Dirtbags out run Roadrunners, take two of three

The Dirtbags kept up their recent form taking two of three from the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners this weekend at Bohl Diamond on Blair Field.

Friday, April 11, LBSU 3 – CSUB 2

Junior starting pitcher Kellan Montgomery went the distance on Friday, throwing a complete game and retiring the final 19 CSUB batters.

Montgomery improved to 6-3 this season, adding to his team-high in innings pitched, allowing just four hits, one earned run with eight strikeouts.

The Roadrunners jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the third inning, but the Dirtbags successfully mounted a comeback in the later innings thanks to some timely hitting from graduate right fielder Kyle Ashworth, who tied the game in the fifth with a two-run single to left field.

In the seventh inning, senior center fielder Alex Champagne struck a ball into right field, allowing freshman pinch runner Matt Toomey to tag up and go to third. An ensuing errant throw by the shortstop allowed Toomey to advance home and score the go-ahead run to lead 3-2.

The Dirtbags held on to their late lead and took game one 3-2.

Saturday, April 12, LBSU 7 – CSUB 5

After failing to break into the Dirtbag bullpen the night prior, The Beach opted to go with a bullpen game given the fresh arms. The Roadrunner offense broke through immediately, with junior left fielder Elgin Bennett leading off the game with a triple to left.

CSUB’s three-run first inning was capped off with a two-run single by junior third baseman Matt Dobson who slapped a ball sharply the opposite way off the glove of the second baseman into right field.

Senior outfielder and first baseman Connor Charpiot attempts to bunt. Cal State Bakersfield defeated Long Beach State 12-6 on Sunday at Bohl Diamond on Blair Field. Photo credit: Justin Enriquez

CSUB added two more in the top of the second with a towering two-run blast by junior first baseman Evan Cloyd.

After three different Dirtbag pitchers were used to get through the first 2.1 innings, senior pitcher Albert Roblez was called upon in relief and shut down the Roadrunners entirely, throwing 6.2 perfect innings, retiring all 20 batters he faced and striking out a season-high 12 batters.

“I was working in everything. I haven’t thrown the changeup a lot this year, but I mixed in a couple,” Roblez said. “I was also getting my slider over, just trying to get ahead, that was the biggest thing.”

Roblez’s dominance on the mound allowed the Dirtbags to chip away at the once 5-1 deficit.

“In a game that looked like it was going to be a bullpen game, and all of a sudden Roblez comes in and shuts them down, he’s now put us in a really good position, depth-wise for Sunday,” Dirtbags head coach TJ Bruce said.

The veterans of LBSU were key components of the comeback, with Champagne laying down a perfect sacrifice bunt to cut the deficit to one, and in the seventh, senior first baseman Connor Charpiot came through with a two-out single to tie the game at 5-5.

The Dirtbags grabbed the lead in the home half of the eighth, scoring on a fielder’s choice and an RBI single to the opposite field by senior third baseman Nathan Cadena, and held on to win 7-5 with a chance to sweep on Sunday.

Sunday, April 13, CSUB 12 – LBSU – 6

The Dirtbags’ dream 6-0 start came to a nightmarish end on Sunday as they allowed 12 unanswered runs. 

Roadrunner junior pitcher Jacob Gutierrez started the game hot, registering five strikeouts through his first six batters faced.

However, a third-inning rally, started by a single from senior catcher Conner Stewart, resulted in Kyle Ashworth and Nathen Cadena picking up RBIs. 

The Dirtbags did not let off the gas, as they picked up four more runs in the following inning to extend the lead to 6-0. 

Although sophomore Dirtbag pitcher Owen Geiss had a significant lead heading into the fifth, two batters hit by a pitch and a bases-clearing double from CSUB junior first baseman Evan Cloyd ended Geiss’ day. 

The Dirtbags’ bullpen attempted to minimize the damage, but the Roadrunners added five more runs with help from multiple Dirtbag throwing errors. 

“We got punched in the face, and we didn’t know how to respond,” Bruce said. “I thought for the first time in a while we flinched today, so that was probably the most disappointing part.”

From the third inning on, the Dirtbag offense could not get going as the Roadrunner offense kept flying on their way to a 12-6 win.

The Dirtbags will face the California State Fullerton Titans in a three-game division series starting Thursday, April 17, at Goodwin Field.