Location, location, location. At least that’s mantra for folks in the real estate game. UC Riverside, where the temps can be wickedly warm, trades it all for the sea breezes and big outfield of Blair. Last weekend USD’s wonder boy Kris Bryant hit his nation-leading 29th home which was supposed to bury the Highlanders. It was an 11-3, sixth-inning lead but that was not enough for San Diego on a warm Tuesday night at the hitter friendly Riverside Sports Complex. UCR rallied from that eight-run deficit to take a 12-11 victory in ten innings and (likely) play the spoiler role in San Diego’s chances to receive an NCAA at large selection. Hummm, spoiler, sort of what Long Beach is thinking about when they close their season next weekend at UC At Large (our new favorite name for UC Irvine). But let’s not get too far ahead because the Beach boys still have a number in mind, and that would be a 30 win season.

Sitting at 25-25, the next six games could yield five wins (hence the 30 win goal) or maybe go 4-2 and finish over .500. Riverside certainly had more dramatics in their mid week win, but a W was just as satisfying for LBSU when they whipped Pepperdine 3-1 on Tuesday in the Dirtbags’ final midweek game.  Buck now rolls out his normal weekend rotation of Carle, Stassi and Hill. Special attention and some tears amid the cheers will happen when Sunday marks the final home game for Long Beach State’s four seniors, all four of whom played well in 2013. Third baseman Juan Avila is second on the team with 25 RBI despite missing 12 games, and Zach Miller has started 18 games behind the dish for LBSU in 2013. Among the pitchers, lefty bullpen option Landon Hunt leads the team with 23 appearances, while Eddie Magallon (four-year letter winner) has 12 saves in his Dirtbag career and a solid 3.45 ERA during the 2013 season.

Riverside, which lost their President to the Chancellor’s office, their basketball post season to a slumping APR and last week had to vacate eight wins (due to a clerical error made five years ago, the Highlanders inadvertently used an ineligible player for 15 games) enters this week with a record of 12-28 overall, three games behind the Dirtbags in the Big West standings (an 8-13 overall mark.) Clayton Prestridge leads the offense with a .364 mark, (team is hitting .282). David Andriese and Devyn Bolasky are each hitting .342 as well to help pace the Highlanders. Last season, the Dirtbags took two of three in Riverside, and extended their lead in the all-time series to 52-31-1. Riverside finds itself in seventh place, three games back of Long Beach State with both teams are trying to move up the standings and close out the 2013 season on an up note.

CSUF leads with Northridge in second then a log jam of UCI, Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. Clayton Prestridge increased his average to .364 thanks to a four-for-six Tuesday performance and now ranks third in the league in that category. Andriese and Bolasky are each hitting .342. Dylan Stuart (3-7, 5.28) takes to the mound on Friday, while Ben Doucette (2-6, 5.46) gets the nod on Saturday and we will get to Sunday when the mood strikes. The Beach took two of three from Hawai’i in conference play over the weekend and used their reliable hitter Jeff McNeil (.354/.407.449) but is still missing Michael Hill (.336/.357/.522), who broke his ankle against UCLA on April 23 and has not played since. The Niner ERAs are pretty good, Shane Carle (3-8, 3.23), Jake Stassi (4-3, 2.79) and Michael’s little brother David Hill (4-2, 4.29). The Highlanders are 26-43-1 all-time against the Dirtbags. Long Beach took two of three from the Highlanders a year ago

ALMOST DONE DUST—Glad to have you program readers picking up the Dust each week, or taking a free look via the web or the LB Post…I hope that management finds a way to improve circulation next season…ICYMI, the provost at LB has a fee increase floating for $79 a semester, but for technology not sports…The Beach claimed two major Big West Track & Field awards as Andy Sythe (Coach of the Year) and Willie Alexander (Freshman of the Year) …Alexander was an all-conference performer in both the triple jump and long jump at the Big West Championships. On the first day of the conference meet, he had a third-place performance in the long jump with a personal-record 24-07.25, which ranks sixth among all freshmen in the country. LBSU, which claimed the Big West title last weekend, returns to action in the NCAA West Regional next weekend in Austin, Texas…Brennan Metzger still in ICU at Scripps Memorial, but the good-guy Giants renewed his contract…best coach speak this week actually came from CSUF new women’s basketball coach Daron Park.  Asked,”Is there a player or group of players you feel benefited the most from spring practice?”  He said, the message to this team has basically been everyone has a clean slate. I haven’t coached any one of them in a game…I haven’t seen them play…I don’t have any preconceived notions so they get this spring to show me…it really doesn’t matter if they played 30 minutes per game or three minutes last year. It doesn’t matter if they are a McDonalds All-American or they like to eat at McDonalds, I’m evaluating them all the same.” –DR. DAN