Garett Claypool loves pitching against Long Beach State. UCLA’s senior right-hander beat LBSU twice last year at Jackie Robinson Stadium and pitched seven innings of one run ball Tuesday night at Blair Field for another win against the black and gold.

Claypool’s seven innings were a career high and he surrendered just five Dirtbag hits while striking out four. 

The 17th-ranked Bruins (4-0) have scored double-digits runs in all four games they have played, while LBSU (1-3) hasn’t scored more than two yet this season.
Freshman Eddie Magallon, making his first start as a Dirtbag, pitched pretty well scattering seven hits over four and two-thirds innings but gave up a run in the first after two balks and a sacrifice fly and two unearned runs after a costly error by right fielder TJ Mittelstaedt in the fifth. 

After Mittelstaedt misplayed what would have been the final out of the fifth, allowing two Bruin runners to score, Magallon was lifted for reliever Jason Markovitz and five more Dirtbag pitchers would finish out the game. 

Steve Tinoco was only the Dirtbag with multiple hits but also contributed to a wasted opportunity in the bottom of the fifth. Trailing 5-1 Jonathan Jones led off the inning with a single to left. He stole second with Tinoco up and then the first baseman singled sharply to right. With runners on the corners Matt Duffy struck out looking then Tinoco was picked off first when Claypool faked the throw to third and caught Tinoco leaning when he threw back to first. A Kellen Hoime strikeout ended the threat and any chance the Dirtbags had of getting back in the game. 

The Bruins pounded out 14 hits against LBSU pitching. Brett Krill was 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two runs batted in. Cody Regis also added two hits and two RBI’s while three other UCLA hitters – Beau Amaral, Tyler Rahmatulla and Steve Rodriguez – also had multi-hit games. Rodriguez, who now has four homers in as many games, hit a towering homer to right field to lead off the third inning.

Joey Terdoslavich had the lone Dirtbag RBI when his groundout to third plated Jordan Casas in the fourth.

LBSU has three more games against a Pac-10 opponent this weekend when they head to Tuscon for a three-game series with the University of Arizona Wildcats. They will return to Blair Field next Tuesday to begin a season long nine-game homestand that begins with the USC Trojans.