After splitting a double-header at Wichita State, the Dirtbags were supposed to fly to Tucson for a two-game midweek series against the Arizona Wildcats.
However, due to sub-freezing temperatures in Wichita, the Dirtbags (6-6) were forced to take a bus for over 20 hours.
When they finally arrived in sunny Tucson, the Dirtbags pulled themselves to a .500 record with a sweep of the Wildcats (6-7).
Tuesday, the Dirtbags were led by the bat of senior center fielder Colby Brenner. Brenner, who entered Tuesday’s contest with no hits in 10 at bats, hit a double in the second that drove Colton Vaughn in to give the Dirtbags the 1-0 lead. The next 13 Dirtbags were retired, but Long Beach State got a very solid outing by Jason Alexander.
The first five innings were easy for Alexander, but the Wildcats finally bit him in the sixth. Moore led the inning off with a triple. Alexander got the next hitter, Gibbons, to ground out to shortstop, but Moore scored on the play to tie the game.
A wild pitch by Cameron Pongs gave the Wildcats the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh, but the Dirtbags tied it up in the eighth. Garrett Hampson and Michael Hill hit back-to-back singles, and Hampson was driven in on a single by Richard Prigatano.
The Dirtbags retook the lead for good in the ninth inning. Vaughn singled again, and Brenner tripled down the right field line to give the Dirtbags the 3-2 victory. Kyle Friedrichs threw a perfect ninth inning for his third save of the season.
Another senior, Ino Patron, led the Dirtbags in their win on Wednesday. While first basemen are generally not known for their wheels, Patron got a chance to show his off in the Dirtbags 11-4 win.
Patron drilled a triple to right in the first to drive in Hampson and give the Dirtbags a 2-0 lead. In the fifth, Patron hit a single to right that drove in Hill and Vaughn, and moved Prigatano to second. Prigatano and Patron executed a double steal, and Prigatano scored on a throwing error by Arizona catcher Jordan Berger.
The top of the order for the Dirtbags also came up big in game two. Johnny Bekakis, Hampson and Hill had a combined seven hits, four RBIs and five runs scored in the ballgame. Hill had two of the four triples in the game. Patron added three RBIs, and he and Alex DeGoti each had two hits.
Freshman Cody Marshall picked up his first win of his Dirtbags career. Marshall entered the game having given up two runs in 11.1 innings of work. He gave up two in six innings in Tuscon, giving him his second quality start of the season.
The Dirtbags will now return home for a weekend series against Utah Valley. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Blair Field.
