Siavash Ghadiri / Daily Nexus
UC Santa Barbara Record: 24-10 (15-5)
Long Beach State Record: 10-9 (8-8)
Tale of the Tape:
The Gauchos have been crushing the ball…
The Gauchos have been riding on their tremendous hitting, scoring 50 runs in their previous series, and with the hitting carrying them to four straight conference series victories.
The Dirtbags had to get going in a hurry…
Unlike the Gauchos, the Dirtbags started their season with no preseason or out-of-conference games. Despite the rough start to the season, the Dirtbags have been 7-3 in their previous 10 games.
Series Implications:
First place in the conference…
With a series win or sweep the Gauchos could come closer to taking over first in the Big West. Unfortunately, they will have to wait a week due to Irvine having a non-conference series this weekend, so even with a sweep of Long Beach, the Gauchos will be behind in conference winning percentage.
Time to get the show on the road…
The Long Beach Dirtbags come into the series with significantly less games played on their schedule than the Gauchos. So, this series proves as a make-it-or-break-it series for them, as they can stay at 500 with a series draw, go above with a series win or go below with a series loss.
Players to watch: UCSB
2021 Brooks Wallace Award Watch List…
The most talented shortstops in the country get named to this award list every year, and this year a fellow Gaucho has been added to the list. What Jordan Sprinkle has done this season is astronomical, putting together a slash line of a .410 average, .452 on base percentage and a .614 slugging in league play. Have a year, Jordan!
The cleanup hitter…
Clearing the bases when his teammates get on base is in the cleanup hitter’s job description, and let me tell you, Zach Rodriguez has put on a show. He has knocked in a team-high 33 runs, while amassing a .667 slugging percentage in league — which also leads the team.
Sub-3.00 Earned Run Average…
The presumed ace of the team, Michael McGreevy is sitting at a 2.70 earned run average on the season. While his strikeout per nine doesn’t jump off the page, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is an amazing 37:2 in league play. Not to mention he boasts an impressive 3-0 record as a starting pitcher in conference play.
Players to watch: Long Beach
On-base machine…
Connor Kokx has been proven to be a terror on the basepaths. Aside from trying to keep him off the base paths since he has a .474 on base percentage in league, he has stolen 7-8 bases which would put him at just under a stolen base every other conference game.
The numbers don’t lie…
Starter/reliever Johnathan Lavallee has pitched 18.2 innings this year and given up just one earned run. An even more impressive stat is Lavallee has held opponents to a .097 batting average in league play.
Hello old friends…
From facing Alfredo Ruiz in high school to writing about him — despite having a shaky start to the 2021 campaign, don’t count out Ruiz who posted an impressive 1.80 earned run average in 2020. Another familiar name deals with my former teammate Alex Pimentel. Though Pimentel is not a consistent starter, the outfielder poses a consistent glove in the outfield with zero errors.
Three keys for a Gauchos series win:
Look for the big innings…
After scoring 15 runs against UCSD in three consecutive games to start the series, you can expect the Gauchos to rely on a flurry of runs.
Sorting out the bullpen…
The Gauchos have been inconsistent in the bullpen with most of their runs from the previous three games being given up in the latter innings, by the bullpen.
Expect big games…
When big games come around, the big players tend to produce, so you can expect Jordan Sprinkle and Zach Rodriguez to come out swinging the sticks in this series.
Where to watch the games…
Game 1: Friday, April 23 at 6:00 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, April 24 at 12:00 p.m.
Game 3: Saturday, April 24 at 3:00 p.m.
Game 4: Sunday, April 25 at 1:00 p.n.
All Games will be played at Blair Field in Long Beach, California.
