The Long Beach State baseball team has been slated to finish third in Big West Conference play as voted on by the nine coaches, and announced by the league office Tuesday afternoon.
The Dirtbags will be one of the most experienced teams in the Big West as it welcomes back 24 letterwinners from last season. This is as testament to the strength of the upper-portion of the conference.
Seven starters are returning for the Dirtbags, which finished fourth in the conference last year.
The Big West preseason coaches’ poll has LBSU finishing behind defending champion Cal State Fullerton (six first-place votes) and UC Irvine (three first-place votes).
Last year, the Dirtbags finished with an overall record of 29-27 after going 12-12 in Big West play.
In order to be successful in the upcoming season, Long Beach will have to pick up its offensive production after a less-than-average 2011.
During last year’s campaign, the Dirtbags were eighth in the Big West in batting average (.258) and RBI (188), and last in home runs (10) and on-base percentage (.326).
LBSU will look to the leadership of junior infielder Matt Duffy, who batted .266 while driving home a team-high 31 RBI in 2011.
On the mound the Dirtbags will turn to senior Shawn Stuart, who went 4-4 with a 3.16 earned run average in 13 starts last season.
Last season’s rotation anchored by Andrew Gagnon, whose record did not reflect his performance due to the team’s lack of offensive fire power.
Gagnon was among the leaders in ERA (2.81) and strikeouts (82), but recorded a dismal 4-10 record in 15 starts.
The LBSU pitching staff finished fourth in the Big West with a collective ERA of 3.55.
The 2012 season begins for the Dirtbags on February 17 when the team will host Virginia Commonwealth University in the first of a three game set a Blair Field.
Conference play opens up March 16 when LBSU heads to Fullerton for three with the Titans.
Fullerton went 19-5 last season on its way to claiming the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Titans have won 25 Big West titles and nine of the last 13.
The Dirtbags have claimed 11 Big West championships, the last coming in 2008.
Head coach Troy Buckley is entering his second year at the helm for the LBSU.
2012 Big West coaches predictions:
1. Cal State Fullerton (6) – 76 points
2. UC Irvine (3) – 70 points
3. Long Beach State – 58 points
4. Cal Poly – 54 points
5. UC Riverside – 44 points
6. UC Santa Barbara – 37 points
7. Pacific – 25
8. UC Davis – 23
9. Cal State Northridge – 18
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