Dirtbags sweep series, increase streak to seven


By Daniel Kim
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer


The Long Beach State Dirtbags swept the Pacific Tigers in three games over the weekend at Blair Field.

Starting pitcher Jared Hughes pitched a strong eight innings Friday to improve his record to 7-1 on the season and Brian Shaw notched his third save as the Dirtbags won 5-2.

All LBSU starters got on base and designated hitter A.J. Pinocchio recorded his sixth straight multi-hit game.

Hughes worked out of trouble in the opening inning. A sacrifice fly into right field by Ramon Glasgow scored Anthony Jackson giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

The Dirtbags answered in the bottom of the second with two runs. The hot hitting continued into the third inning when LBSU started the inning with three consecutive hits. A bouncer up the middle by Espinosa scored Boatright giving Long Beach State a 5-1 advantage.

In the top of the ninth inning, the Tigers had the tying run up to bat. With two men on, Matt Berezay hit into a game-ending double play. The result was a 5-2 Dirtbags victory.

“ I think we are playing the game more like we want to play it. We are taking better at bats. We’re bunting, and hit and running and doing some good things,” said Head Coach Mike Weathers.

The Beach took the second game of the series with a 7-5 victory Saturday afternoon. Robert Perry got the Dirtbags started with a leadoff triple over the left fielder’s head. Pinocchio hit a sacrifice fly to score Perry. Longoria followed with a homerun to left field giving the Dirtbags a quick 2-0 lead. The homerun was Longoria’s ninth of the season.

With two outs in the top of the second, the Tigers put together a string of three consecutive singles to put their first run on the board.

Jose Hernandez started the bottom of the second with a base hit to center. Espinosa followed with a well-hit ball that bounced off the left field wall for a double. Tito Cruz then hit a ball that rolled under the pitcher’s glove to score Hernandez from third. A sacrifice fly by Matt Cline added another run to give Long Beach State a 4-1 lead.

The Tigers scored two runs in the sixth to make the score 5-3.

Vance Worley retired the side in order in the ninth inning to record his second win of the season. The Dirtbags won the game with a final score of 7-5.

The Dirtbags rounded off the sweep on Sunday in a 9-3 victory over Pacific, contributing to the Dirtbag seven-game win streak.

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