By The surging Dirtbags stayed hot at the plate as they beat the San Diego State Aztecs 12-5 at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.
Sophomore pitcher Van Larson was on the bump for the Dirtbags as he had previous success against the Aztecs last Tuesday as he had five shutout innings.
He didn’t have the same success this time out, where he allowed four runs over four innings of work, but it was enough to get the job done.
San Diego State freshman center fielder Jake Jackson struck first against Larson and a double down the right-field line from freshman left fielder Zane Kelly gave the Aztecs a 2-0 lead after the top of the first.
The Dirtbag offense exploded in the bottom half of the first as they batted around and tallied seven runs in the inning.
Long Beach State loaded the bases with senior catcher John Newman Jr. up to the plate and he delivered a sacrifice fly in his at-bat, which put the ‘Bags on the board.
Junior first baseman Jack Hammond capitalized with runners on base, tying the game with a single hit toward left-center field.
The Dirtbags continued their discipline at the plate as sophomore third baseman Armando Briseno walked in a run to put the Dirtbags on top 3-2.
“It’s good to see something you worked on come to fruition,” head coach Bryan Peters said. “It was part of the game plan today, make them throw strikes and to be disciplined with our at-bats and swing decisions.”
Senior second baseman Nick Marinconz added insurance to the Dirtbags lead as he reached on a fielding error committed by the Aztec shortstop, making it a 4-2 lead.
The game broke open when sophomore left fielder Justin Roulston doubled down the right field line, which gave Long Beach State a 6-2 lead after he scored two Dirtbags from second and third.
The ‘Bags added one more run as junior designated hitter Cole Santander walked in a run to cap off the seven-run inning.
An RBI single courtesy of freshman shortstop Finley Bates and an RBI fielder’s choice from junior right fielder Shaun Montoya cut the Aztecs’ deficit to three in the top of the fourth.
Long Beach State retrieved a run back as Briseno grounded out to second base, which allowed Newman Jr. to score and made it an 8-4 Dirtbags lead in the bottom of the fourth.
In the top half of the fifth, junior center fielder Alex Champagne made a diving play to rob extra bases from the Aztecs’ junior catcher Evan Sipe. The catch resulted in a sacrifice fly and SDSU got in another run.
Santander added one more RBI to his night as he smoked a double toward right-center field to extend the Dirtbags’ lead 9-5 in the bottom half of the fifth.
A sacrifice fly from Champagne and doubles from Santander and Newman Jr. bolstered the Dirtbags’ run total to 12 and put the game out of reach.
“Putting up 12 runs means we did something right,” Peters said.
Junior pitcher Jonathan Largaespada shut the door and retired San Diego State in order in the ninth to secure the mid-week win 12-5.
Long Beach State’s win gives them an overall record of 19-14-1 and a conference record of 6-9-0. San Diego State leaves Bohl Diamond at Blair Field with a total record of 11-25 and a 5-13 conference record.
The Dirtbags look to keep their momentum going as they host UC Riverside starting Friday at 6 p.m. for a three-game weekend series at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.
