Long Beach State University
14-16, 2-3
UC Irvine
21-9, 7-1
Dirtbags drop second game at No. 5 UC Irvine
4/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 10, 2009
Irvine, Calif. - Long Beach State fell behind No. 5 UC Irvine early, and was unable to catch up in a 6-3 loss Friday night. Designated hitter Tre Dennis singled, scored and drove in a run on a perfect squeeze bunt in the seventh inning to lead Long Beach State.
Getting off to a quick start, the Anteaters loaded the bases to start the bottom of the first and put two runs on the board. The first came home on a single by Francis Larson, and then a fielder's choice DJ Crumlich scored a second run to give UCI the lead.
Long Beach State scored for the first time in the third. Tre Dennis started the inning with a hit, and after a hit batter, Jordan Casas singled to cut the Anteater lead to one at 2-1. The Anteaters ended the threat with a double play to keep the rally at one.
Thompson settled down after the first inning, facing one over the minimum over the next three, but UC Irvine added a third run when Jeff Cusick doubled to score Tommy Reyes after a leadoff walk. The Anteaters added two more runs on doubles from defensive replacement Cory Olson and Reyes, taking a 5-1 lead after the sixth inning.
The Dirtbags pulled back two runs in the top of the seventh. An RBI double by John Hill scored Derek Legg, who singled to start the inning. Then with runners on the corners, Dennis delivered a perfect squeeze bunt to bring home Hill and cut the lead to 5-3.
UC Irvine added a final run in the bottom of the eighth, giving the Anteaters a 6-3 lead heading into the ninth. Eric Pettis entered in relief for UC Irvine in the ninth and collected his ninth save of the year.
Long Beach State returns to Anteater Ballpark on Saturday at 1 p.m. as the Dirtbags look to avoid the sweep. The Dirtbags will turn to freshman Andrew Gagnon (2-3, 4.89 ERA) while Crosby Slaught (2-0, 3.67) takes the mound for UC Irvine.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bergman, Christian (5-1)
L: Thompson, Jake (2-5)
S: Pettis, Eric (9)
Batting:
2B: Hill, John 1
RBI: Casas, Jordan 1 ; Hill, John 1 ; Dennis, Tre 1
SH: Dennis, Tre 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Legg, Derek 1 ; Hill, John 1 ; Dennis, Tre 1
SB: Legg, Derek 1
HBP: Jones, Jonathan 1
Batting:
2B: Cusick, Jeff 1 ; Olson, Cory 2 ; Reyes, Tommy 1
RBI: Cusick, Jeff 1 ; Larson, Francis 1 ; Crumlich, DJ 1 ; Olson, Cory 1 ; Stevenson, Casey 1 ; Reyes, Tommy 1
SH: Orloff, Ben 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Orloff, Ben 1 ; Deragisch, Eric 1 ; Crumlich, DJ 1 ; Olson, Cory 2 ; Reyes, Tommy 1
SB: Stevenson, Casey 1
CS: Crumlich, DJ 1
HBP: Deragisch, Eric 1 ; Stevenson, Casey 1
