Rally
jackets work for Dirtbags again
Tracey Roman/On-line Forty-Niner
Tracey Roman/On-line Forty-Niner
The
49ers used strong pitching from Brandon
Villalobos and the power of the rally jackets
to come from behind to beat UCLA Tuesday
at Blair Field.
By
Michael Bower
On-line Forty-Niner
The
Dirtbags turned their jackets inside out
in the ninth inning for the third time this
season, and for the third time the team
rallied to win the game.
Tito
Cruz’s RBI ground ball single through
a five-man infield broke a 1-1 tie as the
No. 4-ranked Dirtbags came from behind to
defeat the UCLA Bruins 2-1 in a non-conference
game on a foggy Tuesday night at Blair Field.
“I
went up there being aggressive and not trying
to do too much,” said Cruz, who entered
the game in the ninth inning at third base.
The
win gave the Dirtbags (30-9, 9-0) a 2-1
series win for the year against the Bruins,
who took the last meeting 11-1 at Jackie
Robinson Stadium. This year’s team
has reached the 30-win mark quicker than
any other team in Long Beach State history
except the 1989 College World Series team.
Mike
Hofius ripped a one-out single after fouling
off numerous pitches from Bruin’s
reliever, Kevin Brophy, in the ninth inning.
Chuck Sindlinger followed with a single
through the right side, which put runners
on first and third, setting up Cruz’s
game-winning single.
“I
tried to be aggressive early,” Hofius
said. “I got down in the count 0-2
and then got to see every pitch. I fouled
one off to the left side then the right
side. When you see every pitch it helps.”
The
game went scoreless until the Bruins executed
a perfect squeeze play to take a 1-0 lead,
which broke the 23-consecutive scoreless
innings streak of Brian Anderson. The Dirtbags
escaped any more damage thanks to a great
double play turned by Troy Tulowitzki and
Sindlinger with the bases loaded and one
out.
“I thought the play that Sindlinger
made was tremendous,” Long Beach State
Head Coach Mike Weathers said.
Trailing,
1-0, the Dirtbags responded with a run in
the bottom half of the eighth inning to
tie the game, 1-1. Josh Buhagiar, who singled
with one out, scored on a pinch-hit double
by Sean Boatright. Boatright was then thrown
out at the plate trying to score on John
Bowker’s single up the middle.
Brandon
Villalobos, who never got out of the first
inning in his last start against UCLA, pitched
six-shutout innings giving up just three
hits, while striking out seven.
“Those
are the kinds of things you remember down
the road,” Weathers said of the freshman.
“That’s the future.”
Bruin
starting pitcher, David Johnson, matched
Villalobos as he held the Dirtbags scoreless
through his seven innings of work, giving
up just four hits. The Bruin’s bullpen
collapsed giving up both runs on six hits.
Neil
Jamison pitched the final 1 2/3 innings
to get his second win of the season for
the Dirtbags.
Buhagiar
finished the game 2-for-3 with a run, while
Bowker went 2-for-4.
The
Dirtbags will resume conference play with
a three-game series against UC Santa Barbara
starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Blair Field.
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