The Dirtbags brought one home and had runners on the corners in the bottom of the ninth, but UC Riverside closer Joe Kelly finished the job as Long Beach State fell to the Highlanders 4-3 in the series finale.
Long Beach State took the series two games to one, but fell to 14-13 overall and 2-1 in Big West play Sunday.
Playing from behind at 4-2, Jonathan Jones sparked a ninth inning rally with a one-out walk and came around to score on a TJ Mittelstaedt RBI single, sandwiching Jordan Casas’ second hit of the day. Rylan Sandoval’s groundout ended the Dirtbags chance to go to extras on Sunday at Blair Field.
The Dirtbags had initially taken the lead in the second inning on a Taylor Krick double to left center, scoring Derek Legg. Krick would then score on a Kellen Hoime single to put Long Beach State on top.
UC Riverside answered in the top of the third, scoring two unearned runs after a pair of Long Beach State errors on a grounder by Brian McConkey, and took the lead for good in the fourth inning on a two-out double from Robert Brantley.
Long Beach State gets one day off, and then will host San Diego State in a Tuesday game starting at 6:30 p.m. at Blair Field. Big West play continues for Long Beach State on Thursday, when the Dirtbags head south to Irvine for a three-game set.
Report By LBSU