Baseball • Junior Matt Cline throws to first for the out Sunday during the 10-0 Dirtbag’s victory over UC Irvine. The 6-3 loss Tuesday night to UCLA snapped the Dirtbag winning streak. Jeffery Patch / Online Forty-Niner


Bruin bats too much for Dirtbags



By Kim Oswell
Online Forty-Niner
Sports Editor


The weather cleared above Blair Field Tuesday night as the No. 15-ranked Dirtbags fell to the UCLA Bruins 6-3. Bruin starting pitcher Brian Schroeder went seven innings and gave up only 3 runs on 4 hits as the Dirtbags rotated through five different pitchers throughout the game. The loss drops the Dirtbags’ record to 9-5 and adds a win to the Bruins 6-9 record overall.

The first inning started shaky for Long Beach State pitcher Shane Peterson who gave up a two-run homerun to Cody Decker, which was only his third hit of the season. The Dirtbags tried to get the offense going in the bottom half, but retired on two fly outs and a ground out.

The Bruins rallied off Peterson in the second inning off back-to-back walks and a sacrifice fly by Ryan Babineau scored a run. Mike Malott relieved Peterson in the fourth who only went three innings with 45 pitches and one strikeout.

The bases were loaded in the bottom of the fourth for LBSU and a slow chopper by Brandon Godfrey led to a double play by the Bruins, but a run scored. Jose Hernandez singled to center and scored Espinosa to give the Dirtbags an even two runs in the inning.

Freshman Scott Turmail came in for Malott in the fifth with Malott only throwing 25 pitches.

The Bruins collected four runs off Turmail in the fifth in an offensive rally. LBSU fought back in the sixth when Masuda was hit by a pitch and Robert Perry’s drag bunt got him safely on first. Masuda scored off Espinosa’s single to right, but the Dirtbags closed the inning still trailing the Bruins 6-3.

Two of the five hits for the Dirtbags came from Espinosa, but the Dirtbags never rallied back in the late innings and the Bruins sealed the deal at 6-3.

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