Long Beach State falls in extra innings once more

Thursday, April 5

Riverside, Calif.

6:00 PM

Long Beach State University

10-17, 2-2

UC Riverside

9-13, 2-2

Long Beach State

UC Riverside

Matt Duffy was 2-for-3 with three RBI against the Sun Devils Saturday.

4/5/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 5, 2012

Box Score

Riverside, Calif. - Long Beach State went eight innings between allowing runs, but two in the first and one in the tenth gave UC Riverside a 3-2 walkoff win on the road on Thursday night. Matt Duffy had three hits for the Dirtbags.

Long Beach State opened up the game with a run in the first inning. Johnny Bekakis doubled in the first at-bat of the game, and then Duffy singled home Bekakis to give the Dirtbags a 1-0 lead. The Dirtbags would eventually load the bases, but were unable to score any more runs in the top of the first.

UC Riverside answered back to take the lead in the bottom of the second. Matt Anderson had some control issues, and after a pair of hits to start the inning, Vince Gonzalez singled home the tying run, and then a bases-loaded walk gave the Highlanders a 2-1 lead. The Dirtbags turned a 4-6-3 double play to get out of the inning, keeping UCR from adding any additional runs in the first.

The Dirtbags tied the score in the top of the third as Juan Avila scored on an RBI groundout from Richard Prigatano. That would be the last of the scoring as both Anderson and Dylan Stuart settled down. Anderson worked six innings, allowing six hits, while Stuart went eight, scattering nine Dirtbags hits.

Long Beach State had a pair of late chances, but were unable to break through. Ino Patron reached third base in the fifth inning with one out, but couldn't tag on a fly ball to right field from Brennan Metzger. Then, in the top of the ninth, the Dirtbags loaded the bases with one out, but a hard grounder from Avila was turned for a 5-2-3 double play to end the inning.

Matt Johnson, who had only allowed one hit in three innings of relief, walked the leadoff batter in the bottom of the tenth, and after a sacrifice and an intentional pass, Vince Gonzales doubled home the winning run to hand Johnson his third loss of the season.

The loss was the tenth one-run loss for the Dirtbags in 2012, and the fifth time Long Beach State has been walked off. The Dirtbags fall to 0-4 in extra innings.

Long Beach State returns to the Riverside Sports Complex on Friday evening, as the two teams resume their series at 6 p.m.