Dirtbags Play Final Midweek Game Tuesday at No. 1 UCLA

Tuesday, May 7

Los Angeles, Calif.

6 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UCLA

Photo by: John Fajardo

5/6/2019 3:29:00 PM | Baseball

Long Beach State concludes its non-conference and midweek slates on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, looking to knock off No. 1 UCLA at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Dirtbags are coming off a sweep of UC Riverside over the weekend and will look to avenge a 2-0 loss against the top-ranked Bruins back in March.

By: Tyler Hendrickson, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Tuesday, May 7
Long Beach State at No. 1 UCLA
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Jackie Robinson Stadium)
Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats

Probable Pitching Matchup:
LBSU – RHP John Sheaks (1-1, 9.27 ERA)
vs.
UCLA – RHP Felix Rubi (0-0, 1.69 ERA)

LAST TIME OUT
•   The Dirtbags completed a three-game sweep of UC Riverside, allowing just four earned runs the entire series. It was the first sweep of the season for Long Beach State and just the second series victory of the season. LBSU's three-game winning streak is its longest of the year and the Dirtbags have now won 10 straight games against the Highlanders.
•   Dirtbags pitchers had a good weekend, led by Friday starter Adam Seminaris. The sophomore set new career highs in innings pitched (8.0) and strikeouts (10) to pick up the win. He was also named Big West Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career.
•   Junior Zak Baayoun was also terrific in his start on Sunday, going 7.2 innings and only allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts. Baayoun faced the minimum through six innings and had only allowed one hit to the Highlanders through his first seven frames.
•   The offense didn't do a ton of damage on the weekend, but did enough to support the efforts of the pitching staff. Senior Laine Huffman matched his career high with four hits in Saturday's game, and LBSU had 10 hits in each of the last two games of the series.

SCOUTING THE BRUINS
•   UCLA is the consensus No. 1 team in the country, and is coming off a series win over then-No. 18 Arizona State. The Bruins have won all nine of their midweek games this season, including a 2-0 win over the Dirtbags on Mar. 12 in Long Beach. The Bruins are also an impressive 23-4 on their home field this season and haven't lost a series all year.
•   Freshman C Noah Cardenas leads UCLA with a .412 batting average this season, but UCLA has had a balanced attack. Six Bruins are hitting above .300 and the power and run production have been spread throughout the lineup. Jake Pries and Michael Toglia each have nine home runs to lead the team, and seven different batters have 23 RBIs or more.
•   Probable starter Felix Rubi will be making his first start for the Bruins after collecting six relief appearances this year. The junior college transfer has posted good numbers, with a 1.69 ERA in 5.1 innings of work. He has just two strikeouts but opposing batters are hitting just .158 against him this year.
•   The Dirtbags were a 5-1 winner on their last trip to UCLA during the 2018 season. The Bruins hold a 66-46 advantage in the all-time series with Long Beach State.

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.