Dirtbags Baseball - Long Beach State 49ers

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Monday, June 06, 2005

That's Baseball!

Sadly, the Dirtbags' 2005 season ended yesterday as the Pepperdine Waves defeated them 6-3, eliminating them from the Long Beach Regional. I'm not going to do a post-mortem on their defeat. I'm sure you can find that elsewhere if you are interested.

I'm very proud of what the team accomplished this year. After losing so many key players after last season - Jered Weaver, Jason Vargas, John Bowker and Mike Hofius, to name a few - it looked like this season might be more of a rebuilding year. Then during the season, the 'Bags lost Troy Tulowitzki for 20 games, and Sean Boatright and Danny Mocny for extended periods of time. It was a real recipe for a down year.

But some new faces, and some old, really stepped up. And this team truly was a team. Some of the new kids (I'm old enough I get to call these young men kids) really produced. On offense, JC transfer Evan Longoria and redshirt freshman Brandon Godfrey stood out among the new. Chris Jones, from the returning players, seemed to burst from the back of the room and make his presence known. Sean Boatright's powerful punch was back with a vengence. It would be tough to count the number of times Steve Velazco made game saving catches in the gap or corner. And Troy Tulowitzki. Great player. Greater leader. What a pleasure and privilege it's been to watch him play.

There are not enough superlatives to describe the pitching performance. This staff finishes with the lowest team ERA in all of NCAA Division I baseball, at 2.53. That's an outstanding ERA for an individual pitcher. It's mind boggling for a college staff pitching to aluminum bats. JC transfers Cody Evans and Marco Estrada, and freshmen Jared Hughes and Donnie Hume, together with junior Cesar Ramos, gave the Dirtbags a lineup of starting pitchers that would be the envy of any college, anywhere. You just don't see this kind of depth on one college pitching staff. And if this team made it to the 5th or 6th inning with a lead, they were virtually unbeatable. Senior Brian Anderson set 'em up, and senior Neil Jamison closed 'em down. Over and over and over. Division I baseball may never have seen a 1-2 punch like Brian and Neil before.

For the seniors, and other draft eligible players, Tuesday and Wednesday this week will be nail biting time as Major League Baseball conducts the 2005 First Year Player draft. I wish each and every one of them the very best. They have big dreams. I hope they all come true.

posted on 6/06/2005 by Jeff Agnew

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