Long Beach State Upsets UNC With Comeback Win

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Darren McCaughan largely worked as a contact-oriented pitcher in his first two seasons at Long Beach State.

With the MLB Draft just a few months away, the junior righthander is now demonstrating he can miss bats too.

McCaughan struck out four over seven innings for the Dirtbags in a 5-2 win over North Carolina on Friday, going toe-to-toe with Tar Heels ace J.B. Bukauskas in the opener of a three-game series.

The effort gave McCaughan 20 punchouts in 19 innings this season, an upgrade over last year’s mark of 7.6 strikeouts per nine. All of his strikeouts Friday came swinging.

“I think just when I get to two strikes I’m better at putting guys away. Last year I got a lot of contact with two strikes,” said McCaughan, the reigning Big West pitcher of the year and a USA Baseball Collegiate National Team member last summer.  “I just try to pound the bottom of the zone. Cutting, sinking, it’s just not going to be straight.”

McCaughan’s stuff remains largely the same as in years past. His fastball sits in the upper 80s, with a sinker in the mid 80s, changeup in the low 80s and breaking ball in the upper 70s.

The crispness of his offerings, as well as his understanding of how to exploit batters’ weaknesses, has improved as well.

“His best asset is his feel to pitch and I think he understands swings at this age as good as a lot of guys that I’ve seen,” Long Beach State coach Troy Buckley said. “That allows him to put his quality intentions of what he’s trying to do, to what the hitter can’t do, and if he executes it, you’re looking at higher results as far as the strikeouts are concerned.”

Even with his improved ability to miss bats, McCaughan’s lower-end velocities mean he has little margin for error. He struggled to spot both his fastball and changeup in the early innings against UNC, and the result was two hard-hit triples, multiple deep flies, and a 2-0 deficit after two innings.

Once he found his command, McCaughan cruised. He did not allow a run over his final five innings to keep the Dirtbags in striking distance, which proved critical when they rallied for three runs in the ninth to pull out the victory.

“After that we kind of just pounded them away,” McCaughan said. “That was our approach and we stuck to it. Once they got two, it worked and that was all they got.”

McCaughan has already has the track record of a legitimate pro prospect. If he can keep getting an increased number of swings and misses, he may find his name being called earlier than expected come June.

“I just thought there were a lot of swings over the top of the ball today,” Buckley said. “To me, that’s a good sign for him.”

NEWS AND NOTES

• Bukauskas was electric for UNC. The junior righthander and potential top-10 draft pick sat 94-97 mph with his fastball and 86-88 with his slider, ultimately striking out nine in seven innings. He gave up six hits, walked one, and ran his streak to 20 innings without allowing an earned run before reliever Josh Hiatt allowed an inherited runner to score in the eighth to snap the streak.

• The Dirtbags rallied after Bukauskas left the game. They scored one in the eighth and three in the ninth off the Tar Heels’ bullpen, including Ramsey Romano’s tiebreaking RBI single with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth. Righthander Josh Advocate picked up the win with two scoreless innings of relief, relying on an upper 80s fastball and low 80s curveball to retire all six batters he faced.

• Tar Heels shortsop Logan Warmoth extended his hitting streak to 16 games with an infield single in the sixth. He has reached base in 25 straight.

• Long Beach State catcher David Banuelos was one of the few hitters who could touch Bukauskas’ slider, poking one into center field for a single in the third inning. He also threw out 2 of 3 attempted basestealers, posting 1.95-2.0-second pop times.