By LA JOLLA – The Long Beach State Dirtbags entered the weekend series against the UC San Diego Tritons riding a five-game conference losing streak but managed to take advantage of the hitter-friendly Triton Ballpark on Sunday to take one out of three games.
Friday, March 21, UC San Diego 7 – Long Beach State 4
Despite productive nights at the plate for senior and graduate outfielders Alex Champagne and Kyle Ashworth, the Dirtbags’ scheduled bullpen game could not contain the Triton offense.
Senior pitcher Albert Roblez got LBSU through the fourth inning, allowing just two runs while punching out six batters. An RBI double by Ashworth in the top of the fifth scored Champagne to tie the game at 2-2.
A four-run fifth inning put UCSD in front 6-2, capped off with a two-run homer by graduate catcher Emiliano Gonzalez. The Tritons added an insurance run in the seventh with a base hit by Gonzalez to score a run to go up 7-2.
The recurring theme of the Dirtbags season played out again at the top of the ninth, as another comeback fell short. Ashworth’s second RBI double of the game got the scoring started and was followed by an RBI single by junior designated hitter Dylan Lina to make it 7-4.
LBSU sent the tying run to the plate with two outs and runners on the corners but struck out to end the game.
Saturday, March 22, UC San Diego 13 – Long Beach State 10
Junior starting pitcher Kellan Montgomery has been one of the few bright spots of the LBSU season but was rattled in his two innings of work.
“We’re not getting starting pitching,” head coach TJ Bruce said. “We’re not getting deep into games, which is putting a lot of pressure on our bullpen. It always starts and ends with starting pitching, it’s like in football with the quarterback, and normally if that’s not good the team struggles.”
With the wind blowing out to right-center field, batted balls that looked like routine fly-balls got the extra boost and carried out early on.
The Tritons offense went deep four times in the first two innings, going up 6-1, including back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches by redshirt junior left fielder Delshaun Lanier and sophomore shortstop Anthony Potestio.
The UCSD bats continued to do damage against LBSU’s bullpen, adding runs as the game progressed, leading by as much as nine runs in the bottom of the seventh with a solid 13-4 lead.
Once again a big inning from the Dirtbags’ offense injected new life into a game they were once out of, with six runs coming across to score in the eighth.
Now down 13-10, LBSU sent the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded, but couldn’t manage to keep the rally alive as the inning ended with a fly-out to center field.
“The good news is we’re not quitting, the bad news is, it’s bursts. It’s just short bursts we have these things,” Bruce said. “I told the team if they can figure out how to sustain this in a nine-inning game, then our record would look a lot different.”
Sunday, March 23, Long Beach State 10 – UC San Diego 0
The Dirtbags took those words to heart, and the next day the offense picked up where they left off to end Saturday’s game to score 10 unanswered runs en route to their first Big West shutout on the road since 2023.
Not only did the LBSU bats heat up, but sophomore pitcher Owen Geiss (traditionally a reliever) delivered a masterful outing on the mound as a starter. The right-hander threw 6.2 innings without allowing a run while throwing a career-high 112-pitch outing.
A six-run seventh inning broke the game open, giving the Dirtbags an 8-0 lead. Senior pinch-hitter Connor Charpiot started the scoring with a two-run single to center field and would later be capped off with an RBI single by Champagne.
With a double to right center field in the top of the ninth, Champagne recorded his second RBI of the game to make it 10-0. The duo of Champagne and Ashworth led the charge offensively once again each with three hits.
The Dirtbags finished the series with a 2-7 record in Big West Play and sit at 8-15 overall ahead of a home series against ranked No. 21 UC Santa Barbara starting Friday, March 28.
