No. 25 Long Beach State (24-15, 6-4) hit its way to a 10-3 victory over Pacific University on Friday night at Blair Field. Ace Andrew Liebel went seven strong for the 16th straight time, giving up three runs on five hits while striking out six. The Dirtbags, who’ve won six of the last eight games after losing 11 of 13, are now one game back in the loss column in the Big West Conference standings. The boys have mashed 76 hits in the last six games after struggling at the plate during the 13-game slump.
Long Beach used five extra base hits and five walks in the first four innings to build an 8-1 lead. Shane Peterson hit his sixth home run of the season, a three-run homer in the fourth to chase starter Pacific starter Tyler Waldron from the game. Jason Tweedy also got an RBI in the inning, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs on the night
Danny Espinosa, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Friday by going 2-for-3 with a double, triple and two runs scored, hit his tenth triple in his career, tying him for fifth all-time.
Catcher Travis Howell threw out two would-be base stealers in the game, giving him 14 on the season in 25 attempts.
The series continues on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. The team has also announced that the team’s Saturday, May 10 game against UC Santa Barbara has been moved to 6 p.m. to accommodate a fireworks show following the game, sponsored by the City of Long Beach.
Information Provided By LongBeachState.com