Dirtbags sweep Pacific despite losing old caps

Long Beach State Head Coach Dave Snow felt he needed to do something to inspire the Dirtbags, who had lost seven of their last eight games before coming into last weekend's games.

Before Friday's opener at Blair Field against Pacific, Snow gave his team new baseball caps to wear that were missing the usual golden "LB" insignia on the front. Consequently, the headgear was completely black in color, as if the Dirtbags were in mourning.

It is debatable whether this fashion statement helped LBSU (29-20 overall, 16-8 Big West Conference) sweep the Tigers (22-26, 5-19) over the weekend since the Tigers are next-to-last place in the Big West. The hats will stay until the end of the season, Snow said.

One player, at least, is somewhat ambivalent about the new accessory.

"It's just a hat," right fielder Chuck Lopez said. "It kind of builds us up, though, because if we want to get our hats back, we have to play better. It's kind of embarrassing, too."
 

After the Dirtbags won Friday and Saturday 12-3 and 11-4, the Tigers kept it close Sunday, trailing only 4-3 entering the top of the ninth inning. Pacific catcher Travis Anderson led off the inning with a single to center off LBSU closer Josh Alliston.

Alliston then balked, sending Anderson to second. Pacific center fielder Nick Guichard then laid down a sacrifice bunt that put Anderson on third with one out.

Tiger shortstop Ryan Stowasser then flied out to shallow right field, with Anderson tagging at third. Lopez uncorked a throw toward home plate that strayed about 10 feet from the plate up the third base line. LBSU catcher Bryan Kennedy leapt toward the throw, stopping the ball with his body and forcing Anderson to stay at third with two outs.

Pacific left fielder Jason Walker then grounded out to shortstop to end the threat, with Alliston earning his ninth save.

Snow said plays like Kennedy's are what his team needs to succeed.

"That was a great play," he said. "That's the type of effort we're looking for. At this time of the year you talk to these guys about doing the things on the field that represent Dirtbag baseball."

LBSU starter Jason Berni (5-2, 2.88 ERA) threw six innings for the win, allowing two runs, both earned, with two strike outs and a walk. Pacific starter Steve Fischer (5-7, 4.60 ERA) allowed four earned runs over 4 2/3 innings to take the loss.

Left fielder Jeff Jones was 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs for the Dirtbags. He leads the team with a .391 batting average and is tied Kennedy for second in RBIs with 36.

Separately, Cal State Fullerton won two of three games over the weekend, dropping Nevada to third place and allowing LBSU to leapfrog into second, one game behind CSUF. Nevada, whom the Dirtbags face next weekend in Reno, now stands two games out of first.

LBSU starting pitcher Matt Paz won his first game since April 8, tossing seven innings Saturday and allowing four earned runs on eight hits while walking three batters and striking out two. His record now stands at 8-3 with a 4.10 ERA.

Paz said he needed to make some adjustments to his came to get back on track.

"During my side work, in the bullpen, I've been concentrating on getting the ball down," he said. "I was leaving the ball up, and they were hitting it hard instead of getting them to hit it on the ground."

Lopez led the Dirtbags at the plate Saturday with a 4-for-4 performance, hitting his third triple of the year and adding two runs and two RBIs. Center fielder Robert Womack went 2-for-3 with a double, three runs, two RBIs and two walks.

LBSU shortstop Bobby Crosby committed his first error in 23 Big West games and only his fourth in 48 games played, while trying to throw out a runner at first base on a slow-rolling grounder that he had to snag with his bare hand. Crosby has only four errors despite fielding more than 250 plays this season.

LBSU starter Jeff Leuenberger (5-2, 4.14 ERA) notched his first win Friday since March 24, which was also against Pacific, working seven innings and allowing three runs, two earned, and six hits while striking out five and walking two hitters.

Pacific starter Jason Walker (2-3, 5.41 ERA) pitched seven innings Friday as well, but allowed 11 runs, eight earned, on 12 hits. His defense committed six errors behind him, with five coming at the hands of third baseman Rick Morton.

Six LBSU hitters notched two hits in the game. Womack hit his first home run of the year in the seventh inning, a two-run shot to right field. He also hit his team-leading fourth triple of the year in the third, and scored three runs on the evening.

The Dirtbags head to Westwood tonight to take on UCLA (30-22, 13-5 Pac-10) at 6:05 p.m. LBSU won the first meeting March 1 at Blair Field, 6-1.