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Dirtbags'
errors prove costly against Baylor
By
Trent Loomis
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
The
game of baseball is one of streaks, and
the good teams are the ones that don't let
the losing streaks become habit-forming.
The
No. 25-ranked Dirtbags (11-7) have won six
of their last seven and appear to be on
the upswing after taking the weekend series
against No. 14-ranked Baylor (8-6) in Waco,
Texas.
The
weekend kicked off Friday with ace Cesar
Ramos (3-2) finding his old form, baffling
Bear batters for seven innings and allowing
seven hits, two unearned runs and striking
out six—leading Long Beach State to
a 4-2 victory.
Designated
hitter Sean Boatright who has been hampered
with injuries throughout his career with
the 49ers, played in his second straight
series providing the much needed spark on
offense. He went 1-5 with a run and a RBI,
but his impact on the lineup goes further
than the box score might indicate.
Although
Boatright has just made his presence felt,
catcher and leading Dirtbag hitter Chris
Jones was 2-4 with a run and third baseman
Tito Cruz was 2-4 with an RBI to help lead
the 10-hit attack.
Ramos
left after the seventh and handed the game
over to the dependable one-two punch in
the bullpen—set-up man Brian Anderson
and closer Neil Jamison.
Both
pitched a scoreless inning without allowing
a hit, while Jamison collected his fourth
save of the year.
Game
two featured another bright spot on the
pitching staff for the Dirtbags as junior
transfer Marco Estrada extended his perfect
record to 3-0 after leading LBSU to a 7-6
win.
Estrada
wasn't as sharp as he has been, going five
innings and giving up seven hits, five runs—three
of them earned—two walks and three
strikeouts. The offense picked him up with
14 hits.
RBI
singles from Brandon Godfrey and Jordan
Struble made it 2-0 in the top half of the
first inning, but Baylor answered back with
two runs in the bottom half.
It
was a see-saw battle that LBSU overcame,
scoring five more runs behind four hits
and two RBIs from Boatright. Shortstop Evan
Longoria went 4-5 with two runs and one
RBI.
Jones went 2-3 with two RBI and a run.
Once
again, the bullpen was solid, going four
innings and allowing only one run.
Donnie
Hume replaced Estrada and surrendered one
run in one and two thirds innings, leading
the way for Anderson and Jamison.
Both
pitched a flawless inning with Jamison picking
up his fifth save.
The
Dirtbags would like to soon forget game
three, after losing 7-1.
Baylor
pitcher Mark McCormick (1-1) shut down the
49ers' offense, holding them to six hits,
while Dirtbags pitcher Jared Hughes (1-1)
allowed five earned runs in less than five
innings.
Once
again, the Dirtbags were prone to errors—they
committed six over the three-game series.
"The
errors have become very disappointing for
us," Barbara said. "It seems as
though every error we commit turns into
a run for the other team."
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