Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
28-25, 11-12
Cal State Fullerton
33-22, 18-5
Dirtbags Drop Game Two At Fullerton
5/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
FULLERTON, Calif. -- Chris Mathewson struck out eight over five and two-thirds but Long Beach State fell 4-0 at Cal State Fullerton on Friday. Mathewson struck out six of the first seven batters to start the game.
Two freshmen pitchers went toe-to-toe on Friday with Mathewson squaring off against Cal State Fullerton's John Gavin. Gavin won Friday's matchup with six and two-thirds shutout innings. Mathewson allowed three runs through five and two-thirds but allowed only four hits while striking out eight.
The Dirtbags' freshman hurler struck out the side in the first and then duplicated the feat in the second with a single mixed in to the second. With a fan in the third and another in the fourth, Mathewson struck out eight in his first 10 outs in the game.
The Titans (33-22, 18-5 Big West) struck for their first run in the third, taking advantage of a leadoff walk. AJ Kennedy drew the walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, to third on a deep fly out to left and then scored on a ground out to second.
In the fifth, Timmy Richards doubled and kept on going to third on a Dirtbags error. Kennedy launched a fly ball into the left center gap but Joey Sanchez chased it down and made a diving catch to rob him of extra bases. Richards trotted home on the play and made it 2-0 Titans.
The Dirtbags (28-25, 11-12 Big West) couldn't get much going offensively against Gavin. They managed only four hits in the game and only put runners in scoring position in the third.
Eric Hutting and Alex DeGoti roped back-to-back singles into left with one out to threaten for the Dirtbags. However, Hutting was cut down at third on a failed hit-and-run and DeGoti was caught trying to move up on a pitch that had trickled away from Kennedy behind the plate to end the threat.
The Titans added a run on a homer in the sixth and another in the eighth. They loaded the bases with one out in the seventh but Vaughn Berberet snagged a line drive off the bat of David Olmedo-Barrera and turned it into a double play to escape the jam.
Cal State Fullerton claimed the outright conference title with the win.
Long Beach State concludes its season tomorrow when it faces Cal State Fullerton on Fox Sports Prime Ticket at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gavin, John (7-2)
L: Mathewson, Chris (6-6)
S: Chambers, Miles (1)
Base Running:
CS: Hutting, Eric 1
PO: Rasmussen, Luke 1
Batting:
2B: Bravo, Jerrod 2 ; Richards, Timmy 1
HR: Olmedo-Barrera, Davi 1
RBI: Vargas, Josh 1 ; Olmedo-Barrera, Davi 1 ; Kennedy, A.J. 1
SF: Kennedy, A.J. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Olmedo-Barrera, Davi 1 ; Bravo, Jerrod 1 ; Richards, Timmy 1 ; Kennedy, A.J. 1
SB: Richards, Timmy 1
CS: Vargas, Josh 1
HBP: Stieb, Tyler 1 ; Blaser, Dalton 1
