Dirtbags stuck in middle, catching up after late start
The Long Beach State baseball team was picked to finish second behind UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Conference in a preseason coaches’ poll, but the Dirtbags sit in fifth place at 8-8.
It hasn’t helped that Long Beach State did not have any nonconference games before conference play in this coronaviruspandemic season. Of the 11 conference teams, CSUN (6-10) is the only other one that went that route.
“Yeah, I think we need more time and experience,” Dirtbags coach Eric Valenzuela said Tuesday. “We never want to make that as an excuse with the time off that we had and the limited amount of practice and, obviously, not having a nonconference schedule.
“But clearly, we’re battling. We’re battling with getting guys the reps and getting guys the experience out there. We’re starting a lot of new guys out there and some guys are getting playing time that just haven’t had that experience yet.”
Valenzuela believes the more games his team plays, the better it will get.
“That’s why I scheduled Pacific this weekend when we had a bye weekend (in conference),” he said. “We’re banged up and hurt with a couple of guys, but I thought playing on a bye weekend this weekend is super important for us just to get more time and more experience and more at-bats as we kind of get into the second part of the season.”
Valenzuela emphasized the idea that when most other teams were beginning their seasons, his was just starting to get on the field.
“You’ve gotta remember
Long Beach State’s Johnathan Lavallee was named Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week for his strong performance against Cal Poly on Friday.
this, our first practice as a team the whole year was opening weekend for everybody else,” he said. “We practiced Tuesday of that week and everybody played that Friday; that was opening weekend of Division 1 baseball.”
Opening day was Feb. 19. The Dirtbags did not have their first game until March 19. UC Irvine, which is in first in the conference at 13-3, has played a total of 29 games, with a 19-10 overall record, compared to 16 for Long Beach State. The Anteaters opened Feb. 19, as did second-place Santa Barbara (21-9, 12-4).
After Long Beach State’s three-game nonconference series this weekend at Pacific, things will get tougher. The Dirtbags will play UC Santa Barbara (12-4 Big West) and UC Irvine in back-to-back fourgame series.
Valenzuela is convinced his team, with 24 Big West games remaining, can still contend for the conference title.
“I do, I absolutely do,” Valenzuela said. “I think offensively
we have the guys that can do it and, obviously, pitching-wise I think we do as well.”
Lavallee named Pitcher of the Week
Dirtbags junior Johnathan Lavallee on Monday was named Big West Pitcher of the Week for his fine performance in a 7-0 victory over Cal Poly on Friday at Blair Field. He tossed seven shutout innings and had a no-hitter through 6 1/3.
He struck out eight and walked two.
Lavallee has made four appearances — two of them starts — and is 2-1 with an ERA of 0.48, fourth-lowest in Division I. He has 23 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings.
“It’s nice to see guys with opportunities step up,” said Valenzuela, who noted that Lavallee started the season in the bullpen.
This and that
A noteworthy performance from this past week was Blaine Traxel’s complete game in CSUN’s 7-3
conference victory over No. 25-ranked UC Santa Barbara. He allowed three runs on six hits, struck out seven and did not walk a batter. Traxel, a junior, is 2-0 with a 4.75 ERA for the Matadors . ... Cal State Fullerton outfielder Caden Connor continued his fine season by going 4 for 10 with an RBI and five runs scored during a three-game nonconference series against Cal Baptist over the weekend; the Titans won two of three. Connor leads the team with 29 hits and leads the everyday players with a .345 batting average and .423 on-base percentage. ... It’s been a tough season so far for UC Riverside (716, 5-11), but the Highlanders on Sunday were able to salvage the final game of a four-game series against visiting Hawaii (15-11, 7-9). They defeated the Rainbow Warriors 9-2 behind five shutout innings from Kyle Anderson and a 19-hit attack with Travis Bohall, Ely Stuart, Nathan Webb and Joey Nicolai getting three hits apiece.