Dirtbags Fall In Extras At Cal Poly

Saturday, April 25

San Luis Obispo, Calif.

6:00 PM

Long Beach State University

21-17, 7-7

Cal Poly

19-20, 7-4

Long Beach State

Cal Poly

4/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 25, 2015

Box Score

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- The Long Beach State Dirtbags went into extra innings for the sixth time this year but fell to Cal Poly 4-3 on Saturday. Alex DeGoti had two hits in the game and Chris Mathewson pitched seven strong innings on the mound in the no-decision outing.

Both teams left 12 runners on base over the 12-inning affair before Cal Poly (19-20, 7-4 Big West) was able to bring home the winning run in the bottom of the 12th. Zack Zehner took the first pitch of the bottom of the 12th over the left field wall for the game-winner.

Long Beach State put a runner on first base in the 10th inning and 12th inning but the Mustangs' Taylor Chris was able to work out of both jams to preserve the tie. Chris went five innings out of the bullpen and allowed just one hit to get his second win of the season.

The Dirtbags took an early lead after Tristan Mercadel tripled and then scored on Alex Bishop's groundout in the second. After Cal Poly tied up the game in the third, Long Beach State jumped on top again.

They loaded the bases with one away in the sixth and DeGoti delivered an RBI-single when his blooper to right landed just inside the foul line for a 2-1 Dirtbags lead. Joey Sanchez hit a high chopper to third to bring in a second run.

Miscues again came back to haunt LBSU in the late innings. Two routine pop ups to the outfield were lost in night sky and fell in shallow left center to put runners on second and third with one out. A grounder to short cashed in one of the runs to cut the lead to 3-2.

A miscommunication in the seventh led to a pickoff throw sailing into center field and put the tying run on third with one out. Mark Mathias hit a blooper into shallow center for his third hit of the game, which scored the tying run.

Mathewson pitched seven innings, allowing seven hits and striking out four. Logan Lombana tossed a scoreless eighth, ran into trouble in the ninth and was relieved by Austin McGeorge. McGeorge pitched out of the two-out jam and worked a scoreless 10th.

Back-to-back walks to lead off the 11th put McGeorge in a jam and Ty Provencher was called upon to wiggle out of it. He immediately made a huge play in cutting down the runner headed for third on a sacrifice bunt attempt before getting two fly balls to end the inning.

The Mustangs clinched the series win with the walkoff victory but the two teams will meet again tomorrow in the series finale at 1 p.m.