Tuesday, February 21
Los Angeles, Calif.
6 p.m.
Long Beach State University
at
LMU
Photo by: John Fajardo
Dirtbags Set for First Midweek at Loyola Marymount
2/20/2023 3:45:00 PM | Baseball
Tuesday also marks the first road test for Long Beach State.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State is set for their first road test as they head to Loyola Marymount for the first midweek of the season. First pitch will be at 6 p.m. at Page Stadium.
Long Beach State (2-1) at Loyola Marymount (1-2)
Tuesday, February 21
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Page Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Pitching Matchup: Jake Rons (LBSU) vs. Jimmy Galicia (LMU)
Live Stats | Live Stream
OPENING WEEKEND
• The Dirtbags won their season opening series against Wichita State taking two of the three games. They won game one 2-0, walked off the Shockers 6-5 in game two, and fell in the finale 11-6.
• Graham Osman was the star of the opener twirling seven shutout innings on the mound with eight strikeouts. Offensively, the 'Bags had eight hits with RBIs from Rocco Peppi and Jonathon Long.
• The story of game two was Rocco Peppi launching a two-run walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth. Nico Zeglin enjoyed a great debut on the mound with five innings of one-run ball while striking out eight.
• Wichita would prevent the sweep with a win on Sunday after scoring eight runs in the top of the third to put the game out of reach of the Dirtbags.
2023 SEASON SYNOPSIS
• The upcoming season is an intriguing one for the Dirtbags headlined by 34 new faces occupying the roster compared to just 8 returners who saw time on the field a year ago.
• Schedule wise, Long Beach State will have 28 official home games compared to 20 true road contests and 5 neutral contests. The headliners of the schedule include East Carolina, Grand Canyon, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly, UCLA, and South Florida.
• In terms of the strength of the schedule, the 'Bags will face four teams currently ranked on all the different publications' rankings. Four of their 2023 opponents played in an NCAA Regional with ECU hosting a Super Regional. And 7 of their opponents posted 30-win seasons last year.
AGAINST LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
• Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount have faced each other 142 times in their program history with LBSU leading the all-time series 88-53-1. In the Dirtbag era, the 'Bags lead it 41-20. When playing at LMU, Long Beach State is 44-27 at Page Stadium.
• This will be the first meeting between the programs since a home-and-home during the 2019 season. The Lions won the last meeting, 6-5, but the Dirtbags have won four of the last six contests.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
• Loyola Marymount is coming off an opening series loss to San Jose State at Page Stadium. LMU suffered a one-run loss in the season opener, bounced back to win game two, but fell in a one-sided contest in game three.
• As a team, they are slashing .220/.366/.363 with 14 total runs in three games. Cole Roberts and Diego Baqueiro had great weekends hitting .429 and .400 respectively.
• On the mound, the staff gave up 21 runs (17 earned) and own a .257 opponent batting average. Projected started, Jimmy Galicia, made his season debut with 1.1 shutout innings allowing just one hit.
BAGS IN THE BIGS
• Long Beach State has had 53 alumni reach the major leagues in their storied career. Jarren Duran and Darren McCaughan were the most recent debuts, coming within a week of each other during the 2021 season.
• With MLB Spring Training right around the corner, 10 Dirtbags alum find themselves in big league camp. Evan Longoria, Matt Duffy, and Garrett Hampson will be sporting new threads after signing with the Diamondbacks, Royals, and Marlins, respectively. Jeff McNeil is fresh off a batting title and new contract extension that keeps him in New York for at least four more seasons. Duran (Boston) and McCaughan (Seattle) have each earned spring invites.
• The new names among the higher ranks include Nick Avila, who was taken in the Rule 5 Draft by the Chicago White Sox, and Eli Villalobos who skyrocketed through the minors and was added to Miami's 40-man roster. David Baneulos (Minnesota) and Lucas Jacobsen (Texas) were also non-roster invitees for their respective clubs.
THE INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
• Long Beach State has a history on the international stage and they will add to that storied history in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. The 20-team premier international tournament will begin in March and feature four former Dirtbags.
• Vance Worley will play for Team Great Britain, Jeff McNeil will play for Team USA, Jarren Duran will play for Team Mexico, and Leonard "LJ" Jones will play for Team Panama giving Long Beach State a nation-leading four alum among all the Division 1 schools.
• The quartet joins Evan Longoria (Team USA, 2009) and Marco Estrada (Team Mexico, 2013) as alumni to compete in the World Baseball Classic.
THE NATIONALLY RANKED RECRUITING CLASS
• The Dirtbags lost 26 players from last season whether it was to the draft, graduation, or the new transfer portal. In filling those spots, the coaching staff brought in 32 new faces for their 2023 recruiting class. The group features 15 transfers and 17 incoming freshmen.
• The group was ranked 26th in the country by Perfect Game and 30th by Collegiate Baseball. The PG ranking is the highest of all mid-majors while the CB ranking is second while both are the second-best among all teams in the West Coast.
JUICE HAS THE JUICE
• Rocco Peppi aka "Juice" carried the Dirtbags offense on opening weekend, slashing .500/.500/.833 to go along with two runs scored and a team-leading five RBI. He registered a hit and an RBI in all three contests including a three-hit effort on Sunday.
• His big hit of the weekend came in game two where he launched a sky-high walkoff two-run home run to secure the series. It was his second hit of night and second extra-base hit of the weekend.
• The Huntington Beach native is coming off a Big West Honorable Mention last season and was tabbed as the #94 Outfielder in the nation by D1Baseball as well as the #14 draft prospect in the conference.
WIZARD OF OS
• Junior transfer Graham Osman had high expectations on him joining the team and quickly becoming their Friday night ace. The lefty delivered on those expectations with seven shutout innings while striking out eight Shockers.
• Needing just 75 pitches in his outing, he surrendered just one hit and walk as he owns a .045 batting average against and his 0.29 WHIP ranks tied for seventh in the nation among pitchers with at least five innings pitched.
• On Monday, he was named the first Big West Pitcher of the season.
LONG-BALL
• Jonathon Long is one of the best bats coming back for the 2023 campaign. The junior is coming off an All-Big West Honorable Mention after slashing .311/.411/.454 finishing second on the team in home runs (6), RBI (37), and walks (25). A model of consistency, he has racked up a .321 average in his two years with LBSU.
• He is also garnering national attention, tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year choice by both D1Baseball and Perfect Game. He also earned spots on the PG's Preseason All-Conference Team and the Big West's inaugural Preseason Team.
• In D1Baseball's position-by-position rankings, the Orange native was tabbed as the #25 First Baseman in the nation as well as the #10 prospect in the Big West Conference.
THE DOUBLES MACHINE
• Grad transfer, Joey Walls, joins the Dirtbags after an unreal senior season at UNLV last year. Slashing .350/.444/.614, he led the entire nation in doubles with 26 two-baggers to go along with eight homers and 48 RBI. More than just a power threat through, he was also a perfect six-for-six stealing bases.
• While he struggled at the plate during opening weekend, he broke an 0-for-11 drought with a massive solo home run on Sunday. The shot was clocked at 105mph off the bat and completely out of Blair Field.
• Walls' name was also consistently mentioned in preseason news outlets, earning D1Baseball's selection for Big West Newcomer of the Year as well as ranking as the #83 Outfielder in the country.
FEEL THE BURN
• Junior Connor Burns is very well known as one of the best defensive catchers in the nation and is coming off a year where he earned the Big West Defensive Player of the Year as well as being a finalist for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
• After making huge offensive strides during the fall, he is expected to skyrocket up the draft projections this year. Along with earning a spot on the inaugural Big West Preseason All-Conference Team, he is noted as the #2 draft prospect in the conference by D1Baseball.
GENERAL PATTON
• Myles Patton is arguably the most notable of the incoming freshman class after a remarkable career at Millikan High School. The lefty is coming off back-to-back seasons where he was the 2022 Moore League Player of the Year, 2021 Moore League Pitcher of the Year, and 2021 CIF Player of the Year.
• The local product produced video game numbers in his final two seasons of high school ball posting a 13-5 record and 1.07 ERA. Totaling 143.2 innings, he struck out 190 batters and held opponents to a .159 clip.
• D1Baseball ranked him as the #3 Impact Freshman and he is likely to hold a consistent spot on the weekend rotation.
THE SUNDAY TRIO
• After surrendering eight runs in the third inning to the Shockers, the Dirtbags needed their bullpen to turn in some shutdown innings in hopes of a comeback. The trio of Nathen Morris, Dalton Ponce, and Kellan Montgomery did exactly that retiring 20 of the 21 batters they faced.
• Morris entered first and tossed 2.2 perfect frames while striking out three in his Dirtbags debut. Ponce followed with three shutout innings of his own, striking out three and walking just one. Montgomery would enter in the ninth for his collegiate debut and struck out the side on just 11 pitches.
THE LEFT SIDE OF THE INFIELD
• The duo of Eddie Saldivar and Nick Marinconz make up the left side of the infield and both turned in very quality opening weekends. Combined, they went 9-for-22 at the plate with four runs scored.
• Saldivar posted a .417/.462/.667 slash line with a double, triple and three runs scored. Meanwhile, Marinconz slashed .400/.500/.400 with a pair of RBI and reached base to set the scene for Peppi's walkoff on Saturday.
NASTY NICO
• Nico Zeglin was named the Saturday starting pitcher and followed up the Friday night gem with a fantastic outing of his own. Throwing five innings, he allowed just one unearned run on three hits while striking out eight and walking none.
• His 14.40 strikeouts per nine innings ranks in the top 40 in the country among pitchers with at least five innings pitched.
BACK IN BLACK
• There are just nine returners from the 2022 season with five being position players and four being pitchers.
• Long, Peppi, and Burns are the most notable as mentioned previously but they are joined by infielder Eddie Saldivar and Tyler White to round out the position players. Saldivar hit .293 in 52 games in his rookie campaign with a team-leading eight stolen bases while White saw time primarily as a defensive option in the outfield, playing 38 games and posting a .319 on-base percentage.
• On the mound, Jonathan Carlos leads the way in terms of 2022 appearances, posting a 2.76 ERA in 32.2 innings. Josh Haley (2.36 ERA, 26.2 IP), Dalton Ponce (2.95 ERA, 18.1 IP), and Ethan Clough (3.12 ERA, 26 IP) also return with expected significant roles. Jake Rons has stretched out and will factor into the starting rotation this season after making 17 appearances in 2022.
Long Beach State (2-1) at Loyola Marymount (1-2)
Tuesday, February 21
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Page Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Pitching Matchup: Jake Rons (LBSU) vs. Jimmy Galicia (LMU)
Live Stats | Live Stream
OPENING WEEKEND
• The Dirtbags won their season opening series against Wichita State taking two of the three games. They won game one 2-0, walked off the Shockers 6-5 in game two, and fell in the finale 11-6.
• Graham Osman was the star of the opener twirling seven shutout innings on the mound with eight strikeouts. Offensively, the 'Bags had eight hits with RBIs from Rocco Peppi and Jonathon Long.
• The story of game two was Rocco Peppi launching a two-run walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth. Nico Zeglin enjoyed a great debut on the mound with five innings of one-run ball while striking out eight.
• Wichita would prevent the sweep with a win on Sunday after scoring eight runs in the top of the third to put the game out of reach of the Dirtbags.
2023 SEASON SYNOPSIS
• The upcoming season is an intriguing one for the Dirtbags headlined by 34 new faces occupying the roster compared to just 8 returners who saw time on the field a year ago.
• Schedule wise, Long Beach State will have 28 official home games compared to 20 true road contests and 5 neutral contests. The headliners of the schedule include East Carolina, Grand Canyon, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly, UCLA, and South Florida.
• In terms of the strength of the schedule, the 'Bags will face four teams currently ranked on all the different publications' rankings. Four of their 2023 opponents played in an NCAA Regional with ECU hosting a Super Regional. And 7 of their opponents posted 30-win seasons last year.
AGAINST LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
• Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount have faced each other 142 times in their program history with LBSU leading the all-time series 88-53-1. In the Dirtbag era, the 'Bags lead it 41-20. When playing at LMU, Long Beach State is 44-27 at Page Stadium.
• This will be the first meeting between the programs since a home-and-home during the 2019 season. The Lions won the last meeting, 6-5, but the Dirtbags have won four of the last six contests.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
• Loyola Marymount is coming off an opening series loss to San Jose State at Page Stadium. LMU suffered a one-run loss in the season opener, bounced back to win game two, but fell in a one-sided contest in game three.
• As a team, they are slashing .220/.366/.363 with 14 total runs in three games. Cole Roberts and Diego Baqueiro had great weekends hitting .429 and .400 respectively.
• On the mound, the staff gave up 21 runs (17 earned) and own a .257 opponent batting average. Projected started, Jimmy Galicia, made his season debut with 1.1 shutout innings allowing just one hit.
BAGS IN THE BIGS
• Long Beach State has had 53 alumni reach the major leagues in their storied career. Jarren Duran and Darren McCaughan were the most recent debuts, coming within a week of each other during the 2021 season.
• With MLB Spring Training right around the corner, 10 Dirtbags alum find themselves in big league camp. Evan Longoria, Matt Duffy, and Garrett Hampson will be sporting new threads after signing with the Diamondbacks, Royals, and Marlins, respectively. Jeff McNeil is fresh off a batting title and new contract extension that keeps him in New York for at least four more seasons. Duran (Boston) and McCaughan (Seattle) have each earned spring invites.
• The new names among the higher ranks include Nick Avila, who was taken in the Rule 5 Draft by the Chicago White Sox, and Eli Villalobos who skyrocketed through the minors and was added to Miami's 40-man roster. David Baneulos (Minnesota) and Lucas Jacobsen (Texas) were also non-roster invitees for their respective clubs.
THE INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
• Long Beach State has a history on the international stage and they will add to that storied history in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. The 20-team premier international tournament will begin in March and feature four former Dirtbags.
• Vance Worley will play for Team Great Britain, Jeff McNeil will play for Team USA, Jarren Duran will play for Team Mexico, and Leonard "LJ" Jones will play for Team Panama giving Long Beach State a nation-leading four alum among all the Division 1 schools.
• The quartet joins Evan Longoria (Team USA, 2009) and Marco Estrada (Team Mexico, 2013) as alumni to compete in the World Baseball Classic.
THE NATIONALLY RANKED RECRUITING CLASS
• The Dirtbags lost 26 players from last season whether it was to the draft, graduation, or the new transfer portal. In filling those spots, the coaching staff brought in 32 new faces for their 2023 recruiting class. The group features 15 transfers and 17 incoming freshmen.
• The group was ranked 26th in the country by Perfect Game and 30th by Collegiate Baseball. The PG ranking is the highest of all mid-majors while the CB ranking is second while both are the second-best among all teams in the West Coast.
JUICE HAS THE JUICE
• Rocco Peppi aka "Juice" carried the Dirtbags offense on opening weekend, slashing .500/.500/.833 to go along with two runs scored and a team-leading five RBI. He registered a hit and an RBI in all three contests including a three-hit effort on Sunday.
• His big hit of the weekend came in game two where he launched a sky-high walkoff two-run home run to secure the series. It was his second hit of night and second extra-base hit of the weekend.
• The Huntington Beach native is coming off a Big West Honorable Mention last season and was tabbed as the #94 Outfielder in the nation by D1Baseball as well as the #14 draft prospect in the conference.
WIZARD OF OS
• Junior transfer Graham Osman had high expectations on him joining the team and quickly becoming their Friday night ace. The lefty delivered on those expectations with seven shutout innings while striking out eight Shockers.
• Needing just 75 pitches in his outing, he surrendered just one hit and walk as he owns a .045 batting average against and his 0.29 WHIP ranks tied for seventh in the nation among pitchers with at least five innings pitched.
• On Monday, he was named the first Big West Pitcher of the season.
LONG-BALL
• Jonathon Long is one of the best bats coming back for the 2023 campaign. The junior is coming off an All-Big West Honorable Mention after slashing .311/.411/.454 finishing second on the team in home runs (6), RBI (37), and walks (25). A model of consistency, he has racked up a .321 average in his two years with LBSU.
• He is also garnering national attention, tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year choice by both D1Baseball and Perfect Game. He also earned spots on the PG's Preseason All-Conference Team and the Big West's inaugural Preseason Team.
• In D1Baseball's position-by-position rankings, the Orange native was tabbed as the #25 First Baseman in the nation as well as the #10 prospect in the Big West Conference.
THE DOUBLES MACHINE
• Grad transfer, Joey Walls, joins the Dirtbags after an unreal senior season at UNLV last year. Slashing .350/.444/.614, he led the entire nation in doubles with 26 two-baggers to go along with eight homers and 48 RBI. More than just a power threat through, he was also a perfect six-for-six stealing bases.
• While he struggled at the plate during opening weekend, he broke an 0-for-11 drought with a massive solo home run on Sunday. The shot was clocked at 105mph off the bat and completely out of Blair Field.
• Walls' name was also consistently mentioned in preseason news outlets, earning D1Baseball's selection for Big West Newcomer of the Year as well as ranking as the #83 Outfielder in the country.
FEEL THE BURN
• Junior Connor Burns is very well known as one of the best defensive catchers in the nation and is coming off a year where he earned the Big West Defensive Player of the Year as well as being a finalist for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
• After making huge offensive strides during the fall, he is expected to skyrocket up the draft projections this year. Along with earning a spot on the inaugural Big West Preseason All-Conference Team, he is noted as the #2 draft prospect in the conference by D1Baseball.
GENERAL PATTON
• Myles Patton is arguably the most notable of the incoming freshman class after a remarkable career at Millikan High School. The lefty is coming off back-to-back seasons where he was the 2022 Moore League Player of the Year, 2021 Moore League Pitcher of the Year, and 2021 CIF Player of the Year.
• The local product produced video game numbers in his final two seasons of high school ball posting a 13-5 record and 1.07 ERA. Totaling 143.2 innings, he struck out 190 batters and held opponents to a .159 clip.
• D1Baseball ranked him as the #3 Impact Freshman and he is likely to hold a consistent spot on the weekend rotation.
THE SUNDAY TRIO
• After surrendering eight runs in the third inning to the Shockers, the Dirtbags needed their bullpen to turn in some shutdown innings in hopes of a comeback. The trio of Nathen Morris, Dalton Ponce, and Kellan Montgomery did exactly that retiring 20 of the 21 batters they faced.
• Morris entered first and tossed 2.2 perfect frames while striking out three in his Dirtbags debut. Ponce followed with three shutout innings of his own, striking out three and walking just one. Montgomery would enter in the ninth for his collegiate debut and struck out the side on just 11 pitches.
THE LEFT SIDE OF THE INFIELD
• The duo of Eddie Saldivar and Nick Marinconz make up the left side of the infield and both turned in very quality opening weekends. Combined, they went 9-for-22 at the plate with four runs scored.
• Saldivar posted a .417/.462/.667 slash line with a double, triple and three runs scored. Meanwhile, Marinconz slashed .400/.500/.400 with a pair of RBI and reached base to set the scene for Peppi's walkoff on Saturday.
NASTY NICO
• Nico Zeglin was named the Saturday starting pitcher and followed up the Friday night gem with a fantastic outing of his own. Throwing five innings, he allowed just one unearned run on three hits while striking out eight and walking none.
• His 14.40 strikeouts per nine innings ranks in the top 40 in the country among pitchers with at least five innings pitched.
BACK IN BLACK
• There are just nine returners from the 2022 season with five being position players and four being pitchers.
• Long, Peppi, and Burns are the most notable as mentioned previously but they are joined by infielder Eddie Saldivar and Tyler White to round out the position players. Saldivar hit .293 in 52 games in his rookie campaign with a team-leading eight stolen bases while White saw time primarily as a defensive option in the outfield, playing 38 games and posting a .319 on-base percentage.
• On the mound, Jonathan Carlos leads the way in terms of 2022 appearances, posting a 2.76 ERA in 32.2 innings. Josh Haley (2.36 ERA, 26.2 IP), Dalton Ponce (2.95 ERA, 18.1 IP), and Ethan Clough (3.12 ERA, 26 IP) also return with expected significant roles. Jake Rons has stretched out and will factor into the starting rotation this season after making 17 appearances in 2022.
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