USC Wins Marathon 5-4

Wednesday, May 25

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

36-20

USC

35-18

Long Beach State

So. California

5/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

USC Wins Marathon 5-4 in 11 Innings
Game Saw a Combined 30 Hits and 29 Left on Base

May 25, 2005

BASEBALL	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E	RECORDS
Long Beach St.	0	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	4	16	3	36-20
USC	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	5	14	2	35-18
WP: Andy Guy (1-0) LP: Matt Fitts (0-1) BOX SCORE

LOS ANGELES, CA-- As London woke up to its morning tea and crumpets, Kyle Hankerd laced a one-out double down the rightfield line, 18 minutes short of midnight on the West Coast, giving No. 21-ranked USC (35-18) a 5-4 extra inning victory over No. 11-ranked Long Beach State (36-20).

The four hour and 39 minute game combined for 30 hits and 27 left on base, as 39 players were used in the contest. The game also saw eight runners thrown out on the bases patches, four by the outfielders, including three by LBSU leftfielder Danny Mocny and two each by the team's catching cores. Both teams also combined for five errors.

Matt Fitts (0-1), who pitched the final inning and a third, gave up a one-out walk to Darin Vieira, before Hankerd took a pitch down the rightfield line to end the ballgame. Andy Guy (1-0), the eighth pitcher for the Trojans, got the win, hurling two shutout innings.

The Dirtbags took advantage of two errors in the seventh to re-take the lead at 4-3. The Beach scored the tying and go-ahead runs on a potential inning ending double play ball that was double clutched off the relay and then thrown away by second baseman Hector Estrella. LBSU had loaded the bases with one out, off two singles and a fielding error by third baseman Billy Hart.

Estrella made a diving stop to stop the bleeding, when he took away a base hit from Jordan Struble to end the inning. USC then scored an unearned run in the seventh to tie it at 4-4. Brian Anderson exited after two and one third innings of relief, giving up one unearned run on three hits. Steve Hammond and Neil Jamison ptiched the next two shutout innings prior to Fitts entering in the 10th.

Four straight singles by USC in the fifth, the first two off of starter Cody Evans, gave the Trojans a 3-2 lead. A squeeze bunt by Cyle Hankerd broke the tie with the bases loaded off of reliever Donnie Hume, after Hume gave up the game-tying single to Darin Viera a batter earlier. Anderson, the third pitcher of the inning, struck out pinch-hitter Roberto Lopez to finally shut the door.

Evans gave up three runs on six hits over four and two-thirds innings of work, striking out a Division-I best six and walking a career-high four. It was Evans longest outing since February 5, and his second longest outing of his one-year career at LBSU.

The Beach had taken a 2-1 lead in the top off the fifth off of an RBI double from Troy Tulowitzki. Both teams trade sacrifice flys to begin the contest and make it 1-1 after two innings.

Mocny picked up three outfield assists on the night, throwing out a runner trying to advance to second in the second, and the potential go-ahead runs in the fourth and seventh innings, both to end the inning. Mocny also made two errors, in the second and sevneth innings.

LBSU has now won at least 35 games heading into 12 of their 15 regional appearances.

The Dirtbags now await NCAA Regional play starting on June 3. The 16 sites for this year's tournament will be announced on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN2, while the 64-team field will be announced on May 30 at 8:30 a.m. on ESPN2. Fans are invited to join the team on Memorial Day morning for the announcement at Cirivello's at 4115 Viking Way in Long Beach. Doors open at 8 a.m.


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