Long Beach State University
28-15, 26-14
UC Davis
14-43, 8-32
Six-Run Seventh Gives Dirtbags Sweep over UC Davis on Senior Day
5/30/2021 5:06:00 PM | Baseball
Long Beach State exploded for six runs in the seventh inning leading to a 10-4 victory on Senior Day.
UC Davis dominated the first half of the ballgame with a run in the second, two in the fourth, and one in the fifth as they held a 4-0 lead while the Dirtbag offense was struggling.
Those struggles came to an end in the bottom half of the fifth as a Tanner Carlson double got a rally going. Two batters later, with runners on the corners, Calvin Estrada connected for a three-run home run to left field. It is the tenth homer of the year for the senior, making him the first Dirtbag to reach double-digit dingers since 2008.
After a quiet sixth, the offense came alive for the seventh. Long Beach State sent nine batters to the plate scoring six runs on three hits, all of which went for extra bases.
After Carlson walked to start the inning, Connor Kokx launched an RBI double down the right field line to tie the game at four runs apiece. Chase Luttrell stepped in next and launched a missile over the wall in right to give the Dirtbags the lead.
A walk and a hit by pitch put two runners aboard for Sebastian Murillo who came through with his team-leading 11th double of the year, driving in a pair. The freshman would come in to score on a Toren Craig sacrifice fly as Long Beach State ended the inning with a 9-4 lead.
Estrada tacked on another in the eighth, but the Dirtbag bullpen had the game on lock.
Marques Johnson tossed three innings and only made one mistake pitch that led to a solo homer in the fifth. Other than that, he did not allow a baserunner while striking out three. Devereaux Harrison came in for the final two innings and went six up, six down with a pair of strikeouts to secure the 10-4 victory.
Long Beach State has been a bubble team all week in terms of an at-large bid for the NCAA postseason. The Dirtbags will find out if they made it during the selection show. It will air Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. PT on ESPN2.
The Postseason Resume
- The Dirtbags had no fall season and could not meet together as a team until February 15, the latest of any team in the country.
- Their first practice came the same week as most teams started playing games.
- With less than a month of workouts, the Dirtbags did not get a pre-conference slate of games.
- LBSU played 11 series, they only lost one…their first one.
- The Dirtbags end their season as one of the hottest teams in the country, winning six straight games and four straight four-game series.
- Opponents were held to two runs or less in 11 of the final 16 games.
- In the final 17 games of the season, Long Beach State went 15-2 outscoring opponents 119-42.
- For the season the 'Bags posted a +97 run differential scoring 272 runs and allowing 175.
- In the statistical rankings across the country, Long Beach State ranks 14th in shutouts, 21st in team ERA, 23rd in hits allowed per nine innings, 34th in fielding percentage, 53rd in strikeouts per nine, 63rd in batting average, and 64tha in slugging percentage.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnson, Marques (2-0)
L: Carrell, Zach (3-3)
Batting:
HR: Smith, Jalen 1 ; O'Boy, Jackson 1
RBI: Smith, Jalen 2 ; Morrison, Cooper 1 ; O'Boy, Jackson 1
SH: Mico, J.D. 1 ; Iverson, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Jalen 1 ; O'Boy, Jackson 1 ; Verrett, Isaiah 1 ; Iverson, Nick 1
HBP: Smith, Jalen 1
Batting:
2B: Kokx, Connor 1 ; Murillo, Sebastian 1 ; Carlson, Tanner 1 ; Rozell, Brennan 1
HR: Luttrell, Chase 1 ; Estrada, Calvin 1
RBI: Kokx, Connor 1 ; Luttrell, Chase 2 ; Estrada, Calvin 4 ; Murillo, Sebastian 2 ; Craig, Toren 1
SF: Craig, Toren 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kokx, Connor 1 ; Luttrell, Chase 2 ; Estrada, Calvin 1 ; Ramirez, Isaac 1 ; Lopez, Jesse 1 ; Murillo, Sebastian 1 ; Carlson, Tanner 2 ; Rozell, Brennan 1
HBP: Kokx, Connor 1 ; Loust, Charlie 1
