About a quarter of the way through the 2017 season, the Long Beach State Dirtbags have been flat-out underperforming with a record of 6-8, including the most recent series when they were swept by Arizona State.
The Dirtbags (6-8) opening day lineup on Feb. 17 against Oklahoma included five returners who started over 36 games in 2016. On paper, this core of experienced position players looked like a strong foundation for a team looking to make its second consecutive NCAA playoff appearance.
LBSU even received preseason recognition from BaseballAmerica.com, getting slotted in the No. 22 spot in the nation. Behind players like senior first baseman Daniel Jackson, junior starting pitcher and 2016 Big West Conference pitcher of the year Darren McCaughan, the Dirtbags had some expectations to live up to before the first pitch of 2017.
Head coach Troy Buckley was not shy at all in composing the schedule this season. In the first 14 games, the Dirtbags have gone to North Carolina for a series against then-No. 8 Tar Heels, a midweek game on Feb. 21 against USC and, of course, tonight’s matchup against No. 2-ranked TCU.
This schedule has been even tougher on this team that started the year without a key group of arms, including junior transfer AJ Jones and freshman Ryan Mauch. Jones will be making his debut against TCU on Tuesday, but will most likely be limited to only a few innings after coming back from injury.
Fast-forwarding to the present, the theme of the Dirtbags’ struggles has been inconsistent relief pitching coupled with an offense who has had trouble scoring late in ball games. Those two factors together have resulted in some heartbreaking losses.
The starting pitching has also been up-and-down so far this season. Five pitchers have started games for LBSU so far this season, two of which are freshmen in John Castro (0-3, 5.74) and Matt Fields (2-0 3.52).
McCaughan has been the most consistent for the Dirtbags, though the stat sheet may not show it. McCaughan (1-1, 3.91, 26 K) has been at the receiving end of some tough no decisions, both of which he pitched well enough to win.
LBSU’s offense hasn’t quite been able to click when McCaughan is on the mound, albeit they usually face their opponents best pitcher on Friday nights. The Dirtbags need to focus on taking advantage of the high class pitcher McCaughan is and look to support him with more runs than they have been so that they can win that ever important game one.
As for the relief pitching, it’s safe to say that everybody has taken their share of punches this season. From the experienced pitchers like senior Josh Advocate (3.38) and sophomore Chris Rivera (5.68) to freshman Connor Riley (3.38) and Zak Baayoun (7.36), it’s safe to say they haven’t yet found their comfort zone.
Too many games have been lost late, especially behind strong performances from starting pitching. It has been time for the young arms to step it up and start sealing victories for the Dirtbags.
Offensively, there have been some hitters who are already looking to be in midseason form. Junior catcher David Banuelos is off to a nice start, batting .390 with one home run and five RBI’s. Ramsey Romano (.367, 8 RBI’s), a junior transfer from Yavapai College, has earned the most playing time at third base this year and is proving to be one of the team’s most productive hitters so far. Junior Luke Rasmussen has done an excellent job in the cleanup spot, batting .295 and driving in 15 runs to this point.
Junior right fielder Brock Lundquist (.192, 7 RBI’s) and senior first baseman Daniel Jackson (.200, 8 RBI’s) have yet to find their stride at the plate. Both players were key pieces of the lineup last season and will need to get hot in order for LBSU to be a threat in Big West conference play.
To say the season is lost at this point in the year would be a very hasty conclusion. The Dirtbags seem like they will be a force to be reckoned with if they can start putting together quality at bats along with more consistency on the mound.
With only 10 games remaining before conference play starts on March 31 against UCSB, the time is now for the Dirtbags to find their identity and make a run at a Big West Championship.