We’re coming to you LIVE from Blair Field on a Friday night as the Dirtbags try to get that first Big West victory. (Picture By JJ Fiddler, #10 Matt Duffy)
STARTING PITCHERS
LBSU: #36 Jake Thompson
The 6’3″ junior righty started the season as the Friday night starter, but has adjusted well to being the number two. He is 3-0 with a 3.69 ERA and has 33 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched
Pacific: #21 David Rowse
The senior lefty is 5-0 this season with a 4.00 ERA. He gets a lot of run support, but he also makes it easy on his defense. He has 24 strikeouts to just eight walks.
Top 1st
The horrible 9th inning last night has rolled into the 1st inning tonight. Longmire hits the first pitch of the night through the hole at short. Christopher pops up a bunt, but Joey Terdoslavich slips as he charged to cover, then an error on another bunt loads the bases with no outs. Ugh.
The Tigers end up pushing across 2 runs on two hits. Pacific 2-0
Bottom 1st
Devin Lohman is left at second after a two-out double to the gap in left center as Rowse strikes out Terdoslavich on four pitches.
Top 2nd
Thompson gets the bottom half of the order (in order) with two fly ball outs the Tigers were late on.
Bottom 2nd
The highlight is a great catch of a foul ball by some dude on the first base side as the Dirtbags go down 1-2-3 with two pop outs.
Top 3rd
Payback’s a Jake. After that unlucky first inning, Thompson repays the favor by striking out Longmire and Christopher. Duffy ends the inning with a nice scoop at second. Still 2-0 Pacific
Bottom 3rd
An error puts Kirk Singer on and Hoime moves him over with the sacrifice, but a web gem stab by third baseman Mike Walker off the bat of Brennan Metzger ends the threat.
Top 4th
Why, with a runner on second and one out, do you pitch to John Haberman? The kid is hitting .500 coming into the weekend. Sure enough, he laces a first-pitch fastball down the line past Steve Tinoco at first, and J.B. Brown comes around to score. Pacific leads 3-0
Bottom 4th
Three hits for the Dirtbags and they get that run back on a double to the wall from Tinoco that scores Terdoslavich. 3-1 Pacific. Looks like the Dirtbag hitters are starting to see that Rowse two-seemer.
Top 5th
It’s becoming feast or famine for Thompson. He gets his fourth and fifth strikeout in the frame, but when the Tigers hit him they hit him hard. Christopher lines a two-out double off the wall in right field, and Brian Martin picks up the RBI with an absolute shot through the hole on the right side. 4-1 Pacific
Bottom 5th
The “spacious” confines of Blair Field bite the Dirtbags in the fifth as they send three high fly balls to center. In any other ball park in the Big West, that’s at least one run. In Long Beach, its a 1-2-3 inning.
Top 6th
The ball doesn’t leave the infield and Thompson grabs his sixth strikeout of the game.
Bottom 6th
Two more fastballs from Rowse, two HUGE runs for Long Beach. Lohman leads off the inning with a double to left center and Terdoslavich hits the next pitch to almost the exact same spot, just a lot further. So much for that dead air at Blair. Terdoslavich homers deep into the night over the fence in left center to pull the Dirtbags within one, 4-3.
And they aren’t done! Tinoco singles, Avila moves him over, and Singer places a dying quail on the line in left to bring Tinoco home with two outs, tying it up, 4-4.
The Pacific bullpen is alive, and it’s time for Tequila Joe! “Joe!”
Top 7th
Thompson makes Gorang look silly for his seventh K of the night. After a single, the Dirtbags flash the leather on a nice 4-6-3 double play, Duffy to Lohman to Tinoco.
Time to stretch!
Bottom 7th
Hunter Carnevale comes in from the pen to see these suddenly hot Dirtbag bats. He hears it from the crowd for the original last name and gives up a leadoff single to Metzger. Duffy moves him over, and then the center fielder swipes third on a bang-bang play. Lohman comes up and battles, fouling off four straight pitches. On a 2-2 breaking ball he knocks his fourth hit of the night (the 12th for the ‘bags) and drives in Metzger to give Long Beach the lead, 4-3.
Top 8th
Thompson shows his true mettle in the eighth. Christopher singles to lead it off and steals second before Martin singles to put runners on the corners with no outs. Walker comes up and chops one to the right side. Duffy, Martin and the ball all get to the same spot at the same time. It’s clear Duffy was charging to go home with the throw, so Martin is out due to interference and Christopher has to go back to third. So, with one out Thompson bears down and strikes out Brown for the second time tonight before getting pinch-hitter Allen Riley to ground out and end the inning. It remains 5-4 Long Beach
Bottom 8th
It’s time for Pacific’s wheels to fall off. Avila reaches on an error and advances to second on a balk. Jonathan Jones moves him over on the sac bunt, and with the infield in, Singer puts his third hit of the night up the middle to make it 6-4 Dirtbags.
And the hits keep coming. Hoime lays down a beautiful bunt and beats the throw to put two on. Metzger walks to load the bases and Duffy wears one to make it 7-4. Then Lohman comes up and stays hot with a seeing-eye grounder up the middle for his fifth hit and third RBI. It’s 9-4 Dirtbags as they’ve scored eight unanswered runs since Terdoslavich got it all started with the high fly to left in the sixth.
I typed to soon. Casey Neimeyer comes out of the pen to walk Terdoslavich and serve one up to Tinoco who lines it into left for his third RBI. That’s 10 runs unanswered and 11-4. Wait…… fielders choice and Terdoslavich scores. 12-4. Waaaaiit…… Jones triples off the wall. 13-4, 12 unanswered. The natives love it!!!!
Top 9th
Junior Kenny Arnerich comes in for Thompson and gets some help on a great sliding catch in center from Metzger to sit the Tigers down 1-2-3. Long Beach wins 13-4
And coach Mike Weathers gets win #300 in big-inning fashion!
FINAL LINE
LBSU: 13 runs, 17 hits, 1 error
Pacific: 4 runs, 10 hits, 1 error
Thanks for reading. Long Beach is back in action tomorrow in the rubber-match of this Big West opening series at 2pm.