Long Beach State infielder Mike Marjama took the first pitch he saw from Oregon State pitcher Sam Gaviglio in the bottom of the eighth inning and lined it into center field, ending Gaviglio’s bid for a perfect game Friday night at Blair Field.
While Marjama won that battle, Gaviglio still came away with a 4-0 victory as he compiled a career-high 14 strikeouts in nine shutout innings.
Marjama’s single was the only hit Gaviglio (4-0) allowed against the Dirtbags (9-8).
“You have to give [Gaviglio] a lot of credit,” Long Beach State head coach Troy Buckley said. “[Gaviglio] was really down in the zone and threw three pitches for strikes. He didn’t give [our hitters] a lot of pitches to hit.”
The Beavers (14-3) started the game off with a bang in the first inning when OSU catcher Andrew Susac and designated hitter Danny Hayes hit back-to-back home runs off Dirtbags pitcher Andrew Gagnon (2-3). The two home runs to left field gave the Beavers a 2-0 advantage early on.
Even though that’s all they would need, the Beavers added two more insurance runs in the third inning when Hayes doubled to deep left center field. The hit brought in left fielder Garret Nash — who reached on a fielder’s choice — and Susac — who singled.
Susac and Hayes combined for five of the Beavers’ nine hits while driving in all four runs of the game.
Gagnon threw the first five innings for the Dirtbags and struck out six, but walked four batters, including three in the fifth.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Jake Stassi came in for LBSU and threw four scoreless innings in relief.
In his first game appearance in almost a month, Stassi struck out three, walked two and allowed only three hits.
Long Beach’s offense was no where to be found all night. Four Dirtbag hitters struck out at least two times.
The Dirtbags return to action Saturday for a doubleheader against the Beavers. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Blair Field.
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