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LBSU
Dirtbags win two games and series over
Mustangs
Close • Senior
closer Neil Jamison picked up his 11th
save of the season after pitching two
innings on May 15. CSULB Sports Information
By
Matt Pearson
Daily Forty-Niner
Sports Editor
The
bullpen came through on senior day as
the No. 12-ranked Long Beach State Dirtbags
won the finale of a three-game set against
No. 19-ranked Cal Poly Mustangs to take
the series, 2-1.
Senior
closer Neil Jamison tamed the Mustangs
in the final two innings to record his
11th save of the season. The big play
came in the eighth inning when an interference-ruled
double play helped to preserve the Dirtbags'
2-1 lead. The Mustangs' Jimmy Van Ostran
struck out and then interfered with LBSU
junior catcher Chris Jones as he attempted
to throw out Brandon Roberts who was
trying to steal. Roberts was called out
and that ended the threat in the eighth.
Jamison
gave up a leadoff single in the ninth
inning, but retired the next three batters
as he struck out pinch-hitter J.J. Owen
to end the game.
Senior
Brian Anderson also pitched impressively
in relief work as he pitched 1.2 innings
and struck out two. Sophomore pitcher
Jared Hughes picked up the win (8-2)
as he struck out seven over 5.2 innings
of work.
The
Dirtbags' runs came in the second courtesy
of a solo homer by sophomore third baseman
Evan Longoria in the second and an RBI-double
by redshirt freshman first baseman Brandon
Godfrey in the fifth.
The
Dirtbags' first win of the series came
on May 13 when LBSU defeated Cal Poly
4-1 behind another strong performance
behind junior pitcher Cesar Ramos. The
Dirtbage ace pitched 8.2 innings, allowed
only one run on seven hits and struck
out six. Anderson came on to retire the
final batter in the ninth to pick up
his second save.
Jones
singled in two runs in the bottom half
of the first inning to give LBSU a quick
2-0 lead. Senior right fielder Steve
Velazco added an RBI-single of his own
in the very next inning to extend the
lead to 3-0.
Jones
laid down a perfectly executed squeeze
bunt with runners on the corners and
no outs in the eighth to give LBSU some
extra insurance as the Dirtbags went
on to win 4-1.
Junior
shortstop Troy Tulowitzki went 2-for-4
with two runs scored and senior designated
hitter Danny Mocny went 2-for-3.
The
lone loss for the Dirtbags came on May
14 when LBSU fell to Cal Poly 4-1. Although
junior pitcher Marco Estrada picked up
the loss, he pitched well after a rough
start where he gave up three runs in
the first two innings. Junior center
fielder Sean Boatright's 27-game hitting
streak came to an end, which is the second-longest
hitting streak in school history.
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