Reports From LBSU

Long Beach State stormed out to an early lead, but a four-run eighth inning by LMU allowed the Lions to take a 6-5 win Tuesday night. Jonathan Jones was the top hitter for Long Beach State, going 3-for-5.

Long Beach State got out to a quick start, as Nate Underwood threw four scoreless innings and allowed just two hits while the offense hit its stride with four runs in the second inning. After a leadoff walk and an RBI single by TJ Mittlestaedt, Kellen Hoime reached on an error to extend the inning, and a double by Devin Lohman scored two additional runs. Lohman would then score on Jones’ second hit of the day as the Dirtbags took a 4-0 lead.

Juan Avila doubled to start off the fourth inning, and would eventually come around to score giving the Dirtbags a 5-0 lead. The Lions got on the board with a two-run home run by Evan Simonitsch, but the teams moved to the eighth inning with Long Beach State holding a three-run edge.

In the eighth inning however, the Lions loaded the bases with two hits off of David Brown and a walk with one out. Jason Markovitz came in as a reliever, and got one out on a fielder’s choice while a run scored, but two infield singles brought home three more runs and LMU took a 6-5 lead.

Chris Eusebio held the lead with two innings of relief for the Lions to earn his second save of the season, while LMU reliever Aaron Griffin got the win for LMU. 

Long Beach State continues Big West play this weekend, heading east for three games against UC Riverside. First pitch for the opener is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, April 16.