By It’s Friday night at Blair Field. The temperature is well below what it was before the sun went down, the stands are packed and loud, and Long Beach State is battling one of many top-ranked teams on its schedule.
Framed by the fluorescent stadium lights is Andrew Liebel, standing on the mound against the blue outfield wall backdrop. The right-hander is unaware of the distractions around him. The weather, the fans, the teams, the base runners – Liebel is completely unfazed and remains so as he efficiently knocks out batter after batter, keeping his pitch count low and his confidence high until his team gets the win.
And when Liebel is on the mound, they do win.
“As the game progresses, you begin to smell victory,” Liebel said. “It’s that killer instinct and that competitive mindset that will really pay dividends in your outing.”
Liebel’s frame of mind becomes intensely competitive the minute he steps on the mound. He exudes confidence without even bordering on cockiness. The kid is good and doesn’t pretend that he doesn’t know it, which is why it’s so easy for him to block out all other distractions and do his job as a pitcher.
“Whatever happens, I know I’m going to get the next guy,” Liebel said, without even a trace of stress in his voice to indicate otherwise. “If I give up a leadoff single [I tell myself], ‘I’m going to get the double play and I’m going to get the next guy and it will be inning over.’ If I give up a leadoff triple, my mindset is, ‘I’m going to strike the next three out and it will be inning over and he won’t get in.'”
Now in his senior season, Liebel has dominated nearly every team that has dared to cross his path. In the Dirtbags’ first two series against top-ranked Rice and Wichita State, two high-profile teams with a history of routing the Dirtbags, Liebel blanked both teams, notching a career-high 11 strikeouts in both starts. Squaring off against Rice, Liebel found himself entrenched in a fierce pitching duel with Ryan Berry, one of collegiate baseball’s top pitchers.
His fastball command is nearly impeccable, and his breaking ball gets the bats swinging. His ability to throw from both sides of the plate is evident in his team-high 42 strikeouts. Liebel has given up just five earned runs over 39.1 innings, walked only six, thrown two wild pitches and has yet to hit a batter. It’s his frame of mind that allows him to not just do his job, but also dominate, he said.
“There is a certain amount of being competitive and being out of control,” Liebel said. “And when you find that right mix, which I think I’ve done, it allows you to not only have mound presence, but be in the right state of mind mentally to be able to compete at a high level.”
The righty has shown tremendous growth in his four years at The Beach. His numbers have progressively improved year after year, going from a 5.11 ERA over 12.1 innings as a true freshman to tossing 101.1 innings with a 2.84 ERA and a 9-3 record.
“It comes from learning, seeing other people’s success and learning from their success to bring to your game,” Liebel said. “And of course, just maturity, taking in all the coaches have to offer and just being a sponge and soaking in as much information as you can.”
His role on the pitching staff has evolved, as he now anchors the staff as the Dirtbags’ Friday night ace. A year ago, Liebel was a long reliever, brought on the mound to mop up a mess or give a guy a break after a stellar outing. Liebel was often brought in as early as the second or third inning and would throw nearly the remainder of the game. With an arm like rubber and an ability to get out of tough situations, one had to wonder why Liebel wasn’t starting.
However, Liebel himself never questioned his role. Although he had heard his name tossed around, he was a team player and felt that if the coaches gave the starting role to someone else, then he was deserving of that role.
“My role was to come in and pitch those two innings and I was going to come in and be the best I could be at pitching, whatever role that was,” Liebel said.
When Vance Worley and Manny McElroy both went down with injuries, Liebel got his chance to shine.
“I kind of had a feeling that I was their next guy to go to when we had issues,” Liebel said. “The anticipation was definitely exciting. It was exciting to know that this could be my shot right here, this could be it, and it was.”
After replacing McElroy as the Dirtbags’ Saturday starter toward the middle of conference play, it was obvious he belonged there. Liebel won four of his six starts in 2007, with just one loss to UC Riverside. Liebel pitched a complete game in the pitchers’ duel, giving up two runs on eight hits in what was arguably the Dirtbags’ toughest loss of the season.
Two weeks later, Liebel pitched another complete game against Pepperdine in the Long Beach Regional, this time for the win. Liebel already has one complete game under his belt this season, and has lasted no less than seven innings in five starts.
“Any type of complete game is definitely what I strive to go for,” Liebel said. “I want to go as long as I can; I’ll go until the coach tells me to stop. The coaches know that I’m OK, that my mind is OK and that I’m not thinking about anything else but this pitch, this batter.”
If Liebel has a weakness, it has yet to emerge. He knows exactly what he has to do: Throw strikes, keep his pitch count low and get ahead of hitters. Most frustrations are taken out on the rosin bag. After slamming it around a little, it’s back to work.
“I can grab the rosin bag and throw it down and just get locked in,” Liebel said, making a hard throwing motion. “That’s where I can really get out of control and throw it down, and then get to business.”
That business would be winning, and Liebel knows the crew behind him is more than capable in any given game, lauding their abilities to not only back him up defensively, but their run support as well.
Liebel’s unequivocal talent has helped the Dirtbags to their best opening season since 1994. Every challenge has been met head-on, every duel has been won and every possible distraction blocked out. When Liebel is on the mound, the only thoughts in his head are of winning.
