With reports from Long Beach State Sports Information Dept.

After dropping the first two games with a combined seven hits and three runs, the Dirtbag offense almost doubled production on Sunday afternoon at USC.

Freshman Andrew Gagnon used his biting change up and pitched five strong innings in his collegiate debut, allowing only one earned run while Derek Legg was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI as Long Beach State defeated USC, 5-4.  With the win, Long Beach State splits the opening weekend series with USC and improves to 1-2 on the year.

Derek Legg was the spark plug for the Dirtbags and got things going with his first at bat.  In the second inning Derek Legg singled, Taylor Krick singled, Trever Blood sacrificed the runners over, and Devin Lohman brought in both with a RBI single to right.

Gagnon gave up only three hits though five innings, but a solo home run from Grant Green and a single from catcher Robert Stock in the sixth ended his debut.  The sophomore southpaw Jeff Lease came out of the pen, but two errors by Krick would bring in two more runs to give USC the lead.

Facing a 3-2 deficit in the 7th, the Dirtbags pulled even with a two-out rally, as Jonathan Jones doubled over the head of Trojan outfielder Mike O’Neill, and Legg drove home the sophomore with his second single of the day. The Dirtbags and Trojans would then trade runs in the eighth, setting the stage for the ninth.

Legg once again came up big for the Dirtbags, reaching with one out on his third single of the day, which was followed by a second single from Krick. Pinch hitter Brandon Young walked to load the bases, and in a nice piece of base running, held a pickle on a Devin Lohman groundout long enough to let Derek Legg score before the double play was completed, giving The Beach a 5-4 lead.

With the lead, Charlie Ruiz, who had already retired two batters in the eighth, set down the side in order in the ninth to seal the win.

Long Beach State is back in action next Wednesday, taking in a midweek game at Page Field against Loyola Marymount on Wednesday at 2pm. The team then returns home to Blair Field for a three-game series with Cal. That series begins with a 6:30 start on Friday.