June 2, 2017
LONG BEACH, Calif. - San Diego State will make its fourth appearance in the past five seasons at the NCAA Baseball Regionals when it faces Long Beach State this evening at 8:00 p.m. PT at Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif. That contest will be preceded by the Regional opener pitting UCLA against Texas at 4:00 p.m. (PT).
The Dirtbags (37-17-1) come into the four-team Regional tourney as the No. 1 seed after capturing the championship of the Big West Conference. They are ranked as high as eighth in the nation (Baseball America>) and are among the top 10 in four of the five major polls.
Long Beach State's offense is led by third baseman Ramsey Romano (.338, 10 2B, 36 RBI), left fielder Lucas Tancas (.312, 9 HR, 34 RBI) and catcher David Banuelos (.303, 7 HR, 28 RB).
LBSU is expected to start senior right-hander Dave Smith (8-1, 1.55) on the mound this evening.
San Diego State (41-19), meanwhile, qualified for the postseason by capturing the championship at last weekend's Mountain West Tournament in Albuquerque, N.M. It was SDSU's fourth title in the past five years as they managed to reach the 40-win plateau for the third time in the last four seasons.
The Aztecs' starting pitcher for tonight's contest will be senior left-hander Brett Seeburger (10-2, 4.21), who was selected the Mountain West Pitcher of the Year as well as a first-team all-conference honoree.
Shortstop Danny Sheehan, a first team all-MW honoree and the conferences' Tony Gwynn Co-Player of the Year, is a Collegiate Baseball Third Team All-American. The senior from Chino, Calif., is hitting .354 with 17 doubles, six home runs, 51 RBI and 53 runs scored.
SDSU's other top hitter include right fielder David Hensley (.376, 16 doubles, 31 RBI), left fielder Tyler Adkison (.349, 14 doubles, 15 HR, 62 RBI, 43 run scored) and second baseman Alan Trejo (.336, 17 doubles, 35 RBI and 58 runs scored).
San Diego State's next contest in Long Beach will depend on this evening's result. A win would put the Aztecs in Saturday's 7:00 p.m. contest vs. the UCLA-Texas winner. A loss tonight would move SDSU into the 1:00 p.m. game on Saturday against the loser of UCLA-Texas in an elimination game.