Long Beach State University
7-11
Tulane
8-11
Dirtbags Cruise Past Tulane in Series Opener, 13-2
3/16/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
LONG BEACH, Calif. - It was a dominant all-around performance from Long Beach State (7-11) on Friday night as the Dirtbags earned a resounding 13-2 victory over Tulane (8-11) on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field. LBSU got a gem from sophomore starter Zak Baayoun, and the offense slapped around a season-best 15 hits to take the series opener with the Green Wave.
Baayoun worked 7.0 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out 10. It's the second double-digit strikeout performance of the season for Baayoun and the third for LBSU this season. He also got some help from his defense, most notably in the top of the fifth inning as redshirt senior Tristan Mercadel retreated to the wall in left field and made a spectacular leaping grab at the wall to rob extra bases.
Tristan Mercadel with a highlight catch in left! #GoBeach #Robbery #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/aU43baFrUh
— LBSU Dirtbags (@LBDirtbags) March 17, 2018
Offensively, the Dirtbags scored two runs in the first, four more in the second, then blew the game open with a six-spot in the sixth. Clayton Andrews had a career-high four hits in the ballgame, scoring three times. Leadoff hitter Jarren Duran was 2-for-4 at the plate and also scored three times. LBSU's RBI leader Chris Jimenez was at it again, driving in three runners on Friday night for a new single-game high for the freshman. Classmates Leonard Jones and Santino Rivera each chipped in a pair of RBIs on the night, meaning seven of LBSU's 11 RBIs in the game were delivered by freshmen.
Five Dirtbags recorded multi-hit games, including Duran, Andrews, Jimenez, Rivera, and Shaq Robinson, who also doubled off the wall in left.
Long Beach State will now look to secure a series win on Saturday at 2 p.m. There will be a special St. Patrick's Day t-shirt giveaway to fans prior to Saturday's game.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Baayoun, Zak (3-2)
L: ROPER, Kaleb (1-3)
Batting:
2B: SEPCICH, Stephen 1
3B: HOESE, Kody 1
RBI: HOESE, Kody 1 ; BEDGOOD, David 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HOESE, Kody 1 ; NIEMANN, Frankie 1
HBP: JENSEN, Trevor 1 ; MATHEWS, Grant 1 ; OWEN, Acy 1
Batting:
2B: Duran, Jarren 1 ; Stotler, Brooks 1 ; Robinson, Shaq 1
RBI: Andrews, Clayton 1 ; Jimenez, Chris 3 ; Stotler, Brooks 1 ; Jones, Leonard 2 ; Mercadel, Tristan 1 ; Robinson, Shaq 1 ; Rivera, Santino 2
SH: Rivera, Santino 1
SF: Jimenez, Chris 1 ; Mercadel, Tristan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Duran, Jarren 3 ; Andrews, Clayton 3 ; Stotler, Brooks 1 ; Huffman, Laine 1 ; Jones, Leonard 1 ; Mercadel, Tristan 1 ; Rivas, Steven 1 ; Robinson, Shaq 1 ; Rivera, Santino 1
SB: Duran, Jarren 1 ; Andrews, Clayton 1 ; Mercadel, Tristan 1
CS: Jimenez, Chris 1
HBP: Duran, Jarren 1 ; Stotler, Brooks 1 ; Jones, Leonard 1
