No. 17 Dirtbags Take First Road Trip to San Diego State Tuesday

Tuesday, March 3
No. 17 Long Beach State at San Diego State
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Tony Gwynn Stadium (San Diego, Calif.)
Live Stats

Probable Pitching Matchup:
LBSU – RHP Jake Rons (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
vs.
SDSU – LHP Brian Leonhardt (0-0, 3.86 ERA)

LAST TIME OUT
•   The Dirtbags earned a series win over No. 6 Mississippi State over the weekend, moving up in the national rankings to No. 17 in multiple polls. It was LBSU's first series win over an SEC team since 2003.
•   Junior LHP Adam Seminaris led the Dirtbags to a 4-0 win in Friday's opener, working 8.0 shutout innings while allowing just one hit and two walks and racking up 10 strikeouts. He was named Big West Pitcher of the Week for his effort.
•   Long Beach State swept the weekly Big West awards as redshirt freshman Connor Kokx was named Big West Player of the Week. Kokx was 7-for-12 (.583) at the plate last week, with a terrific .688 on-base percentage. Kokx is LBSU's leading hitter this season with an even .500 average, and has solidified himself as the everyday center fielder.
•   Redshirt sophomore Leonard Jones is also performing well at the plate, hitting a pair of home runs last week to take over the team lead in that category. Jones had three hits and three RBIs in Sunday's 6-2 win over Mississippi State and homered in LBSU's last midweek contest, a 10-3 win over San Diego.

SCOUTING THE AZTECS
•   San Diego State is off to an 8-4 start to the season, with a 5-3 record at home. The Aztecs already have wins over Big West teams, beating Cal State Fullerton 8-4 at home and going to UC Irvine for a 2-1 win last Tuesday. SDSU split its four-game set with Oregon State over the weekend, winning the final two games, 6-0 and 12-11.
•   The Aztecs offense is led by C/OF Ryan Orr's .378 average. Junior OF Matt Rudick is hitting .340 with a .560 slugging percentage thanks to three triples and he's also 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts.
•   Projected starter Brian Leonhardt is a two-way player, who is tied for the team lead with two home runs at the plate and leads the Aztecs with 10 RBIs. On the mound, the sophomore lefty has made one start and two relief appearances this season. He has a 3.86 ERA in 4.2 innings, walking three and striking out four batters.
•   The Dirtbags and Aztecs have a lengthy history on the diamond, with SDSU holding an 86-54-1 all-time advantage while Long Beach State leads the series 27-19 since 1989. San Diego State has won the last four regular-season meetings between the teams, with the most recent matchups happening during the 2018 season. Between those four meetings, the Dirtbags went 2-0 against SDSU in the 2017 Long Beach Regional.

LB IN MLB
•   Long Beach State had more former players in the big leagues than any other college or university from 2010-17, with 12 MLB representatives in 2019, again placing the Dirtbags among the nation's leaders.
•   Jeff McNeil was named a 2019 NL All-Star, representing the New York Mets in the Midsummer Classic. His All-Star Game debut was the 20th All-Star appearance by a former Dirtbag, and the fourth in the last five seasons by four different players. There has been at least one former Dirtbag in 11 of the last 12 All-Star Games, with a combined 14 ASG selections since 2008.

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No. 17 Dirtbags Take First Road Trip to San Diego State Tuesday

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Players Mentioned

Leonard Jones

Connor Kokx

Jake Rons

Adam Seminaris

Long Beach State University Athletics