By The Long Beach State Dirtbags are heading into conference play with a chip on their shoulders after nearly taking the Big West Conference title before losing to Cal State Fullerton in the final series of 2016.
The team will also be looking to make its second consecutive NCAA regional after reaching the Coral Gables Regional.
After winning their first series against UC Santa Barbara, the No. 19 Long Beach State Dirtbags (17-11) will look to improve on their second-place finish in 2016 Big West play and dethrone No. 12 Cal State Fullerton for the top spot.
“Everyone is here to win the Big West,” junior right fielder Brock Lundquist said. “It’s a tough conference to play in, but if our pitching continues to look strong and we play solid defense and put runs on the board, we’re going to do some big things.”
LBSU started 2017 very inconsistently, but has made a turn-around after it swept Cal State Fullerton in a non-conference series March 23-26. The Dirtbags made national noise after the sweep of the then No. 5-ranked team in the country and have seemed to build upon their momentum since then.
A key aspect to the sweep was the collective performances of the weekend pitching staff of juniors Darren McCaughan (2-2, 3.51 ERA), John Sheaks (3-1 3.79 ERA) and senior Dave Smith (2-1, 0.84 ERA).
“As a unit we’ve shown what we can do so far,” McCaughan said. “We have a lot of guys we can trust which is good to have options.”
The offense has been another key to LBSU’s recent success, scoring 46 runs in its last 10 games. To this point in the season, junior third baseman Ramsey Romano who is batting .352 with 16 RBIs had a 20-game hit streak that recently ended. Juniors Lucas Tancas (.322, 3 HRs, 12 RBIs) and David Banuelos (.312, 4 HRs, 18 RBIs) have been two important pieces of the offense as well this season.
“With the offense that we have, as long as we throw up low numbers out on the mound, they’re going to give us run support,” McCaughan said. “It builds confidence when you go out there and know that they are going to pick you up.”
The starters pitched well in last weekend’s Big West Conference opener against UC Santa Barbara, in which the Dirtbags went 2-1. Lundquist hit .500 with a home run and six RBIs that earned him player of the week recognition.
“Lately we’ve been doing three things that have allowed us to be successful; we’ve pitched well, played catch and put the ball in play to manufacture runs,” head coach Troy Buckley said. “If we do those things, regardless of the opponent, we’re going to give ourselves a chance.”
One longtime aspect that the Big West Conference is known for is the respect that each team has for one another. While CSUF has won the title six of the last 10 years, it looks like every team has a chance to be competitive in 2017.
“The Big West is open to win this year,” McCaughan said. “As of now, everyone is kind of in the same boat. Every team we play, we have to take it as the most important game of the year.”
Looking ahead, the Dirtbags have six home games in a row and will try to add on to their six consecutive wins at Blair Field. UC Riverside (12-12) travels to town this weekend for a three-game series.
UCR lost its opening series to CSUF last weekend one of the three games.
“We’re just going to try and play the same game we played last weekend,” UC Riverside head coach Troy Percival said. “Don’t expect a team like ours to change our game plan for anybody.”
Some key UCR players in the series will be junior Colby Schultz (.301, 1 HR, 11 RBI’s) and senior Mark Contreras (.404, 1 HR, 7 RBI’s). Look for UCR senior Alex Fagalde (5-0, 1.75 ERA, 36.0 IPs) and McCaughan to duel on Friday night in game one.
“Our focus is on the next team in front of us,” Buckley said. “The goal is really to take care of Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”
That being said, it’s hard to believe that the Dirtbags aren’t at least picturing the final conference series of 2017 at CSUF May 25-27. With Titans the preseason favorite and the Dirtbags sweep earlier this year, a lot will be on the line — including perhaps the Big West Conference Championship.
