Long Beach State University
5-2
Wake Forest
3-4
Dirtbags Complete Emphatic Sweep of No. 17 Wake Forest With 6-0 Shutout
2/23/2020 6:12:00 PM | Baseball
Long Beach State finished off a sweep of No. 17 Wake Forest on Sunday afternoon, getting a convincing 6-0 victory over the Demon Deacons. Four Dirtbags pitchers combined for the shutout, allowing just four hits on the afternoon.
Admittedly, Long Beach State does not have an extensive history with opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference, last facing an ACC club in 2017 for a series win at North Carolina. That season also gave the Dirtbags their most recent sweep of a ranked team, taking all three from then-No. 5 Cal State Fullerton in a non-conference set.Skipper @Emvalenz spoke to the media following Sunday's 6-0 win over No. 17 Wake Forest. That completes a sweep of the Demon Deacons & has the Dirtbags off to a 5-2 start to the season! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/v28kvIUwaC
— LBSU Dirtbags (@LBDirtbags) February 24, 2020
Again it was Long Beach State's pitching that dictated Sunday's win, as junior Jonathan Lavallee got his first start as a Dirtbag and gave his team everything it could've asked for. The righty went five scoreless innings, scattering three hits and a pair of walks while striking out three to earn the win.
Freshman Jake Rons recorded the next four outs before handing it over to Jonathan Carlos for 1.2 innings late. Carlos struggled a bit with command but got a key groundout in the eighth to strand the bases loaded. Matt Fields pitched a perfect ninth inning to lock down the win, ending the game with a strikeout swinging.
As a pitching staff, the Dirtbags issued five walks on the day, but held the Demon Deacons to just four hits on the afternoon. LBSU also got some solid defense, including a slick diving grab by Connor Kokx, who was making plays all over the outfield.SWEEP!! This strikeout ends it to give the Dirtbags a 6-0 shutout win over No. 17 Wake Forest. That completes a weekend sweep of the Demon Deacons. The Bags are HOT!!!! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/g7IFtS7USq
— LBSU Dirtbags (@LBDirtbags) February 24, 2020
The Dirtbags got on the board in the second inning thanks to a sacrifice fly from Tanner Carlson, but Long Beach State was again able to put up some crooked numbers later in the game. Carlson started a fifth-inning rally with a leadoff single, and he came all the way around to score on a double to left center by Calvin Estrada.Go get it Connor!! Kokx with a nice diving grab in CF to end the 4th inning & keep Wake Forest off the board. And a slight flex for the fans. #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/hQwSboX4Jx
— LBSU Dirtbags (@LBDirtbags) February 23, 2020
Three batters later, with a runner on second and two outs, the Demon Deacons elected to intentionally walk Leonard Jones to pitch to Riki DeSa in the five spot. That plan backfired as DeSa ripped a ball into left center that turned into a two-run double, scoring Estrada and Jones.Full send!!! Calvin Estrada jumps all over this 3-0 pitch and Tanner Carlson is gonna score all the way from first on the RBI double! That doubles the Dirtbags lead to 2-0 in the 5th! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/BIXFjcKQ6f
— LBSU Dirtbags (@LBDirtbags) February 23, 2020
Long Beach State tacked on more insurance in the seventh as Jones started the inning with a single, followed by a walk to DeSa. Thomas Greely smacked an RBI single through the left side to make it a 5-0 lead, then the Dirtbags would add another run on a fielder's choice for the 6-0 cushion.PUT SOME RESPEK ON MY NAME!! Wake Forest intentionally walks Leonard Jones to pitch to Riki DeSa. They probably regret it after this 2-run double!! 4-0 Dirtbags in the 5th! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/7I0k0TaTbf
— LBSU Dirtbags (@LBDirtbags) February 23, 2020
For the series, Dirtbags pitchers allowed just five runs on 12 hits facing a talented Wake Forest lineup. The Demon Deacons were also held scoreless over the final 16 innings of the weekend.We got 5 on it!! Thomas Greely with the RBI single to score Leonard Jones. It's now a 5-0 Dirtbags lead in the 7th! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/UyXJb49vMv
— LBSU Dirtbags (@LBDirtbags) February 23, 2020
This weekend's result has already drawn some national attention, and the road only gets tougher on the Dirtbags' schedule. After hosting San Diego on Tuesday night at 6 p.m., Long Beach State will welcome in Mississippi State for a three-game series next weekend. The Bulldogs have made consecutive College World Series appearances and are a consensus Top 10 team heading into next weekend's showdown in Long Beach. Game one will be Friday night at 6 p.m. with postgame fireworks to follow.
Riki DeSa took a break from mashing baseballs to talk about his success at the plate since joining the lineup. He helped break things open today with a 2-run double in the 5th. #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/StvRuuK4wK
— LBSU Dirtbags (@LBDirtbags) February 24, 2020
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lavallee, Johnathan (1-0)
L: William Fleming (1-1)
Base Running:
HBP: Brendan Tinsman 1
Batting:
2B: Estrada, Calvin 1 ; DeSa, Riki 1
RBI: Estrada, Calvin 1 ; DeSa, Riki 2 ; Greely, Thomas 1 ; Rivera, Santino 1 ; Carlson, Tanner 1
SH: Kokx, Connor 1
SF: Carlson, Tanner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Estrada, Calvin 1 ; Jones, Leonard 2 ; DeSa, Riki 1 ; Luttrell, Chase 1 ; Carlson, Tanner 1
HBP: Estrada, Calvin 1 ; Kokx, Connor 1 ; Luttrell, Chase 1 ; Greely, Thomas 1
