Dirtbags Host UC Riverside For Weekend Series

Friday, May 3
Long Beach State vs. UC Riverside
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Watch: Beach Vision | Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats

Saturday, May 4
Long Beach State vs. UC Riverside
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Watch: Beach Vision | Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats

Sunday, May 5
Long Beach State vs. UC Riverside
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Watch: Beach Vision | Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
•   The Dirtbags have lost four games in a row by a combined five runs. LBSU's last game was against LMU on Tuesday night, and the Dirtbags dropped their final midweek home game of the season. The Dirtbags led 5-4 with one out in the ninth, but the Lions rallied for a pair of runs to snag a 6-5 victory in Long Beach.
•   Freshman Kaden Hogan scored twice and had a two-run double in the victory. Junior Riki DeSa added a run, an RBI and a walk while getting the start at second base.
•   Freshman lefthander Alfredo Ruiz pitched three scoreless innings in relief, allowing just a hit and a walk while striking out four batters. He has not allowed a run in four consecutive appearances out of the bullpen and has an active scoreless streak of 11.1 innings pitched.
•   Senior Luke Rasmussen made a pinch-running appearance on Tuesday night, stealing a base and scoring the go-ahead run in the seventh inning. With that appearance, Rasmussen is now tied for 10th in Dirtbags history for games played with 188 in his career.

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
•   UC Riverside has won four of its last five games, including a home series win against then-No. 8 UC Santa Barbara last weekend. The Highlanders upset the Gauchos in each of the first two games, winning those contests by a combined margin of 16-6. UCR also won its most recent game, 11-7 over UNLV on Tuesday.
•   Leading the way for the Highlanders in junior 1B/DH Connor Cannon, who on Monday became the first player in conference history to win three consecutive Big West Player of the Week honors. Cannon is hitting .351 with a team-high 16 home runs and 39 RBIs. He also has a conference-best .769 slugging percentage and a .460 on-base percentage. In 12 Big West games, Cannon has an absurd nine home runs and 20 RBIs.
•   Senior RF Dean Miller is having a terrific year in his own right, batting a team-best .352 this season with 13 homers and 37 RBIs. UCR has two other regulars in Yeager Taylor (.336 AVG, 27 RBIs) and Travis Bohall (.313 AVG, 10-for-12 SBs) hitting over .300.
•   UCR's pitching has been its weakness, with an ERA of 6.96 that's over two runs higher than that of their opponents. Twelve different pitchers have made at least one start for the Highlanders and sophomore RHP Abbott Haffar (3-2, 3.72 ERA) has had the most success with 44 strikeouts in 55.2 innings pitched, including five starts.
•   LBSU owns a 66-35-1 all-time record against UC Riverside. The Dirtbags have also won seven straight games against the Highlanders as well as five straight home series.

IT STARTS AT THE TOP
•   Sophomore catcher Chris Jimenez has been terrific out of the leadoff spot in the batting order. He's started the last six games atop the lineup and has reached base safely multiple times in each of those games.
•   During that six-game stretch as the leadoff batter, Jimenez is 8-for-19 (.421) with an on-base percentage of .607. He has drawn nine walks in those six games with five runs, two doubles and a pair of stolen bases.
•   While he doesn't have enough at-bats to qualify, Jimenez has the best batting average on the team at .341 in 44 at-bats. He leads the team with 18 walks drawn and has a team-leading .540 on-base percentage.

CUTTING IT CLOSE
•   Long Beach State's last three games have all been decided by one run. Going back further, the last six Dirtbags games have been decided by 2 runs or fewer, with LBSU going 1-5 in those games.
•   For the season, Long Beach State is 5-15 in games decided by 2 runs or fewer and, remarkably, 10 of the team's last 12 games have fallen into that category. The Dirtbags have won three of those 10 contests.

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).
•   RHP Drew Gagnon made his season debut with the New York Mets on Apr. 16, giving Long Beach State 11 representatives on big league rosters. That puts LBSU one ahead of Cal State Fullerton for the nation's lead.
• 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.

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Players Mentioned

Riki DeSa

Kaden Hogan

Chris Jimenez

Luke Rasmussen

Alfredo Ruiz

Long Beach State University Athletics