Long Beach, CA—The UC Riverside Baseball Team resumes Big West Conference play this weekend with a three-game series at Long Beach State. The Highlanders have been off since Wednesday, April 8, and are looking to snap an 11-game losing streak.
Austin Colvin leads the team with a .329 batting average and is just behind Joe Chavez (.396) with a .393 on base percentage. Vince Fernandez continues to be the team's top power hitter with a .504 slugging percentage—good enough for seventh place in the Big West.
The Highlanders are sending right-hander Joie Dunyon (0-0, 4.39) to the mound on Friday or his fourth start of the season In his previous three starts he has a 3.09 ERA, but has yet to factor into a decision. Lefty Kevin Sprague (2-4, 4.60) gets the starting nod on Saturday.
The 49ers are 19-13 overall and 5-4 in Big West competition heading into the weekend. They won five straight prior to traveling to UC Irvine last weekend where they dropped two of three to the Anteaters, and they lost 6-1 at San Diegon on Tuesday of this week.
Long Beach State's success this season is predicated on pitching and defense as the team boasts an ERA of 2.81 including 2.35 in conference. The 49ers have also committed just four errors in nine Big West games this year.
Their weekend rotation consists of Kyle Friedrichs (5-1, 2.11), Tanner Brown (4-2, 2.10) and Chris Mathewson (4-3, 1.49). In three conference starts, Friedrichs has an ERA of 0.39, with 26 strikeouts and no walks, while Mathewson owns a 1.11 ERA.
Long Beach State lacks a .300 hitter among its regulars, and is hitting .234/.309/.311 on the year. Zack Rivera boasts the team's top OPS with an offensive slash line of .261/.331/.420. He also leads the team with eight doubles, three home runs and 20 RBIs. Garrett Hampson sets the table for Rivera with 24 runs scored and 11 of 14 successful stolen base attempts.
The Highlanders are 27-48-1 all-time against the 49ers (
view results), and Long Beach State has won seven of the last eight meetings between the clubs.
