Dirtbags Matt Hibbert and Matt Duffy celebrate after Hibbert scored the winning run in the 10th inning Sunday. Photos by Dale Brown

The Long Beach State Dirtbags ended their 2011 home season on a thrilling note Sunday afternoon, beating the visiting Cal State Northridge Matadors on a walk-off error on Senior Day at Blair Field. Fittingly, senior Matt Hibbert scored the tying run in the eighth inning, and then the winning run in the tenth to give Long Beach the 4-3 victory.

With a 3-3 game in the tenth inning, Hibbert led off and beat out a throw from the Northridge shortstop to reach base. After a sacrifice and a single, Hibbert stood at third base just itching to get home. He and the Dirtbag faithful got their wish when a ground ball when through the legs of the Northridge shortstop and Hibbert waltzed in for the victory.

Relieving pitcher Kyle Friedriechs (4-2) earned the win after closing the game with 3.2 hitless innings. Junior Shawn Stuart struck out 10 and walked 2 in just over six.

Hibbert made things happen with his bat and his legs Sunday, going 2-5 and scoring both the tying and winning runs in his final game at Blair Field. Freshman Jeff McNeil did his part, hitting 3-4 with an RBI.

Long Beach took two out of three games in the Northridge series over the weekend. Sunday’s win brought their record to 27-26 (8-10), and the Dirtbags will close out the season with a three-game series at No. 16 UC Irvine this weekend.