Long Beach State Dirtbags decide on starter for NCAA Regional opener

After serious discussions with his coaching staff this week, Long Beach State head coach Troy Buckley decided to stick with Friday night starter Chris Mathewson for the Dirtbags’ first NCAA postseason game of the Coral Gables Regional today (10 a.m. PT) against Florida Atlantic at the University of Miami.

The decision leaves Big West Pitcher of the Year Darren McCaughan in the bullpen with an eye on a possible Saturday start against the host Hurricanes if No. 3 seed LBSU can beat No. 2 Florida Atlantic, and Miami takes care of No. 4 Stetson in the second game today.

“With the info we have, I think (Mathewson) matches up best with Florida Atlantic,” Buckley said via phone Thursday. “(FAU) has experience in the lineup and they know how to play. We’re certainly not overlooking them.”

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.

Mathewson (7-5) has been the Friday night starter in all but one weekend series for this season, but after offseason surgery, he hasn’t looked like the pitcher who won the 2015 Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year award with a 1.94 ERA and 80 strikeouts. The hard-trowing right-hander has still been solid with 103 strikeouts in 97 2/3 iings pitched, but his ERA (3.78) walks (41) extra base hits (28) and opponents batting average (.251) are all higher than last year.

In his first year as a starter, McCaughan went 10-1 with a Big West leading 1.98 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and opponents are batting just .191 against the righthander. He pitched and won the first Friday game of the season as Mathewson worked his way back, and took advantage of hitters not knowing him much like Mathewson did last season. McCaughan was also one of just 60 players named to USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list, and he was selected second team All-America by Collegiate Baseball.

“You have to take the games as they come, but we’re trying to win this thing, so you also need to prepare for all scenarios,” Buckley said. He added that McCaughan may not pitch Saturday if the Dirtbags lose to FAU.

Miami (45-11), the No. 3 national seed , is making its record 44th consecutive trip to the postseason. Stetson (29-29) received the automatic bid from the Atlantic Sun Conference and is making its first NCAA appearance since 2011.

The wiers play on Saturday for a spot in the championship round, with the losers meeting in an elimination game, also scheduled for Saturday. All Coral Gables Regional action can be seen live on ESPN3.

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