Bruins hand Dirtbags worst lost since 1998

LOS ANGELES ó UCLA handed Long Beach State its worst defeat since in two years Tuesday with a 17-6 pounding at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

The Bruins (31-22) scored in all but one inning, amassing 17 hits. Second baseman and Long Beach Poly product Chase Utley set a UCLA record with a 6-for-6 performance, all singles. He also added two runs and two RBIs.

The loss was the worst since at 1998 loss to Nevada 17-3.

One of the Dirtbags' few bright spots was a grand slam by left fielder Jeff Jones in the top of the eighth inning to right field, his fifth home run of the year.  Because the 49ers were down 12-2 before the slam, it wasn't really that significant to Jones, he said.

"I felt good," Jones said, who leads the team with a .400 average and had three hits Tuesday. "It's not something that really changes anything, though. We played terrible today."

A lack of a consistent fourth starting pitcher has caused LBSU (29-21) problems with midweek games, Head Coach Dave Snow said. The Dirtbags have a combined 2-8 record on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and have tried several different starters. 

Freshman lefty Chad Bentz (0-2, 7.43 ERA) got the call Tuesday and lasted only two innings, giving up four earned runs on four hits to take the loss. Snow used four pitchers on the evening.
 

Bruins Bill Scott and Forrest Johnson hit their 21st and 19th homers of the year, respectively, and utility player Aldo Pinto played all nine positions on the field. 

Separately, the Big West Conference named LBSU center fielder Robert Womack its Player of the Week for May 8. Womack hit .533 last week with two doubles, a triple and a home run.

The Dirtbags hope they can get their confidence back with two important Big West Conference series looming ahead. The team will fly to Reno Nev. and begin a three-game series with Nevada on Friday, which sits in third place one game behind LBSU with a 15-9 Big West record. Snow said he wasn't sure how the team would respond in coming games after such a poor performance.

"I have no idea," Snow said. "It's obvious as their coach I don't really have a good handle on this group. I think they're just pressing too hard."

Cal State Fullerton, which sits atop the conference by a game over the 49ers with a 17-7 record, will face seventh-place Pacific this weekend in Stockton. With a CSUF sweep likely, LBSU needs to win as many games as possible this weekend to keep pace. The Dirtbags need to finish no worse than second to be assured of a NCAA berth in the sub-regionals playoff spot, although third might be good enough, Snow said recently. 

UC Santa Barbara, with a 14-10 record, sits only three games out of first. Cal Poly, at 13-10, and Sacramento State, at 12-11, could also sneak in among the leaders.  

The Dirtbags will host CSUF May 19-21 at Blair Field, wrapping up both teams' regular season. The first game will begin at 7:05 p.m., the second at 6:05 p.m., and the final game will start at 1:05 p.m.