The Long Beach State baseball team will take its road woes down the coast on Tuesday night when it takes on UC San Diego.
The Dirtbags (18-12) are coming off a series loss to UC Irvine and will quickly turn their attention to another strong opponent in the Toreros (20-13). They have not fared well on the road this season, going just 3-7 away from Blair Field. The only thing that travels well for the Dirtbags is their pitching.
LBSU has one of the best pitching staffs in the country. The team ranks No.11 in the country in both ERA and strikeout to walk ratio. They lead the Big West Conference in almost all statistical pitching categories.
Freshman right-hander Chris Mathewson said pitching coach Mike Steele has made a significant difference in the team.
“He’s made a big impact on me and gotten me a lot better,” Mathewson said. “He always tells me not to do more when I don’t need to.”
However, as good as the Dirtbags have been on the mound they’ve been the exact opposite at the plate. They rank dead last in the Big West in hits, batting average and on base percentage. Head coach Troy Buckley said it is not feasible to rely so heavily on the pitching staff the rest of the season if they want to compete.
“We’ve challenged [our players] on [offense],” Buckley said. “It’s not from a lack of effort. Some of it is talent and inexperience.”
Seventeen-year head coach Rich Hill has The Toreros sitting atop of the standings in the West Coast Conference. A mix of solid defense and offense has the Toreros rolling this season. They have the best defensive fielding percentage and second best batting average in their conference.
USA baseball named junior shortstop Kyle Holder to the midseason Golden Spikes Award watch list on Thursday. He leads the conference in both batting average and on base percentage while starting every game so far.
On the mound, the Toreros feature junior right-hander David Hill. He has earned West Coast Conference Rawlings Pitcher of the week honors twice this season. USD has the second best ERA in the WCC, trailing only Gonzaga. Shortstop sophomore Garrett Hampson said the team can’t get too high or too low mentally in the matchup.
“We just need to play the right way and keep the team rolling,” Hampson said.
The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Fowler Park.