Dirtbags in the Majors: Jered Weaver's No-Hitter (May 2)

Former Dirtbag Jered Weaver threw his first no-hitter of his career and the second no-hitter of the 2012 MLB season. Weaver allowed just two Minnesota Twins batters on base last Wednesday night and had nine strikeouts. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitcher was the 2011 American League Cy Young Runner-Up and Long Beach State will be honoring Jered Weaver with a bobblehead giveaway on Saturday, May 19 at Blair Field when the Dirtbags take on Pacific at 5:30PM. For tickets and more information please visit LongBeachState.com.

Dirtbags in the Majors: (April 23-29)

Danny Espinosa - Washington Nationals #8 2B
- Second Baseman Danny Espinosa finished sixth in the Rookie of the Year voting, playing 158 games and hitting 21 home runs
- 2012 Update: Espinosa opens the year as the starting 2B for the Washington Nationals

Marco Estrada - Milwaukee Brewers #41 RHP
- Marco Estrada returns to the Milwaukee Brewers rotation in his fourth season in the majors
- 2012 Update: Has pitched out of the bullpen and spot started for the Brewers, currently holds a 3.71 ERA on the season

Jason Giambi - Colorado Rockies #23 1B
- Jason Giambi, who at 41 years-old extends his own record with the longest Major League career for a former Dirtbag, entering his 18th season of service.
- The 2001 AL MVP is a five-time All-Star and hit .260 with 13 home runs last season for the Rockies
- 2012 Update: Pinch hitter and veteran presence on Rockies bench

Evan Longoria - Tampa Bay Rays #3 3B
- 2012 Update: Longoria had a 4 RBI night. Including a 3-run HR April 27 vs. Texas.
- Batting .319 with four home runs and 18 RBI through the first 20 games of the season

Bryan Shaw - Arizona Diamondbacks #39 RHP
- Bryan Shaw made 33 appearances out of the bullpen for the Arizona Diamondbacks, compiling a 2.54 ERA with 24 strikeouts
- 2012 Update: Shaw picked up his second save of the year Sunday, getting the final four outs of the game, one of them coming on a strikeout. (Sun Apr 15)

Troy Tulowitzki - Colorado Rockies #2 SS
- 2012 Update: Tulo has hit safely in six of his last seven games with two home runs and four RBI
- Tulowitzki went 2-for-6 with a home run, two runs scored and one RBI during Friday's win over the Mets. (Fri Apr 27)

Jason Vargas - Seattle Mariners #38 SP (Starting Pitcher)
- 2012 Update: Vargas started the second official game of the 2012 season, throwing 6.1 innings for Seattle as the Mariners faced Oakland in Japan in a two-game series
- Vargas took the loss despite a quality start Sunday, April 29 allowing two runs on four hits and three walks over six innings, striking out four.
- 3-0, 3.38 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 27 strikeouts

Jered Weaver - Los Angeles Angels #36 (Starting Pitcher)
- 2012 Update: Weaver tossed six shutout innings, allowing seven hits and walking four while striking out eight, but was left with a no-decision against Cleveland Friday night. (Fri Apr 27)
- 3-0, 2.02 ERA, .95 WHIP, 36 strikeouts

Vance Worley - Philadelphia Phillies #49 (Starting Pitcher)
- 2012 Update: Currently he holds a 2.16 ERA and a 2-1 record, he earned his second win with another quality start allowing just one run over six innings Tuesday against Arizona (April 24)

Fall Sports Recap

Cross Country
Long Beach State senior Rosa Del Toro and sophomore Heath Reedy earned USTFCCCA All-Region awards for their efforts this season. Both Cross Country teams concluded their seasons at the NCAA West Regional at Stanford. Reedy recorded the highest finish among all LBSU runners at the Stanford Golf Course Reedy finished in 18th place with a personal-best in the 10,000-meters of 29:52. The 49er men's team placed ninth out of 25 teams, tallying 288 points and was the second highest team from the Big West. Del Toro was the top runner for the women's squad in the 6K meet, crossing the finish line in 19th with a time of 20:49, just missing qualifying for the NCAA Championship by one place and one second. The LBSU women's team finished in 11th out of 31 teams, collecting 332 points and was the third highest team from the Big West.

Women's Volleyball
Your 49ers became the 25th consecutive team to make the NCAA Tournament, No. 23 Long Beach State faced No. 20 University of San Diego Toros first round. After a hard battle, Long Beach fell 23-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-21 in the only matchup between ranked teams in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Long Beach State finishes the 2011 season with a 23-7 overall record. Long Beach State is slated to return nearly the entire roster, including all starters other than Ledoux and senior libero Lauren Minkel, who led the 49ers with 15 digs in her final match.

Senior Caitlin Ledoux and sophomore Haleigh Hampton were both named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-West Region Team, as announced by the AVCA. With their selection to the All-Region team, both Ledoux and Hampton are guaranteed at least an Honorable Mention All-America selection.

Women's Soccer
The Long Beach State women's soccer team's historic run came to an end as it fell to top-seeded and third-ranked Duke, 2-0, in front of 2,192 fans at Koskinen Stadium. LBSU ended the season with an 18-6-1 overall record, marking the most wins in school history. Prior to their loss in the NCAA Elite Eight, the 49ers had won a program-record eight consecutive games with seven of those coming by way of a shutout. LBSU had not allowed a goal in 544 minutes until Duke found the back of the net at the 66:28 mark. Long Beach State finished the best season in program history with a school-record 49 goals, 52 assists and 150 points. In their third postseason appearance, the 49ers not only won their first NCAA Tournament game, but also became the first team in Big West Conference history to move on to the Elite Eight.

For more information please visit www.LongBeachState.com, Go Beach!

49ers Homecoming Weekend Recap

Women's Volleyball clinches the Big West Championship with two wins on the road, and secures NCAA Tournament berth for the 25th consecutive year. Senior Caitlin Le Doux wins Big West Player of the Week for her performance at UC Davis and the University of Pacific. Your 49ers have won the last 11 games and will return to the Walter Pyramid this weekend against UC Irvine. First serve is set to go off at 7:00PM Saturday, November 19th.

Women's Soccer wins the first round of NCAA Tournament defeating No. 7 Pepperdine 1-0 in overtime, Nadia Link scored the golden goal with 14 seconds left. Third time's the charm for Head Coach Mauricio Ingrassia and Your 49ers, this is Long Beach State's third appearance in the national tournament, and first ever NCAA Tournament win. Your 49ers will compete in the 2nd round against the University of Miami, which will be played at UCLA Drake Stadium Friday, November 18th at 5:00PM.




Women's Basketball wins home opener by 32 points against Utah Valley, final score 75-43. Tipesa Moorer captured her second career double at Long Beach State with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Ella Clark had a career-best seven blocks which ties her for third in the program's single-game history, she also tied  career best with 16 points during the game. Your 49ers is on the road with their next game at Sacramento State November 19th at 7:05PM.




Men's Basketball is victorious on Homecoming defeating the University of Idaho 69-61 in front of 4,348 audience in the Walter Pyramid. With his stellar performance and a career high of seven assists, Larry Anderson receives Big West Player of the Week. Casper Ware register 20 points against the Vandals. Your 49ers are on the road with their next game against No. 9 Pittsburgh, November 16th Wednesday at 6:00PM PT. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.




For more information please visit LongBeachState.com and 'LIKE' us on Facebook.com/LBSUAthletics, and follow us on Twitter.com/LBSUAthletics. GO BEACH!

Big West Tournament: Women's Soccer

Long Beach State Women's Soccer will look to defend it's Big West Championship starting Thursday, November 3rd against No. 3 Cal State Northridge. Your 49ers will host the Matadors as the second seed in the Big West, and the semifinal game is set to start 2:00PM at George Allen Field.

If the women's soccer team prevails against Cal State Northridge, Your 49ers will play against either No. 1 UC Irvine or No. 4 UC Davis Sunday, November 6th. If UC Irvine wins, Long Beach State will travel to Irvine on Sunday November to play for the Big West Championship. However, if UC Davis wins, Long Beach State will host at home on Sunday to play for the title.

Along with clinching Big West Tournament berth, junior Nadia Link was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week with her spectacular performance this past weekend. It is her second weekly honor this season, and the third of her career at Long Beach State. On the week, Link led Your 49ers in goals (2), assists (3), point (7), and shot attempts (9). She leads the Big West in goals (14), assists (10) and points (38), and ranks among the top three in the LBSU single-season record books in each of those categories. Nadia is the third 49er in school history, and the first since the program was reinstated in 1998, to register double figures in both goals and assists. Link has played a pivotal role this season in helping Long Beach State proceed into post-season play.

Your 49ers return to George Allen Field this Thursday at 2:00PM against Cal State Northridge in the semifinal of the Big West Conference Championship. For more information please visit LongBeachState.com and follow us on Facebook.com/LBSUAthletics for up-to-date information. GO BEACH!

Big West Athlete of the Week: Haleigh Hampton

Women's Volleyball Haleigh Hampton receives Big West Athlete of the Week for the second time this season. The sophomore middle blocker led Your 49ers this past weekend with two victories on the road against Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. The team now holds a 8-2 record in the Big West Conference and continues to lead the conference standings.

Hampton led the 49ers in kills, in the game against Cal Poly Hampton tallied a season's best 20 kills, just one shy of her career record of 21. At UC Santa Barbara Hampton had 19 kills, and led the team to a four-set win over the Gauchos. She also leads the conference in blocking, and is among the leaders for both hitting percentage and kills per set in conference matches.

Your 49ers return to the Walter Pyramid this weekend to host UC Riverside on Friday and Cal State Northridge on Saturday. UC Riverside was the last team in the Big West to defeat Your 49ers, and the women's volleyball team will be looking to secure the win at home.

First serve is set to go off at 7PM, GO BEACH!

LBSU Men's Basketball Receives Preseason Acclaim

LBSU Men's Basketball is picked as the favorite to win the Big West Title this 2011-2012 season. Along with Big West recognition, the 49ers also received two points in the ESPN/USA Today Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll. Three players were also chosen on the six-man Preseason Media Big West All-American Conference Team.

Your 49ers received 20 out of 24 first-place votes and finished with 212 points in the preseason conference poll. Reigning Big West Conference Player of the Year, Casper Ware earned a spot on the preseason all-league team as well as Larry Anderson and T.J. Robinson. The men's basketball team completed last season with a 14-2 record in the Big West, and returns four key starters - Casper Ware, T.J. Robinson, Larry Anderson, and Eugene Phelps. 

Among other preseason accolades, Senior Casper Ware is one of 50 other basketball student-athletes in Division I to be awarded the John R. Wooden Preseason Top 50 Award, the preseason watch list for the national player of the year award. 

The LBSU Men's Basketball team will face a tough schedule early in the season, facing five teams ranked in the preseason by the coaches poll. Non-conference games include No. 1 North Carolina (Dec. 10), No. 8 Louisville (Nov. 28), No. 11 Pittsburgh (Nov. 16), No. 13 Kansas (Dec. 6), and No. 15 Xavier (Dec. 22). 

Homecoming is set on November 12, 2011 at the Walter Pyramid against Boise State at 2:05PM. For more information please visit LongBeachState.com.