Weekend Recap and a Look Ahead

The Dirtbags held tough to take the weekend series against No. 20 Cal.  Long Beach dropped Saturday's contest 2-1 then got revenge in the day game on Sunday by the same score.

Game two on Saturday was lost in extra innings after junior Matt Anderson pitched a great game.  Anderson allowed no runs with just four hits over six innings.  Despite Anderson's effort Cal snuck out with the win when Vince Bruno broke the 1-1 tie in the tenth inning.   Bruno started the inning with a lead-off triple, and scored on a sacrifice fly.

The rubber match of the series featured two great performances by both starting pitchers.  Dirtbag's pitcher Ryan Strufing held the Bears in check with a stellar pitching performance by going eight innings whiling allowing just one run.  Strufing was effective with his control and has yet to commit a single walk in over 14 innings pitched so far this year.

Sunday's win ends the Dirtbag's opening homestead of the year.  They now hit the road for what will be a four game stretch this week.  Long Beach will face off against No. 22 UCLA, then head north to face yet another difficult Pac-12 opponent in No. 24 Oregon for a three-game series in Eugene, starting on Friday.

Dirtbags Earn Gritty Win Against No. 20 Cal

Long Beach State manufactured runs in Dirtbag fashion to take the win against the Cal Berkley Bears, 7-4, Friday night.  The victory gave the Dirtbags the opening game of what will be a weekend series at Blair Field. 

Good defense and key situational pitching was what gave Beach the win against the No. 20 team in the nation.  "That's a very good offensive team we just beat," Dirtbag head coach, Troy Buckley said.  "We made some pitches when we had to and eliminated our mistakes."

The 49ers got off quickly to a 1-0 lead in the first inning with runners on first and third.  Designated hitter Ino Patron got caught in a pickle between first and second base, giving an opportunity for Johnny Bekakis to score from third.  "It was not a double steal, just pure ball and dirt.  It was just a well executed opportunity on our guys." said coach Buckley.

The Dirtbags got the best of the Bears in the third inning, in which Beach batted through the entire lineup.  They took advantage of every given opportunity the Bears gave them scoring three runs on four walks, a couple wild pitches, and a two RBI single by Ino Patron with two outs.  Coach Buckley stressed the importance of seizing opportunities by saying they're (LBSU) just trying to win innings.

California did make the game a little interesting in the sixth inning when right fielder Danny Oh blasted a towering homerun to right field getting the score to 6-5 in favor of Long Beach.  Fortunately for the Dirtbags that was as close as the game got the rest of the night.

Long Beach State starting pitcher Shawn Stuart pitched a solid 5.2 innings with three strikeouts on only three hits allowed.  Stuart was replaced by Kyle Friedrichs after the Oh homerun and tamed the Bears on 2.2 innings pitched, while striking out four.  "Kyle was huge, and Stewart grinded," commented coach Buckley about his pitchers.  "We're a collective group that's got to pick each other up, and that's what we did tonight."  Dirtbag's third baseman Juan Avila also had a great game as well going 3-for-4 (two doubles) with a run scored.  Click here for the official box score.

Long Beach (3-2) continues the weekend series against California (3-1) Saturday at 5:30 p.m.  Then Sunday at 1:00 p.m.  Both games will be played at Blair Field in Long Beach.

Welcome Dirtbags!

The Dirtbag Dugout is a blog that will follow the 2012 CSULB men's baseball team.  The objective of the blog is to keep fans informed of upcoming games and matchups, provide scores and highlights of games played in 2012, and to also obtain insightful interviews and analysis from players and coaches throughout the year.  Readers who love collegiate baseball and follow Big West atheletics will be the target audience who read this blog, but I welcome anyone who enjoys the sport of baseball and are fans of the Dirtbags to come along throughout the 2012 season.  A new entry will be posted at least once every week, and each post will highlight a game or series played during that week.  This blog will also keep readers informed of upcoming games and matchups for the following week, and will also keep readers informed of player injuries, team standings, lineup or position changes as well.  The intention of The Dirtbag Dugout is to keep the posts interesting by incorporting interviews from players and coaches and to also capture photos of in game action, in case you missed it.  If you're wondering what to expect from the Dirtbags this season check out their season preview here.