The Dirtbags had plenty of men on base against Oregon on Saturday night, but the problem was getting those runners to cross the plate.
Long Beach State left 11 runners stranded as they fell to the Ducks, 6-2, in front of 1,824 spectators at Blair Field in a contest that lasted 3 hours, 34 minutes.
“We’re not getting the clutch hitting, that’s obvious,” head coach Mike Weathers said. “We’re getting into situations to score some runs to separate the game or get in the game, and the first two games we haven’t done that. There’s a couple guys struggling, there’s no question.”
The Dirtbags (1-1) forced Oregon’s Justin LaTempa to work hard during his time on the mound, but they would only score one run on the 6-foot-5 right-hander from Huntington Beach.
LaTempa was taken out of the game in the fifth inning after walking three batters, but the Dirtbags couldn’t drive any of the base runners home. The senior earned a no-decison for the Ducks.
On the Dirtbags’ side, Drew Gagnon (0-1) did his best to match Jake Thompson’s complete game performance on Friday night with a solid effort of his own in this contest. But, after four shutout innings, the Ducks were able to get to the sophomore in the middle innings forcing Gagnon out of the game.
“He didn’t really have the stuff that he’s had [over the fall], so I think he was pitching without the weapons he was supposed to have,” Weathers said.
The Ducks’ (2-0) biggest inning came in the sixth when they scored three runs off Gagnon. J.J. Altobelli drove in two of the runs with a double to right field over the head of Jonathan Jones to extend Oregon’s lead.
Oregon took a page from LBSU’s book and took its original 2-1 lead in the fifth inning with two sacrifices, two hits and a steal.
The Dirtbags earned their first run on the game thanks to Oregon’s first baseman Ryan Hambright. The right-hander couldn’t handle a smash from Tre Dennis, which allowed Derek Legg to score from third base. Legg reached base after blasting a double down the right field line and was then moved to third base by Kellen Hoime single.
The Dirtbags were led by Hoime’s 1-for-3 and one RBI effort as well as Jones, who went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
LBSU also pushed a run across in the bottom of the eighth inning when Jones scored on sacrifice by Hoime.
Serna led Oregon by going 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Altobelli went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
The Dirtbags will travel to Cal State Fullerton for an early-season meeting with the fourth-ranked Titans at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Goodwin Field. LBSU will return to Blair Field on Tuesday when the Dirtbags host UCLA at 6:30 p.m.
Weathers said, “I think it’s great for us to go on the road and get one game before [coming back home]. … we’ll see where we’re at.”
