By snoadmin
It was neither Long Beach State nor Pepperdine that started the action on Tuesday night at Blair Field.
It was Dan Monson, Long Beach State’s new men’s head basketball coach.
A visibly excited Monson threw the first pitch for the Dirtbags’ second game of the night (the first was the remainder of a game that started Feb. 6 at Pepperdine). Monson proved to be lucky for the Dirtbags (18-12), as they took the No. 8 Waves (26-10) 6-5.
LBSU fans can only hope his luck carries over once basketball season starts.
However, Monson’s appearance was overshadowed by Shane Peterson’s clutch performance for the Dirtbags.
“He’s found his numbers,” said head coach Mike Weathers.
One of those numbers appears to be four, as Peterson drove in four runners over the two games, winning both games for the team and in doing so snapped Pepperdine’s seven-game winning streak. Following a game-winning RBI single in the first game, Peterson went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a single in the second game.
Aside from his numbers, Peterson said he has also found something else – his confidence.
“I feel really confident up there, similar to last year,” Peterson said. “[In the beginning of the year] things weren’t going the way I wanted them to. I think [my confidence] is pretty much back. I don’t really doubt myself like I did in the beginning of the year.”
Clutch hitting may have won the game, but it was errors that almost lost it for the Dirtbags, and what did lose it for the Waves.
With no outs in the bottom of the ninth, and the Dirtbags trailing by one run, TJ Mittlestaedt led off with an infield single. Matt Cline then attempted to advance Mittlestaedt on a sacrifice bunt but reached base on a catching error. Peterson then slugged a double to right field, driving in Mittlestaedt and tying the game at five.
Brandon Godfrey followed with an infield fly, giving the Dirtbags their first out. In what looked to be the second out, Taylor Krick lined a sharp grounder to Pepperdine third baseman Chase d’Arnaud, but he bobbled it, allowing Cline to advance home on the error and win the game for the Dirtbags.
Both teams ended the game with three errors.
“In the fifth inning, I wrote down on my clipboard, ‘maybe too many mistakes to overcome,'” Weathers said. “We set the game back a little bit today, both teams did.”
Prior to the night game, the Dirtbags finished a game with the Waves that was started Feb. 6 at Pepperdine. It postponed because of darkness.
Back in February, the Dirtbags began their come-from-behind streak against their hosts when they came back from a seven-run deficit to tie the game at seven in the top of the eighth. The game was called after the top of the ninth, and resumed play in bottom half of the inning Tuesday.
Dirtbag closer Bryan Shaw had previously gone one shutout inning during the eighth and went three more Tuesday. Shaw retired the final 12 batters en-route to picking up the 10-7 win over Brett Hunter and Pepperdine.
“I thought he was how we always hope he is going to be,” Weathers said.
This was Shaw’s first appearance that lasted more than one inning since blowing three saves in a row late last month.
This weekend, the Dirtbags will continue their 12-game homestand when Cal State Northridge comes to Blair Field.
The Matadors have been on a free fall of late, losing 14 of their last 16 games, but eight of those 14 loses were by one run.
CS Northridge’s Jorge Andrade Jr. is the teams best hitter this season. The first baseman is hitting .383 (.423 OBP) and leads the team with five home runs and 24 RBIs.
The Dirtbags are going to be without starting pitcher Vance Worley (1-1, 3.40), who injured his elbow last week against Oral Roberts. Worley is expected to miss one or two weeks.
Another question mark coming into the weekend is the health of Dirtbags shortstop Danny Espinosa, who missed Tuesday’s game against Pepperdine. He reportedly has a sore back and is day-to-day for the weekend series against CS Northridge.
Who: Long Beach State (18-12, 1-2) vs. Cal State Northridge (13-22, 1-5)
Where: Blair Field
When: Friday (6:30 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m.), Sunday (1 p.m.)
Conference / Overall Cal Poly 5-1 / 18-17 UC Irvine 4-2 / 24-8 CS Fullerton 2-1 / 20-12 UC Riverside 2-1 / 21-12 Long Beach State 1-2 / 18-12 UC Santa Barbara 1-2 / 12-18 CS Northridge 1-5 / 13-22 Pacific 0-3 / 9-25
