Just a day removed from suffering a two-run loss to Cal State Northridge, the Long Beach State Dirtbags answered back with a 2-0 win over the Matadors on Saturday afternoon at Blair Field.
Long Beach State (26-26, 9-11 Big West) scored the only two runs of the game in the second inning.
Sophomore Matt Duffy started the bottom of the second with a base hit to left field. Sophomore Juan Avila then followed with a double to left field. Freshman Jeff Yamaguchi then hit an RBI single that brought in Duffy, while designated hitter Brennan Fulkerson followed with an RBI single to right field that scored Avila.
Yamaguchi went 3-for-4 to lead the way for LBSU.
The Dirtbags could’ve extended their lead in the second, but instead, three consecutive fly outs by Johnny Bekakis, Kirk Singer and Matt Hibbert ended the threat.
Junior Matt Johnson relieved starting pitcher Ryan Strufing with two outs in the fourth inning.
“[Strufing] was playing with fire,” said Dirtbags’ head coach Troy Buckley, who was upset with Strufing’s execution on the mound.
Johnson (4-1) pitched for two and two-third innings, allowed three hits and struck out one batter to pick up the win.
Three more relievers came in after Johnson. Junior Branden Pinder was the last to come in with two outs in the eighth inning. Pinder struck out one of the five batters he faced, but only allowed only one hit to pick up his third save.
Paul Tremlin (2-6) was credited with the loss for the Matadors (22-30, 5-15 Big West). He faced 26 batters across six innings and allowed two earned runs on seven hits.
The Matadors threatened in the fifth inning. Johnson came to the plate to face left fielder Ridge Carpenter with runners on first and second. Carpenter set the ball in front of Avila in shallow right field. Avila threw to home to prevent the run from scoring. The play resulted in two pickles in what ended up as an out on the third base line.
“[The play] saved us a run,” Buckley said.
“We shouldn’t accept the way we were playing,” Strufing said of the message Buckley gave during the post-game meeting.
Former Dirtbag pitcher Jered Weaver, who pitches for the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim, threw out the ceremonial first pitch of the game. Fans in attendance also received an LBSU Weaver jersey.
The Dirtbags will close out their three-game series against CSUN on Sunday at 1 p.m. in what will be the final home game of LBSU’s season. Shawn Stuart is tabbed as the starter for the Dirtbags.
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