Story By Long Beach State Sports Information Department

Long Beach State started the game with a bang off of back-to-back home runs from TJ Mittelstaedt and Devin Lohman, but four answering homers from South Carolina put the Gamecocks in a lead they would hold, taking the game 7-5.

Long Beach State was able to knock out South Carolina starter Nolan Belcher after just three and two-thirds innings, due in part to the first inning work from Mittelstaedt and Lohman. South Carolina answered with a single run in the bottom half of the inning, however, and a Parker Bangs solo home run tied the game to lead off the second inning. An unearned run put South Carolina in front for the first time with a 3-2 lead.

The Dirtbags regained the lead in the fourth inning, as John Hill was hit and Kyle Singer grabbed a hit and an error to put two runners in scoring position. Rylan Sandoval then put Long Beach Stateback on top with a double into right center, as Long Beach State took a 4-3 lead.

After a groundout to start the bottom half of the fourth, Whit Merrifield hit a long fly ball that Jonathan Jones was able to bring back into the ballpark, but would end up as a triple, and a sacrifice fly from Nick Ebert tied the game. The following inning, DeAngelo Mack hit the first of his two solo home runs to give the Gamecocks the lead.

With the lead, the Gamecocks turned to their closer, Alex Farotto, who pitched 2.2 hitless innings to record his third save of the year and seal the win for South Carolina.

The series finale with South Carolina is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time on Sunday. The Dirtbags then return home to face San Diego in a Tuesday game at Blair Field. First pitch for the game with the Toreros is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.