Friday, May 12
Long Beach, Calif.
6 p.m.
Long Beach State University
vs
UC Santa Barbara
Photo by: Mikaella Salazar
Dirtbags Continue Homestand with UC Santa Barbara
5/11/2023 10:37:00 AM | Baseball
Saturday’s matchup will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State continues their seven-game homestand with three games against pre-season Big West favorite UC Santa Barbara this weekend. Saturday's matchup will be nationally televised live on ESPNU.
Long Beach State (26-20, 10-11 Big West) vs. UC Santa Barbara (31-14, 15-6 Big West)
Friday, May 12
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Pitching Matchup: RHP Nico Zeglin (LBSU) vs. RHP Matt Ager (UCSB)
Live Stats | Watch on ESPN+
Saturday, May 13
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Pitching Matchup: LHP Graham Osman (LBSU) vs. LHP Hudson Barrett (UCSB)
Live Stats | Watch on ESPNU
Sunday, May 14
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Pitching Matchup: RHP Jake Rons (LBSU) vs. RHP JD Callahan (UCSB)
Live Stats | Watch on ESPN+
ABOUT THE 'BAGS
• The Dirtbags own a 26-20 overall record and 10-11 mark in Big West play, sitting in seventh place and seven games back of the league leaders with nine games to play.
• The offense owns a .270/.355/.434 slash line with 299 runs scored in their 46 games. Of their 433 hits, 152 have gone for extra bases. Their 52 home runs and 93 doubles both rank second in the Big West.
• The pitching staff now owns a 4.65 team ERA with a 1.43 WHIP. In 412 innings of work, they have racked up 451 strikeouts compared to just 161 walks.
FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC
• The Dirtbags have played 11 games this season where the outcome was decided in the final at-bat of the game. They own a 6-5 record in those games. Of the six wins, four have led to walkoff victories including three walkoff home runs.
• Since hitting coach Bryan Peters came over with Coach Valenzuela prior to the 2020 season, Long Beach State has launched six walkoff home runs at Blair. The first of the trio this season came on opening weekend from Rocco Peppi. The other two came two weeks ago from Jonathon Long.
STRIKEOUT MACHINE
• Since Coach Valenzuela took over the program, the pitching staff has been striking people out at record pace posting the highest K/9 in 2021 (9.48) and second highest in 2022 (9.40).
• In 412 innings this year, they have 451 strikeouts which is good for a 9.8 K/9 second in the conference and 36th in the nation. The staff is punching people out at that pace while also limiting walks, owning the 12th-best strikeout/walk ratio at 2.80 and the 23rd best walks per nine in the country at 3.51.
POWER SURGE
• The Long Beach offense has put up some impressive numbers this year, resulting in one of the best offensive seasons in over a decade.
• Looking at the equational statistics, the teams current .270 average, .355 on-base percentage, and 93 doubles are the highest in a full 50-plus game season since 2010. Similarly, their 271 RBI is third most since the 2010 season.
• The slugging numbers are even more impressive as their .434 slugging percentage is the highest since the 2002 season while their 51 home runs is the most in a single-season since 1999.
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
• Pre-season favorites, UC Santa Barbara, enter the weekend with a 31-14 overall record and 15-6 mark in conference play. They currently sit in second place in the Big West standings.
• Their offense owns a .288/.383/.494 slash line with 73 home runs and 301 runs scored in their 45 games played. They lead the Big West in home runs, total bases, slugging percentage, and stolen bases.
• As a staff, the pitching owns a 3.85 team ERA with a .237 batting average against. In 402 innings, they own 465 strikeouts opposed by just 177 walks. The Gauchos lead the conference in ERA, BAA, WHIP, and strikeouts.
AGAINST THE OPPONENT
• Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara have faced each other 199 times in program history going back to 1955. LBSU leads the all-time series 103-96 and are 65-45 in the Dirtbags era. When playing at home, Long Beach is 64-38 all-time.
• The Dirtbags have lost three straight matchups after sweeping the series last year, and have lost 9 of the last 11 games.
Full Game Notes
Long Beach State (26-20, 10-11 Big West) vs. UC Santa Barbara (31-14, 15-6 Big West)
Friday, May 12
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Pitching Matchup: RHP Nico Zeglin (LBSU) vs. RHP Matt Ager (UCSB)
Live Stats | Watch on ESPN+
Saturday, May 13
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Pitching Matchup: LHP Graham Osman (LBSU) vs. LHP Hudson Barrett (UCSB)
Live Stats | Watch on ESPNU
Sunday, May 14
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Pitching Matchup: RHP Jake Rons (LBSU) vs. RHP JD Callahan (UCSB)
Live Stats | Watch on ESPN+
ABOUT THE 'BAGS
• The Dirtbags own a 26-20 overall record and 10-11 mark in Big West play, sitting in seventh place and seven games back of the league leaders with nine games to play.
• The offense owns a .270/.355/.434 slash line with 299 runs scored in their 46 games. Of their 433 hits, 152 have gone for extra bases. Their 52 home runs and 93 doubles both rank second in the Big West.
• The pitching staff now owns a 4.65 team ERA with a 1.43 WHIP. In 412 innings of work, they have racked up 451 strikeouts compared to just 161 walks.
FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC
• The Dirtbags have played 11 games this season where the outcome was decided in the final at-bat of the game. They own a 6-5 record in those games. Of the six wins, four have led to walkoff victories including three walkoff home runs.
• Since hitting coach Bryan Peters came over with Coach Valenzuela prior to the 2020 season, Long Beach State has launched six walkoff home runs at Blair. The first of the trio this season came on opening weekend from Rocco Peppi. The other two came two weeks ago from Jonathon Long.
STRIKEOUT MACHINE
• Since Coach Valenzuela took over the program, the pitching staff has been striking people out at record pace posting the highest K/9 in 2021 (9.48) and second highest in 2022 (9.40).
• In 412 innings this year, they have 451 strikeouts which is good for a 9.8 K/9 second in the conference and 36th in the nation. The staff is punching people out at that pace while also limiting walks, owning the 12th-best strikeout/walk ratio at 2.80 and the 23rd best walks per nine in the country at 3.51.
POWER SURGE
• The Long Beach offense has put up some impressive numbers this year, resulting in one of the best offensive seasons in over a decade.
• Looking at the equational statistics, the teams current .270 average, .355 on-base percentage, and 93 doubles are the highest in a full 50-plus game season since 2010. Similarly, their 271 RBI is third most since the 2010 season.
• The slugging numbers are even more impressive as their .434 slugging percentage is the highest since the 2002 season while their 51 home runs is the most in a single-season since 1999.
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
• Pre-season favorites, UC Santa Barbara, enter the weekend with a 31-14 overall record and 15-6 mark in conference play. They currently sit in second place in the Big West standings.
• Their offense owns a .288/.383/.494 slash line with 73 home runs and 301 runs scored in their 45 games played. They lead the Big West in home runs, total bases, slugging percentage, and stolen bases.
• As a staff, the pitching owns a 3.85 team ERA with a .237 batting average against. In 402 innings, they own 465 strikeouts opposed by just 177 walks. The Gauchos lead the conference in ERA, BAA, WHIP, and strikeouts.
AGAINST THE OPPONENT
• Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara have faced each other 199 times in program history going back to 1955. LBSU leads the all-time series 103-96 and are 65-45 in the Dirtbags era. When playing at home, Long Beach is 64-38 all-time.
• The Dirtbags have lost three straight matchups after sweeping the series last year, and have lost 9 of the last 11 games.
Full Game Notes
Players Mentioned
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