LBSU Visits No. 13 UC Santa Barbara for Weekend Series

Friday, May 10
Long Beach State at No. 13 UC Santa Barbara
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Uyeska Stadium)
Watch: Big West TV | Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats

Saturday, May 11
Long Beach State at No. 13 UC Santa Barbara
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Uyeska Stadium)
Watch: Big West TV | Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats

Sunday, May 12
Long Beach State at No. 13 UC Santa Barbara
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Uyeska Stadium)
Watch: Big West TV | Listen: 22 West Radio | Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
•   Long Beach State nearly pulled off an upset at No. 1 UCLA, pushing the game to 12 innings before losing, 2-1, on a walk-off passed ball. Despite going 0-2 against UCLA this season, the Dirtbags have held the top-ranked Bruins to just four runs in 20.1 innings this season.
•   Redshirt senior John Sheaks delivered one of the best starts of his Dirtbags career, matching his career high with 7.0 IP while allowing just one run on four hits and a walk. He struck out just two, but got stronger as the game went on and retired the last seven batters he faced.
•   Junior OF Aidan Malm had a double and a run scored for the Dirtbags, extending his hitting streak to five straight games. Malm has three multi-hit games in that stretch and has collected four doubles, a pair of walks and three runs scored.
•   Last weekend, the Dirtbags completed their first sweep of the season, outscoring visiting UC Riverside 15-6 for the weekend. LBSU has now won 10 straight games against the Highlanders. Dirtbags pitchers have posted quality starts in three of the last four contests and the team's ERA over the last week was a solid 1.17.

SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
•   UCSB is nationally ranked as a consensus Top 20 team in the latest polls. The Gauchos are tied atop the Big West standings with Cal Poly, sporting a 12-3 conference mark. They've been especially tough to beat at home, sporting an impressive 22-1 record in home games this season. UCSB has won 15 consecutive games in Santa Barbara with the team's last home loss coming on Mar. 17 against Cal Baptist.
•   Junior C Eric Yang is hitting .372 with 38 RBIs to lead the UCSB offense this season. The Gauchos are hitting .296 as a team, have outscored opponents 316-174 this season and lead the Big West in every statistical category.
•   Junior RF Armani Smith has 10 home runs and a team-best 40 RBIs with a .675 slugging percentage while junior CF Tommy Jew has 11 home runs to lead the Gauchos attack.
•   UCSB's bullpen is anchored by closer Chris Lincoln who has 13 saves and has struck out 34 batters in 29.1 innings. Michael McGreevy has a 1.99 ERA in 23 relief appearances, collecting six saves with 48 strikeouts in 49.2 innings.
•   LBSU won last year's series with wins in the first two games before the Gauchos won the finale, 3-2. The Dirtbags lead the all-time series with Santa Barbara, 100-83.

ELITE EIGHT
•   Freshman lefthander Alfredo Ruiz has been dominant out of the bullpen lately, not allowing a run over his last 15.2 innings pitched. That includes a stretch of six consecutive appearances without allowing a run.
•   During that six-game stretch Ruiz has pitched 14 innings, allowing just six hits and four walks while striking out 16 batters.
•   Thanks to his recent performance, Ruiz has lowered his season ERA from 4.78 to 3.12 over the last month.

CUTTING IT CLOSE
•   Thirteen of Long Beach State's last 16 games have been decided by two runs or fewer, with eight of those contests being decided by just one run. The Dirtbags have gone just 2-6 in those eight one-run games, and are 3-2 in the games decided by two runs over that span.
•   For the season, Long Beach State is 7-16 in games decided by 2 runs or fewer. Over the last month, going back to Apr. 9, the Dirtbags have scored 63 runs while their opponents have also scored 63 runs. LBSU is 7-9 in that span.

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

Aidan Malm

Alfredo Ruiz

John Sheaks

Long Beach State University Athletics