Long Beach State Dirtbags in Florida again for NCAA Regional

After its most wiingest season under sixth-year head coach Troy Buckley, the Long Beach State baseball team is taking part in the NCAA Regional for the 21st time in program history this weekend.

The Dirtbags (36-20) are in Coral Gables, Florida as the No. 3 seed in the regional hosted by the University of Miami. LBSU starts the touament round Friday (10 a.m.) against Florida Atlantic. Miami takes on Stetson to finish off the first day of the double-elimination weekend.

“This team has invested a lot, and for them to see some fruit at the end of the work is outstanding,” Buckley said of gaering an at-large bid after losing a share of the Big West Conference title to Cal State Fullerton on the final day of the regular season.

“I’m pleased for the fans, the school, the community, everything. It’s great. It’s what you work for,” Buckley added. “We’re getting on the road early to make sure we’re acclimated to the surroundings, the weather and the time change.”

This is the second time in three years the Dirtbags are in Florida for the postseason after playing in the Gainesville Regional in 2014. A handful of Dirtbags on the current roster, including All-American shortstop Garrett Hampson, played in those 2014 regional games.

“This is the second season,” said Hampson, who was named Big West Defensive Player of the Year. “It’s exciting to start fresh, but we don’t want to change a thing with our approach. We’re still in a good spot offensively.”

Hampson sparked the Dirtbag offense all season long with team-highs in hits (71) runs scored (53) and stolen bases (21) to go with 24 RBIs and a .389 on-base percentage. First baseman Daniel Jackson leads LBSU with a .326 batting average, and left fielder Brock Lundquist has a team-high 35 RBIs, 16 doubles and four triples.

The Dirtbags outscored their opponents 289-207 this season thanks the improved offense and a dominant pitching staff that posted a 3.18 ERA, ranked 20th in the nation. Junior Darren McCaughan (10-1), named Big West Pitcher of the Year, has been the impressive this season with his 1.98 ERA and only 15 walks in 104 1/3 iings pitched.

Florida Atlantic (38-17) led Conference USA all season long, but the Owls closed out their season with consecutive 10-iing losses in the conference touament. This is the 10th postseason for FAU, who outscored its opponents 347-211 thanks in large part of CJ Chatham. The junior leads the Owls offense with a .367 batting average, 49 RBIs, 17 doubles, a .574 slugging percentage and a .435 on-base percentage.

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Miami (45-11), the No. 3 seed nationally, extending its national record by reaching a 44th consecutive NCAA postseason.

“Everyone is 0-0 and everyone is good,” Buckley said of the regionals. “(We) have played enough big games so we should have our feet on the ground (Friday) and be ready to go.”

The wier of the LBSU/FAU game will play the wier of the Miami/Stetson game on Saturday, and the losers will play in an elimination game. All Coral Gables Regional action can be seen live on ESPN3.