Report By LBSU
I wrote last week that everything seemed to be working against the Dirtbags. And I say again, for the record, that Big West baseball is the most underrated conference in any NCAA sport. But no matter the opponent, giving up late inning runs is the recipe for failure.
Devin Lohman led the Dirtbags with four hits and two RBI, but three late runs held off the opportunity for a Long Beach State rally in a 6-2 loss to No. 18 Cal Poly. Adam Wilk took the loss despite a solid start, pitching seven innings and striking out six.
Both teams managed to manufacture runs in the early going of the contest. Ryan Lee led off the top of the first for the Mustangs, and came around to score on a single by Kyle Young. The Dirtbags answered in the bottom half in the same fashion, with Jordan Casas starting off the LBSU offense with a single, and scoring on an RBI single by Devin Lohman.
Cal Poly regained the lead in the third, pushing around another run on two singles and a sacrifice to take a 2-1 lead. Long Beach State again answered with small ball, after Kirk Singer singled to start the third. Casas pushed him over with a sacrifice, and two singles by Derek Legg and Lohman tied the score for a second time.
The Mustangs got a little bit of luck to regain the lead in the fifth, as Bobby Crocker lifted a blooper that just landed fair in no man’s land for a double, then coming around to score on a single by Adam Buschini. Buschini moved to second on a steal, but remained stranded after Wilk struck out the next to batters.
The score would remain 3-2 until the ninth inning, when Cal Poly finally struck. Wes Dorrell singled to start the inning, and after a sacrifice, two walks loaded the bases for pinch hitter Adam Melker, who cracked a ground-rule double for two runs. Another run would score on a passed ball giving Cal Poly a 6-2 lead.
The Dirtbags scored a run in the ninth, as Taylor Krick started the inning reaching base after being hit, and John Hill singled to continue the inning. Two groundouts scored Krick, but Mauldin would collect a third strikeout to end the inning and finish his complete game.
Long Beach State faces the Mustangs again Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. The teams then finish their series in the final home game for the Dirtbags Sunday, May 17 at 1 pm. Long Beach State will be honoring its six seniors prior to the game.