By Love and fly balls will be in the air this Valentine’s Day, as Friday marks the first game of the Dirtbags’ season.
2013 was an up and-down year for the Dirtbags, who finished the season 29-27. Their 15-12 conference record was good for sixth in the Big West.
Despite a plethora of injuries, Long Beach State won 6 of its last 8 games last year, including a wild walk off win at UC Irvine in the season finale.
“We got beat up some, but one thing I’m trying to teach our guys, there are no excuses,” head coach Troy Buckley said. “There’s reasons, but you cant use them as outs.”
Four Dirtbags were selected in the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft, including three juniors. Last year’s opening day starter, Shane Carle, was drafted in the 10th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pitcher Jon Maciel, who bounced around as a reliever and a starter, was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 18th round. All Big-West infielder Jeff McNeil was a 12th round pick by the New York Mets, and senior infielder Juan Avila was drafted in the 20th round by the Miami Marlins.
Even without the four draftees, Buckley called his 2014 roster the most experienced he has seen in his four years at the helm of LBSU baseball.
“23 of the 35 players have experience at this level, so that’s huge,” said Buckley. “This is arguably my most talented and experienced team going into the season.”
The 2014 campaign begins anew for the Dirtbags, who will be getting key contributors back from injury. Starting pitcher Ryan Strufing, who figures to take the hill on opening day, missed last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
“My arm’s good,” said Strufing, a redshirt junior. “I’m 14 months post-op. My expectations are to be right where I was before, if not better. I’ve done the work, I had a lot of time to get my body where it needs to be. I expect to be even stronger than I was before.
One of the new players, Garrett Hampson, could be one of the most exciting Dirtbags to watch this season. Hampson was drafted in the 26th round out of Reno High School last year, but elected to come to The Beach. He will be starting at shortstop this season and is the No. 15 prospect on Baseball America’s Top 50 list.
Hampson hit .492 as a senior in high school, but Buckley knows not to expect that from a 19-year-old freshman. However, Buckley does believe he will make an impact in his first year at Blair Field.
“He will get better offensively as he continues to see more of the quality pitching because our schedule is extremely good,” said Buckley. “He’ll take his lumps at times on the offensive side. But man, he’s done a good job of taking care of the baseball. He’s solidified that position and that allows us to move some other people around.”
Hampson, along with the other Dirtbags, will be thrown into the fire early and often. Like last season, the Dirtbags open up the season against Vanderbilt, the No. 10 team in the country. Blair Field will also play host to defending national champion UCLA, seventh-ranked Indiana, 20th-ranked Arizona State, and the preseason No. 1 team, rival Cal State Fullerton.
“Its always fun,” senior first baseman Ino Patron said. “I was always told if you wanna be the best, you gotta beat the best. It’s definitely a challenge that we accept. It’s fun, competing against people in general, that’s why you play sports, and that’s why you play baseball.”
Patron and company open the season at Blair Field against Vanderbilt on February 14. Big West action begins March 28 at Cal State Northridge.
