Report by LBSU
Playing at Cal State Fullerton due to the fires in UC Santa Barbara, it was the Gauchos pitchers that looked at home, as Long Beach State lost both sides of a doubleheader 3-0 and 14-4. Steve Tinoco had three hits on the day for the Dirtbags.
The team’s worked through an old-fashioned pitching duel in the first game, as both Long Beach State’s Adam Wilk and UCSB’s Joe Gardener went the distance in a 2:13 burner. The Gauchos punched two runs across on three hits in the first inning, including a double by Eric Oliver to take a 2-0 lead, and that would be all that Gardener needed.
Gardener allowed just two hits over nine innings to collect the complete game shutout. Wilk was nearly as good after the first inning, pitching 8.0 innings total and allowing just one more run and four hits over seven additional innings.
In game two, the Gauchos struck early and often, taking a 9-0 lead before Long Beach State could respond. A two-run home run by Matt Valaika capped five runs off of starter Jake Thompson, and the Gauchos would continue to score through the middle innings, moving ahead 9-0 after five.
Long Beach State began to pull back after the seventh inning, finally reaching UCSB’s game two starter Mario Hollands. The Dirtbags got on the board courtesy of a perfectly executed hit and run play, with Tre Dennis scoring on an RBI single from Steve Tinoco. Taylor Krick doubled in a run in the seventh, part of two runs in that frame, and the Dirtbags added a fourth unanswered run on a sacrifice fly following a leadoff double by Devin Lohman.
The Gauchos shut the door in the bottom half of the eighth, scoring five runs to complete the sweep on the day. First baseman Eric Oliver was the Dirtbag killer on the day, with four hits, four runs and two RBI in 9 plate appearances over the course of the doubleheader.
The teams conclude the series tomorrow, again playing at Goodwin Field on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon, with the Gauchos again serving as the designated home team. Admission is free due to the moved venue.