The Dirtbags have had a good last few weeks.
First, they held offensive juggernaught UC Santa Barbara to three runs over the entirety of a three-game series, which they took two games to one.
Then, they won two of three against No. 1 Cal Poly, taking a significant leap in Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).
This weekend, they capped it all off by getting a monumental series win over Cal State Fullerton.
Long Beach State (23-22, 9-6 Big West) had been dormant for many of the years since former head coach Mike Weathers retired, always finishing with a record close to .500 and never being able to break through against the top teams in the conference. At the top of that list was usually CSUF, which looked to be in position for another conference title after the Titans opened the 2014 season as preseason No. 1 in a number of polls.
CSUF has gradually fallen off since the season started in February, but that doesn’t lessen the Dirtbags’ accomplishment.
The Titans represent much more than a challenging conference opponent for LBSU.
They are a measuring stick for the Dirtbags, an example of what every LBSU fan feels should be the product at Blair Field.
They are to the Dirtbags what a major championship is to Tiger Woods, what a win over Ohio State is to Brady Hoke and his Michigan football team.
By beating the Titans this weekend, the Dirtbags marked off one of the final tasks on their checklist to return to the top. Getting elusive wins against CSUF is a major step toward getting back to the glory days of the 1990s and early 2000s.
The next step is taking their success to the national level, in the postseason. While LBSU’s 23-22 record may not be impressive, its series wins prove it is qualified to compete with the best in the NCAA tournament.
The Dirtbags have taken two of three from Indiana, UCLA, UCSB, Cal Poly and CSUF: all teams that made the NCAA tournament last year and have been ranked for multiple weeks at a time this year.
However, there are a few things that could derail their chances. Despite showing up for all of the big games, the Dirtbags have fallen flat on multiple occassions against lesser opponents. They lost both Tuesday games to Loyola Marymount and dropped two of three to eighth-place UC Davis, to name a few.
The Dirtbags are deserving of an NCAA tournament bid, and the growth of their pitching staff would allow them to do some damage if given the chance. It’s the next item on the checklist in returning the program to the top and making weekends at Blair Field the hottest ticket in town once again.
This weekend’s win over CSUF was monumental. It was everything the Dirtbags needed to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. Now they have to avoid a hangover and hope for the best.