3:30pm | Nine has been or is the loneliest number in Forty-Niner land. The 2012 baseball team (some fans are temporarily suspending the nickname Dirtbags) are a puzzle in the early season as they continue a tour of tough Pac 12 teams–especially when it comes to performance in the ninth inning. Arizona State is the guest this weekend and hopes are high that like their basketball brothers, these baseball boys can FINISH.
 
You will recall that LBSU gave up a four spot in the ninth of game one of the VCU series and then needed the ninth to get a couple of one run wins. The Beach had runners in scoring position in the ninth before falling to USC.  The Cal series resulted in two wins and a painful extra inning loss. At Oregon all three games were one run losses and all three were in the bottom of nine.  In his post game presser after the Beach gave up two runs in the ninth to SDSU, these words from management. “We have to find a way to pull ourselves out of this… this could be the best thing for us because it will force the guys to look at the small things.” Coach Troy Buckley said after the game. “The details are the key to consistent play, and that’s what we talked about before the season even started… I’d rather learn these lessons now than during conference play.”  Ah yes, the devil is in the details.
  
ASU is 33-8 all-time against Long Beach State, with the Sun Devils sweeping the last three-game series at Packard Stadium. ASU won the first game 6-3 and the second game 9-2. They closed out the series 17-9 in the final game. The Devils took one from the Dirtbags in 2007, losing the other two 7-8 and 9-16, but as purists will note the 2007 wins were later vacated due to NCAA sanctions. The played Texas Tech mid week and the up to 10th-ranked Arizona State baseball team, played their fifth game in six nights, and lost 8-4. The ASU press notes brag about the team balance. “The Sun Devils are second in the NCAA in batting average at .363…ASU is fifth in runs scored per game at 9.6 (96 in 10 games), 16th in runs and 15th in hits. Junior second baseman Joey DeMichele ranks second in the NCAA with a .553 batting average, the only Pac-12 player to rank in the top 40, and 8th in RBI per game at 1.90. DeMichele is also fourth in the nation in on base percentage at .617, sixth in slugging percentage at .974 and 10th in total bases with 37. On the mound, ASU is fifth in ERA at 1.57, the only Pac-12 team in the top 15, and are ninth in hits allowed per 9 innings at 6.3. Right-hander Brady Rodgers is tops in the NCAA with a 0.00 ERA and is tied for fifth in wins with three.  The best of the hitters may well be Joey M who already has a Pac-12 Player of the Week honor…he collected a career-best five RBI in two separate games, and started all four games at second base and did not commit an error. The pitching rotation stays the same for both sides. Shawn Stuart (4.91) vs Brady Rogers, 3-0 and a 0.00 ERA; Matt Anderson (2.00) vs Darin Gillies (2.89) and the Sunday sensation Ryan Strufing (2-0, 1.83) against unbeaten Trevor Williams (3-0, 1.06). The Saturday game has been moved up to 2 pm, (hopefully to allow fans time to get to the BWC championship game at the Honda Center.) 

DUST: MLB Style

Adam Wilk is off to a perfect start (0.00) for Detroit in his two games and Joey Terdoslavich is hungry for the starting third base job for Atlanta and has two doubles in his .667 average…It was a rough weekend for the Niner neighbors as well…USC did beat CSUF midweek but ace Andrew Triggs was lit up by North Carolina Friday night in an 11-1 rout. ..Pepperdine had 14 hits…for the entire weekend, at Louisville. It’s kind of strange that the one game the Waves won this weekend was the one they only managed three hits…the same bloggers had this to say about our homeboys at Oregon…”Heart wrenching. That’s probably the best way to describe Long Beach’s weekend. The Dirtbags lost their third, fourth and fifth one-run games of the season. What makes it even worse was the manner of the losses. Long Beach lost Friday night on a ninth-inning error; lost Saturday in the 13th inning after tying the game in the ninth; and Sunday may have been the most deflating loss. The Dirtbags gave up 5-1 and 7-5 leads in the seventh and eighth innings before allowing the game-winning run with two outs in the ninth. Starters Matt Anderson ( and Ryan Strufing were solid for the second straight week against a Pac 12 opponent”…searching for the silver lining?…the star of the 49er video shows got his first two starts this year and the loquacious Brennan Fulkerson had a pair of multi-hit games and drove in three runs.  He may interview himself this week.