Reports From LBSU

Long Beach State received good pitching from Nate Underwood and Troy Watson in a friendly international contest with Waseda University, but Waseda prevailed in the exhibition 4-2.

Featuring wood bats and throwback uniforms for the visitors, Blair Field had a traditional feel for the contest with the Japanese traveling team.

While the wood bats are the standard for the Toyko ballclub, it was a new experience for the Dirtbags, who put together six hits but left six on base in the two-run loss.

Long Beach State received solid pitching from freshman Underwood, who struck out five in four innings during his first collegiate start, lasting four innings. In the fourth, however, a leadoff double by Shota Sugiyama got Waseda started, and a single by Toshiki Yamada put the board. Yamada would also come around to score as part of a two run inning.

The Dirtbags scored a run in the bottom half of the inning, as Joey Terdoslavich came around to score following a leadoff walk on an RBI single by Joel Thys. Waseda scored two more runs in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead.

A leadoff double by Terdoslavich and a sacrifice fly from Matt Hibbert gave Long Beach State another run in the bottom of the sixth, but the Dirtbags were unable to get any closer in the loss. Tatsuya Oishi got the save for Waseda with three innings of shutout relief. 

The Dirtbags get back to the regular season this Friday, when Long Beach State hosts Washington for a three-game series. First pitch for the series will be at 6:30 p.m. on March 5 in Blair Field.