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A pitching matchup between respective No. 3 starters lead to a wild finish
Sunday that saw the baseball team win its seventh straight game, 6-5, over
visiting Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Long Beach State (9-8) swept the three-game series, outscoring the Mustangs 39-14, to open Big West Conference play this past weekend at Blair Field.
The Mustangs struck first in the second inning Sunday, using a squeeze bunt to produce the only run through three innings.
Mustang pitcher Mike Zirelli attempted to quiet the 49ers' hot bats, which had produced 96 runs in the previous six games of the streak.
49er Freshman pitcher Jeff Luenberger flirted with disaster in the fourth inning by loading the bases. However, he got second baseman Matt Elam to ground out, ending the rally.
Long Beach third baseman Paul Day extended his hitting streak to 17 games. Day had two hits and scored the 49ers' first run.
In the sixth inning, the 49er offense would come alive. Zirelli who was still throwing higher than 85 miles an hour finally was hit hard by the Dirtbags. Singles by the 49ers, combined with errors and confusion on the Mustangs defense, resulted in 4-1 Long Beach lead.
The Mustangs were not dead yet. They responded by chasing Luenberger from the game, then went after left hander Mike Gallo, who took his place.
In the seventh, Jason Marr inherited the game for Long Beach with the teams deadlocked at five.
Marr held the Mustangs to no runs, and in the eighth inning the 49ers brought senior captain Jaron Madison to the plate with two outs.
Madison singled and then stole second base. Batter Curt Lee dragged a bunt past the mound. Elam was late in fielding the bunt, and attempted to record the final out by throwing to first which would prove to be costly and Madison came flying around third base trying to score.
"Day has been real consistent ... I hope it does rub off on the team."
Dave Snow
The gamble by third base coach Mike Weathers paid off, as Madison slid in safely under the relay from first for the winning run.
Paul Day finished the game with three hits in four at-bats. His hitting streak - 10 shy of the record set by Todd Guggian in 1989 - appears to be contagious.
"Day has been real consistent," Snow said. "If we have some guys who are paying attention as to how he (Day) goes about his at-bats, the way he goes to all fields, hitting different pitches, then great. I hope it does rub off on the team."
After starting off the season 2-8, this young 49er team now holds a winning record.
"At first, I think we were a little afraid," Day said. "We didn't have much experience as a team, and we didn't really know how good we could be. Just last week we started believing in ourselves."