Reports From LBSU

Jordan Casas had a pair of home runs, and the Dirtbags hit six homers as a team as Long Beach State shocked No. 5 UCLA on the road by a 16-4 final.

The six home runs were tied for the second most in school history, and just one away from the team record seven in one game.

Long Beach State got started early, as TJ Mittelstaedt got the scoring started with a solo home run in the second inning, and two batters later, Casas hit his first home run of the day to give Long Beach State a 2-0 lead.

Home runs were the order of the day though, as Beau Amaral hit a two-run shot in the third inning to tie the score. The Dirtbags retook the lead in the fourth inning on a third solo home run, this time coming fromJonathan Jones to take a 3-2 lead.

A leadoff walk in the bottom of the fourth would spark a two-run inning for UCLA however, as the Bruins took their first lead of the game 4-3.

The home runs would continue for Long Beach State, however, and in the fifth inning the Dirtbags had runners on for them. Brennan Metzger started off the inning with a hit to extend his team-high hitting streak, and after Kirk Singer reached and Devin Lohman singled home Metzger, Joey Terdoslavich hit his fifth home run of the season to put the Dirtbags back on top. Two singles and a walk brought home another run and put two on for Casas, who responded with his second round-tripper of the day and three more runs and an 11-4 lead.

Singer’s three-run homer in the seventh inning was the sixth of the day for the Dirtbags and put the team out in front 14-4, and an RBI single by Tinoco later in the inning added one more run. 

Jones doubled to start the eighth inning, and scored after a pair of groundouts, closing out the scoring for Long Beach State.

The Dirtbags return to Blair Field for their first home Big West series in two weeks, hosting UC Santa Barbara for three games, during Autism Awareness Week for Long Beach State. The teams will open action on Friday, April 23 at 6:30 p.m.