Mathewson Finds Groove, Dirtbags Top SJSU

Friday, May 13

Long Beach, Calif.

6:00 PM

Long Beach State University

29-18

San José State

16-34

San Jose State

Long Beach State

Chris Mathewson worked into the eighth inning on Friday night, striking out nine batters on his way to win No. 5 on the year.

5/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

May 13, 2016

Box Score

Long Beach, Calif. - An inauspicious opening frame did not deter Dirtbags starter Chris Mathewson on Friday night at Blair Field. The sophomore righthander allowed the first three San Jose State batters to reach base on Friday night, giving up two runs on two hits in the first inning, but from that point on he was in firm control, shutting down the Spartans the rest of the night. SJSU mustered just two more hits off Mathewson and did not score again after the first, as the LBSU starter covered 7.1 innings, throwing 125 pitches and striking out nine batters.

"(Mathewson) grinded, again," said LBSU head coach Troy Buckley of his sophomore starting pitcher. "It's kind of been that for 65-70 percent of his starts. And he just kind of found something, something clicked … I think it's a huge step for him confidence-wise and it's much needed for our team as we finish the last two weekends. As we go down the stretch, we're going to need him."

The win improves Long Beach State to 29-18 overall while dropping the Spartans to 16-34. LBSU also picked up a game on Big West-leading Cal State Fullerton thanks to a Titans loss at UC Santa Barbara earlier in the day. The Dirtbags are now two games back of first place as they take their one-weekend hiatus from conference play.

Following the tough first inning, which included a pair of singles, a pair of walks, a balk and a wild pitch, Mathewson's line the rest of the night was: 6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 8 K. He is now 6-4 on the year and he matched his season-high with 7.1 innings worked.

The offense did its park in the first inning, putting Long Beach State right into the lead thanks to three runs in the bottom half. Jarren Duran led off with a bunt single on the first pitch of the inning, then he was moved over by a Zack Domingues sacrifice bunt on the second pitch. After Garrett Hampson switched places with Duran when the runner was caught in a fielder's choice off second, Luke Rasmussen began the hit parade with an RBI double to deep left.

Rasmussen's two-bagger extended his hitting streak to 13 games, matching Brock Lundquist for the longest by a Dirtbags player this season. Daniel Jackson delivered another RBI double with a hot shot into the left field corner, then Lundquist extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single sliced into left center. That brought home Jackson for the 3-2 lead, one Long Beach would never relinquish.

The Dirtbags put up three more runs in the third, all unearned off lefty Jonathan Hernandez, who was making just his second start of the year. With a pair of runners reaching base on errors and standing at the corners with two outs, Lundquist delivered another RBI single through the right side. Then catcher David Banuelos launched one over the head of the Spartans left fielder to plate two more with a pair of two-out RBIs.

The first eight batters in the Dirtbags lineup recorded at least one hit in the game, but the scoring was limited thanks to a pair of Spartans double plays and a pair of runners caught stealing. Still, Mathewson's fine work along with the 1.2 innings of relief from Chris Rivera made it a fairly routine win on Friday night.

The Dirtbags will look to clinch the series tomorrow afternoon as Darren McCaughan (7-1, 2.33 ERA) takes the hill against RHP Josh Nashed (0-4, 5.05 ERA). First pitch will be at 2 p.m.

NOTES: Lundquist matched his season-high in hits going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs … That was the 11th multi-hit game for Lundquist and his fifth multi-RBI game … Hampson scored a pair of runs to increase his team lead. He has now scored 45 times, which is 19 more than Jackson in second place … The game actually ended on an infield single to shortstop by Michael Breen, as Spartans baserunner Brendt Citta was caught rounding second base on an alert play by Hampson, who after making a diving stop, flipped the ball behind the runner to Duran at second to apply the tag for the final out.