Double play • Danny Espinosa and Chuck Sindlinger turn one of two double plays in Friday night’s 4-2 victory over USC. Jeffery Patch / Daily Forty-Niner

Dirtbags turn double on season opener weekend

By Kim Oswell
Daily Forty-Niner
Sports Editor

A thick marine layer covering the outfield contributed to a 4-2 Dirtbag victory against USC Friday night to open the season and a three-game series against the Trojans. The No. 16-ranked 49ers traveled up the freeway Saturday to play No. 17-ranked USC and won 9-6 with Sean Boatright hitting his first homerun of the season.

Jared Hughes pitched 6 innings for the win Friday in front of a sellout crowd of 3,189 at Blair Field, the largest regular-season crowd and the second-largest overall.

Hughes threw 86 pitches and allowed only 3 hits and 2 earned runs. The first inning started shaky with Hughes fighting for control, but he tallied 3 strikeouts on the night. He settled down after the first inning and retired 12 in a row.
“I was probably too excited,” Hughes said. “I was pretty amped up. I was rushing myself instead of trusting myself.”

The Trojans capitalized on Hughes inconsistency in the first inning, and the game was quickly 2-0 in their favor.

Ian Kennedy went 6 innings for the Trojans, allowing 3 earned runs with only one walk and 7 strikeouts.

The marine layer rolled in thick in the sixth inning and two fly balls were dropped by the Trojan outfield to allow the Dirtbags to fight back 3-2. Sean Boatright had an RBI double and Brandon Godfrey followed with another double that scored a run.

“It was tough out there,” Boatright said. “There were times when you could barely see the hitter.”

Scott Turmail came in to relieve Hughes in the seventh and held USC to one hit and one walk during his one inning of play.

Josh Fogel, who came in to relieve Kennedy, was taken out because of elbow pain.

The Dirtbags scored another run in the seventh with Robert Perry’s single. Donnie Hume acquired his first career save in the ninth and LBSU won 4-2.

The momentum from the win carried into Saturday’s game as Sean Boatright hit a two-run homer in the eigth to put the Dirtbags ahead 7-6 and two more runs were scored in the ninth to finish the game 9-6. Evan Longoria, Danny Espinosa and Jose Hernandez all had two hits each. Tito Cruz had three hits, adding to the 15 hits in all by the 49ers.

The Dirtbags next homestand is Feb. 24-26 against Illinois-Chicago at Blair Field.

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