Reports From LBSU

Long Beach State took an early lead against LMU, but the Lions fought back behind three hits from Colton Plaia to grab a win against the Dirtbags 6-4. TJ Mittelstaedt had two hits for Long Beach State.

The Dirtbags got out to a quick start against LMU starter Alex GIllingham. With one out in the inning Mittelstaedt got the action started with a single, and Joey Terdoslavich drove home a run with a double to right center, putting The Beach on the board. Steve Tinoco followed with a single to score Terdoslavich and give Long Beach State a 2-0 lead.

LMU got on the board in the fourth inning. Ryan Hawthorne picked up the Lions first hit off of Long Beach State starter Nate Underwood, and a double from Plaia brought Hawthorne across to cut the Dirtbag lead in half.

Two more runs came across for Long Beach State in the fifth. Juan Avila singled to put a runner on for the Dirtbags, and then Tre Dennis and Brennan Metzger hit back-to-back RBI doubles to give Long Beach State their largest lead to that point at 4-1. LMU picked up a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to keep the Dirtbag advantage at one on a two-RBI single from Jason Barmasse.

LMU tied the game with a solo home run in the sixth, as Plaia hit his second of the season to even the score at 4. The Lions then took the lead in the bottom of the eighth, as the middle of the lineup came through with three straight hits, finishing with a double off the high wall in left field by Nick Devian, scoring two runs. 

The Dirtbags stay on the road this weekend, playing three games against the UNLV Rebels. Those games start Friday with a 6 p.m. start prior to a pair of 1 p.m. start times on Saturday and Sunday.