Mavericks Head to California for Series at LBSU

Friday, February 23

Long Beach, Calif.

8 p.m.

Omaha

Long Beach State

Photo by: A.J. Olnes

Mavericks Head to California for Series at LBSU

Feb 22, 2024 | Baseball

game notes

Leading Off
The Mavericks play their second road series of the season this week when they head out west to California to face Long Beach State in a three-game series starting this Friday at 8 p.m. (CT).

Upcoming Schedule
Friday: 8 p.m. (CT) at Long Beach State at Blair Field
Saturday: 8 p.m. (CT) at Long Beach State at Blair Field
Sunday: 2 p.m. (CT) at Long Beach State at Blair Field

Around the Horn

The Mavericks went 0-3 at Arkansas State to begin their 2024 season. During games one and two, Omaha had the lead in the fifth inning (2-1 in game one and 5-1 in game two), and was even tied with the Red Wolves heading into the bottom of the eighth on Saturday.
Charlie Bell had the best performance of any Maverick pitcher last week, working five innings of one-run ball while striking out five. After allowing a run in the first on an RBI groundout, Bell settled down and did not allow a single baserunner over the rest of his outing, setting down 13-straight batters.
Newcomers Cardel Dick and Trent Burkhalter both made a strong impression in their Maverick debuts. Dick was the only member of the team to record a hit in each game, with his first two being for extra bases. As for Burkhalter, he launched the first and only home run of the season for Omaha on Opening Day with a solo shot to left in his fourth ever Division I at bat.
After not taking a single at bat last year, two-way player Joel Benes, in just his second ever plate appearance, drove in two with a single to left for his first career hit on Saturday.
Also getting his first career at bat after not getting one last year was Cade Baker who made an appearance in game three.
Haiden Hunt showed off his speed last week when he swiped a pair of bases in games two and three. Likewise, Henry Zipay stole his first career base in the series opener.
Omaha used 13 pitchers in their first three games of the season. Nine of them were making their Division I debuts.
Of the 11 different starters Omaha used at ASU, nine of them recorded at least one hit in the series, while six had at least two hits.

Scouting Long Beach State
After going 33-22 and missing the Big West Tournament last season, LBSU opening its 2024 campaign with a commanding 10-5 victory over Washington on Opening Day before coming back in the 8th in game two for a 3-2 victory. This was followed by a 17 inning marathon against the Huskies that ended in a tie.

Coming off a 2023 season in which he batted .344 with a 1.043 OPS, catcher Cole Santander is off to a hot start this year after going 5-for-14 with a home run, a double, and five RBIs during the opening series. Infielder Nolan Funke also has multiple XBHs after ripping two doubles off the bench in his only game so far, while seniors Nick Marinconz and John Newman Jr. both have four hits.

Seven LBSU relievers did not give up a run last week, with Josh Donegan and Owen Geiss combining for five strikeouts and just three hits allowed over 7.1 innings of scoreless ball. Starting pitcher Kellan Montgomery had the best season debut of LBSU's starters after allowing just one run and two hits over five innings.

Interim Head Coach Bryan Peters takes over the Dirtbags after four seasons as the team's associate head coach. Primarily focusing on coaching the team's offense, Peters guided the team to its second highest home run total in team history last year, while LBSU's total home runs during the last four years was more than the previous nine years combined.

All-Time Series
This will be the first ever meeting between Omaha and LBSU.