LBSU Plays Final Non-Conference Series at Cal

Friday, March 29
Long Beach State at Cal
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Berkeley, Calif. (Evans Diamond)
Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats

Saturday, March 30
Long Beach State at Cal
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Berkeley, Calif. (Evans Diamond)
Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats

Sunday, March 31
Long Beach State at Cal
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Berkeley, Calif. (Evans Diamond)
Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
•   Long Beach State battled back on more than one occasion on Tuesday night against USC, but the Dirtbags ultimately dropped their first extra-inning game of the season, 8-5, in 10 innings. LBSU trailed 4-0 after two innings but came back to tie it, and also trailed heading into the bottom of the ninth but were able to tie the game on a two-out RBI single from Tyler Porter to force extras.
•   Junior OF Calvin Estrada had a career-high three hits against the Trojans, driving in a pair of runs and scoring once. Senior Brooks Stotler scored twice and also had a two-run triple as part of a three-run fourth inning. Stotler is on a four-game hitting streak, going 7-for-15 (.467) with three runs, three RBIs, a triple, and three doubles. He was 4-for-4 in the Sunday game against Cal State Fullerton, establishing his new career high for hits in a game. The hitting streak has raised his average nearly 80 points up to .241 on the season.
•   Freshman Kaden Hogan has made five consecutive starts for Long Beach State, primarily spending his time at shortstop. He's gone 6-for-18 (.333) over those contests with a pair of multi-hit games, including a three-hit effort in game one of the Cal State Fullerton series. The Reno, Nev. native also has a pair of doubles, an RBI, a stolen base, and three runs scored over those five games.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS
•   Cal enters the weekend series at .500, with a 4-3 home record so far on the season. The Bears played a series at defending national champions Oregon State last weekend, winning the first game before losing the final two contests. Cal is on a three-game losing streak going into the weekend after a 6-0 loss to Sacramento State on Tuesday.
•   The Golden Bears are led by defending National Player of the Year, junior 1B Andrew Vaughn, who won the 2018 Golden Spikes Award. Vaughn is hitting .365 on the year with a stellar .716 slugging percentage and .544 on-base percentage. He leads Cal with 27 hits, 22 runs scored, eight home runs, 24 RBIs and 25 walks on the season. The trio of C Korey Lee, LF Cameron Eden and RF Max Flower each have exactly 13 RBIs and are all hitting .295 or better.
•   Game one starter Arman Sabouri has already made seven starts this season, and had the rare distinction of earning a save and a start against Oregon State last weekend. He has a team-leading 29 strikeouts in 22.1 inning with a 3.63 ERA. Reliever Rogelio Reyes has a 1.99 ERA in six appearances in extended relief, striking out 24 in 22.2 innings.
•   LBSU last played at Evans Diamond on Mar. 27, 2017 and picked up a 3-1 win, giving head coach Troy Buckley career victory No. 200 in his career. The Golden Bears lead the all-time series 34-32.

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 earlier in the year, going 2-6 in those contests.

SPREADING THE LOVE
•   A total of 20 position players have appeared in multiple games for the Dirtbags this season, with 18 making five or more starts and getting 15 or more at-bats.
•   Only freshman infielder Tyler Porter has started every game this season for the Dirtbags, making all 23 starts for Long Beach State.
•   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 three or more starts.

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.
•   The 2019 MLB season got underway with 10 former Dirtbags featured on Opening Day rosters to start the year: Troy Tulowitzki (Yankees), Evan Longoria (Giants), Jason Vargas (Mets), Bryan Shaw (Rockies), Nick Vincent (Giants), Marco Estrada (A's), Jared Hughes (Reds), Matt Duffy (Rays), Shane Carle (Braves), Garrett Hampson (Rockies), and Jeff McNeil (Mets).
•   Long Beach State also has representation among the coaching ranks as former players Brandon Hyde and Jeremy Reed are in their first years serving key roles in their respective dugouts. Hyde is the manager of the Baltimore Orioles and Reed is the hitting coach for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Calendar

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Calvin Estrada

Kaden Hogan

Tyler Porter

Brooks Stotler

Long Beach State University Athletics