
Cal State Fullerton
Photo by: John Fajardo
Dirtbags Host Rivalry Series With Cal State Fullerton This Weekend
3/21/2019 4:15:00 PM | Baseball
Long Beach State will be playing its final home series before the start of Big West play as rivals Cal State Fullerton will come to Long Beach for a non-conference set this weekend. Game one between the Dirtbags and Titans is Friday at 6 p.m. on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.
Friday, March 22
Long Beach State vs. Cal State Fullerton
Time:Â 6 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Watch: Beach Vision | Listen: 22 West Radio |Â Live Stats
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Saturday, March 23
Long Beach State vs. Cal State Fullerton
Time:Â 6 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Watch: Beach Vision | Listen: 22 West Radio |Â Live Stats
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Sunday, March 24
Long Beach State vs. Cal State Fullerton
Time:Â 1 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Watch: Beach Vision | Listen: 22 West Radio |Â Live Stats
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LAST TIME OUT
•  The Dirtbags dropped their midweek contest at USC, 5-2, while recording just three hits offensively. Junior Riki DeSa opened the game with a leadoff home run and finished with a pair of hits while scoring both runs for LBSU, but it wasn't enough to earn the victory.
•  Junior Jacob Hughey extended his RBI streak to four straight games with a sixth inning RBI double off the center field wall to score DeSa. Hughey now has 13 RBIs to lead the team and has driven in six runs in his past four contests. The next closest Dirtbag in the RBI chase is Jake Vander Wal and Tanner Carlson with six apiece.
•  Sophomore LHP Adam Seminaris has won consecutive starts for Long Beach State on Saturdays. Though he didn't have his sharpest outing against Minnesota, he pitched well enough to get LBSU the win and worked into the eighth inning for the first time in his career. The southpaw leads the Long Beach State pitching staff in innings pitched (31.1), wins (2), ERA (2.87), and strikeouts (28) through four starts.
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SCOUTING THE TITANS
•  Fullerton opened the season in the national rankings and went 4-2 in February, playing a handful of ranked teams at neutral site showcases. From then on, however, the Titans have gone just 4-8 in March including three consecutive series losses: vs. Stanford, at New Mexico, and vs. James Madison. Interestingly, the Titans have gone 5-0 on Sunday this season.
•  Offense hasn't been an issue for Fullerton, as six hitters are batting over .300 on the season and two players (Mitchell Berryhill and Isaiah Garcia) are batting above .400 this year. Berryhill is tied with Jake Pavletich for the team lead in RBIs with 12, and also paces the Titans with a .424 average and three stolen bases. Senior 2B Hank LoForte has reached base in 63 consecutive games, and is hitting .351 this year with a team-leading 16 runs scored.
•  Sophomore RHP Tanner Bibee has led the weekend pitching staff with a 2.41 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 33.2 innings, unlucky to be carrying a 2-3 win-loss record. Junior Dillon Brown has been solid in relief, not allowing an earned run in 9.2 innings pitched while allowing opposing hitters to bat just .156 against him.
•  These rivals split their six meetings last season, with the road team winning two out of three games in each series. LBSU and CSF have played two regular season series against one another every season since 2011.
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FACING THE BEST
•  Long Beach State has certainly been challenged so far this season, with six of its nine opponents appearing the national rankings at some point in the season, and five of those opponents holding a ranking when they played the Dirtbags.
•  The Dirtbags had a stretch of eight straight games against nationally-ranked teams, going 2-6 in those contests.
•  Many of these tough tests have come away from home this season. In addition to playing series at No. 3 Florida and at No. 10 Ole Miss, the Dirtbags also have a road game at undefeated Arizona State and a series at California left on the preseason slate.
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SPREADING THE LOVE
•  A total of 19 position players have appeared in multiple games for the Dirtbags this season, with 15 making five or more starts in the lineup.
•  Only freshman infielder Tyler Porter has started every game this season for the Dirtbags, and only infielder Santino Rivera joins him in playing in all 19 games.
•  With a group of pitchers returning from injury, the pitching staff has had its fair share of fluidity as well. Seven different pitchers have picked up a start for Long Beach State this season with six of them earning multiple starts.
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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.
Long Beach State vs. Cal State Fullerton
Time:Â 6 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Watch: Beach Vision | Listen: 22 West Radio |Â Live Stats
Â
Saturday, March 23
Long Beach State vs. Cal State Fullerton
Time:Â 6 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Watch: Beach Vision | Listen: 22 West Radio |Â Live Stats
Â
Sunday, March 24
Long Beach State vs. Cal State Fullerton
Time:Â 1 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Watch: Beach Vision | Listen: 22 West Radio |Â Live Stats
Â
Â
LAST TIME OUT
•  The Dirtbags dropped their midweek contest at USC, 5-2, while recording just three hits offensively. Junior Riki DeSa opened the game with a leadoff home run and finished with a pair of hits while scoring both runs for LBSU, but it wasn't enough to earn the victory.
•  Junior Jacob Hughey extended his RBI streak to four straight games with a sixth inning RBI double off the center field wall to score DeSa. Hughey now has 13 RBIs to lead the team and has driven in six runs in his past four contests. The next closest Dirtbag in the RBI chase is Jake Vander Wal and Tanner Carlson with six apiece.
•  Sophomore LHP Adam Seminaris has won consecutive starts for Long Beach State on Saturdays. Though he didn't have his sharpest outing against Minnesota, he pitched well enough to get LBSU the win and worked into the eighth inning for the first time in his career. The southpaw leads the Long Beach State pitching staff in innings pitched (31.1), wins (2), ERA (2.87), and strikeouts (28) through four starts.
Â
SCOUTING THE TITANS
•  Fullerton opened the season in the national rankings and went 4-2 in February, playing a handful of ranked teams at neutral site showcases. From then on, however, the Titans have gone just 4-8 in March including three consecutive series losses: vs. Stanford, at New Mexico, and vs. James Madison. Interestingly, the Titans have gone 5-0 on Sunday this season.
•  Offense hasn't been an issue for Fullerton, as six hitters are batting over .300 on the season and two players (Mitchell Berryhill and Isaiah Garcia) are batting above .400 this year. Berryhill is tied with Jake Pavletich for the team lead in RBIs with 12, and also paces the Titans with a .424 average and three stolen bases. Senior 2B Hank LoForte has reached base in 63 consecutive games, and is hitting .351 this year with a team-leading 16 runs scored.
•  Sophomore RHP Tanner Bibee has led the weekend pitching staff with a 2.41 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 33.2 innings, unlucky to be carrying a 2-3 win-loss record. Junior Dillon Brown has been solid in relief, not allowing an earned run in 9.2 innings pitched while allowing opposing hitters to bat just .156 against him.
•  These rivals split their six meetings last season, with the road team winning two out of three games in each series. LBSU and CSF have played two regular season series against one another every season since 2011.
Â
FACING THE BEST
•  Long Beach State has certainly been challenged so far this season, with six of its nine opponents appearing the national rankings at some point in the season, and five of those opponents holding a ranking when they played the Dirtbags.
•  The Dirtbags had a stretch of eight straight games against nationally-ranked teams, going 2-6 in those contests.
•  Many of these tough tests have come away from home this season. In addition to playing series at No. 3 Florida and at No. 10 Ole Miss, the Dirtbags also have a road game at undefeated Arizona State and a series at California left on the preseason slate.
Â
SPREADING THE LOVE
•  A total of 19 position players have appeared in multiple games for the Dirtbags this season, with 15 making five or more starts in the lineup.
•  Only freshman infielder Tyler Porter has started every game this season for the Dirtbags, and only infielder Santino Rivera joins him in playing in all 19 games.
•  With a group of pitchers returning from injury, the pitching staff has had its fair share of fluidity as well. Seven different pitchers have picked up a start for Long Beach State this season with six of them earning multiple starts.
Â
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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