Reports From LBSU

Long Beach State took an early 2-0 lead against UC Riverside, but four home runs by the Highlanders in the bottom of the third gave the Highlanders a 6-2 lead on the way to a 7-5 win the third game between the teams to take the weekend series.

The Dirtbags picked up the lead in the second inning after Steve Tinoco reached after being hit by a pitch, and after getting pushed over by a bunt, a single by Jordan Casas helped Long Beach State take a 1-0 lead. Small ball worked for the Dirtbags again in the third inning, as Brennan Metzger scored on a sacrifice fly after a leadoff single to make the score 2-0.

In the bottom of the inning however, UC Riverside took the opposite approach, as Trevor Hairston homered on the first pitch of the inning, and after Branden Pinder got the first out of the inning, Joey Gonzales followed with another solo shot to tie the game at 2-2. Then, with two runners on, designated hitter Justin Shults hit UC Riverside’s third home run of the inning to take a 5-2 lead. One pitch later, Tony Nix knocked out the fourth home run of the inning to cap the six-run third inning for the Highlanders.

UC Riverside added another run in the bottom of the fourth inning to increase the lead to 7-2. The Dirtbags pulled a couple runs back in the sixth inning, as Long Beach State loaded the bases with two outs after an error by Bryan Horst, and Jontahn Jones made UCR pay with a two-run single to cut the lead to three.

The Dirtbags continued to threaten, loading the bases in the seventh inning and getting a run on Casas’ first career home run, but UCR stopped both two-out rallies before Long Beach State could pull any closer. 

Mitch Patito pitched two innings of relief for UC Riverside to earn his first save of the season.

Long Beach State will play one more game on the road, facing No. 1 UCLA on Tuesday before returning to Blair Field for a three-game series against UC Santa Barbara beginning on April 23 at 6:30 p.m.