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LBSU
Dirtbags avoid sweep with win in series
finale
By
Matt Pearson
Daily Forty-Niner
Sports Editor
The
No. 10-ranked Long Beach State Dirtbags
avoided a sweep, salvaging the final game
of the series with a 4-3 win over the UC
Santa Barbara Gauchos.
At
the end of the weekend, the Dirtbags fell
to 33-16,11-5 Big West while the Gauchos
improved over the weekend to 21-26, 3-9
Big West.
Junior
shortstop Troy Tulowitski put LBSU ahead
in the top of the ninth inning with an RBI-single
that scored senior designated hitter Cole
Jacobsen from second base. Senior pitcher
Neil Jamison (4-0) picked up the victory
after pitching the final two outs in the
eighth and a scoreless ninth to preserve
the 4-3 win.
LBSU
took a 3-0 lead after junior center fielder
Sean Boatright extended his hitting streak
to 26 games with an RBI-double in the first
inning. The Dirtbags added two more runs
in the fifth courtesy of a two-out RBI-single
from Jacobsen followed by an RBI-double
from Tulowitski.
Dirtbag
starter sophomore Jared Hughes pitched five
innings, struck ou seven and walked four
in the no-decision.
The
Dirtbags were unable to edge the Gauchos
in the first two games of the series. LBSU
lost the first game of the series Friday
8-6 and a Dirtbag rally came up short in
a 7-6 loss to the Gauchos Saturday.
The
Gauchos tagged Dirtbag ace junior pitcher
Cesar Ramos for six runs in the third inning.
Ramos (9-5) pitched his second-shortest
outing of his career, lasting just 3.1 innings.
He gave up a career-worst seven runs and
tied his career high for his given up with
10. Every Gaucho starter had at least one
hit in the game.
The
Beach responded with three runs in the following
inning to get within four runs. Redshirt
freshman Brandon Godfrey singled in two
runs and senior Steve Velazco followed with
an RBI-single. Boatright connected for an
RBI-double in the fifth to cut the lead
to 7-4. The Dirtbags would score two more
runs in the ninth, but they would not be
enough.
The
Dirtbags came up a run short in a 7-6 loss
Saturday. This victory marked the fifth-straight
series win for the Gauchos over the Dirtbags.
Trailing 7-3, LBSU struck for three runs
in the eighth, but that was as close as
they would come.
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