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sports:
baseball
No. 1 Trojans
end Dirtbags 5-game win streak
By Ben Dimapindan
On-line Forty-Niner
The momentum of
a five-game win streak for the Long Beach State men's baseball
team came to a screeching halt Tuesday as the No.1 USC defeated
the Dirtbags, 10-2.
The game opened
favorably for the Dirtbags (34-19 overall, 10-5 Big West Conference)
behind designated hitter Nick Covarrubias' standup triple
to lead off the first inning.
First baseman Jeremy
Reed drove in Covarrubias with a groundout, and LBSU moved
ahead 1-0.
But after the first
inning, the Trojans (37-16) showed why they are the top-rated
team in the country and completely dominated the remainder
of the game.
The USC pitching
contained the explosive LBSU offense to only five total hits
in the game, while the Trojan batters displayed a well-balanced
attack.
In the bottom of
the second, third baseman Michael Moon, who finished the game
2-for-3, gave USC the lead when he blasted a two-run homer
off of starting pitcher Matt Paz.
"He [Paz]
has been throwing a lot better as of late," Head Coach
Dave Snow said. "That's the first time in a while he
hasn't been able to get the job done."
The USC hitting
remained on-target in the third, when the Trojans blew the
game wide open with a five-run surge to boost the lead to
7-1.
The Dirtbags could
only manage to score just one more time in response to the
seven unanswered runs by the Trojans.
Catcher Bryan Kennedy,
who went 1-for-4 in the game, reached home plate on a wild
pitch by USC starter Fraser Dizzard and slightly narrowed
the lead to 7-2.
However, the Trojans
maintained successful attempts at the plate and center fielder
Brian Barre hammered a solo home run in the bottom of the
sixth to give USC a permanent 10-2 advantage.
"They [USC]
performed very well today," Snow said. "They're
a very solid team and one of the best teams in the nation."
In addition, the
10-2 victory for the Trojans was the 600th career win of Mike
Gillespie as its head coach.
The Dirtbags will
conclude the 2001 regular season this weekend with a Big West
Conference three-game away series against rival Cal State
Fullerton.
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