Dirtbags Hold Off Pepperdine For 3-2 Win

Tuesday, February 17

Long Beach, Calif.

6:00 PM

Long Beach State University

3-1

Pepperdine

1-3

Pepperdine

Long Beach State

Provencher earned his second save of the year.

2/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Feb. 17, 2015

Box Score

LONG BEACH, Calif. - More strong pitching propelled the Long Beach State Dirtbags to a 3-2 win over visiting Pepperdine on Tuesday. Six Dirtbags pitchers combined for 14 more strikeouts, including nine from starting pitcher Ryan Cruz.

Cruz didn't get the decision in this one but limited the Waves (1-3) offense through five innings. In his five innings of work, there was only one frame where he had to pitch out of the stretch. He compiled nine strikeouts and caught four of the last six batters he faced looking.

Long Beach State (3-1) spotted Cruz a run in the first when Garrett Hampson's grounder cashed Jared James, who had led off the inning with a double. The Waves immediately put two aboard in the second with a single and a walk and sacrificed both runners over to second and third to start the second. Cruz kept the Waves off the board with a short pop out to left and his third strikeout of the game. Those would be the last two baserunners to reach base until the seventh as Cruz retired the last 12 in a row.

The Dirtbags added another run in the sixth as Hampson hustled around first and turned a blooper down the right field line into a double. After moving up on a sacrifice, he walked home on Alex Bishop's pinch hit single into right.

A two-out walk and an error proved costly in the seventh as Pepperdine tied up the game with two unearned runs. Freshman Darren McCaughan issued the two-out walk and looked to have an inning-ending pop up to center. However, the fly ball off the bat of Kolten Yamaguchi was misplayed, allowing the run to score and Yamaguchi to move up to third. Manny Jefferson cashed in Yamaguchi with a single to tie the game off Austin McGeorge.

McGeorge went on to strike out the next two batters he faced to end his day and get the win. It has Hampson who again came through for the Dirtbags in the bottom of the seventh. Jonathan Serven set the table with a single before James and Zach Domingues were plunked both plunked to load the bases with one out. Hampson's fly ball into left center was more than deep enough to score for his sixth RBI of the season and second multi-RBI game.

The Dirtbags used four pitchers in the eighth, finishing off with Ty Provencher. Provencher got the four-out save but had to pitch himself out of a second and third jam in the ninth. The Waves and two in scoring position with one outs but Provencher froze back-to-back batters to close out the game.

The Dirtbags are back at home for tomorrow's exhibition game against the Korean professional team, the NC Dinos. The Dinos defeated UC Irvine tonight 4-2 in their first exhibition game.