Photo by: John Fajardo
Ramirez Shines in Return, Dirtbags Win Conference Opener
3/18/2022 9:49:00 PM | Baseball
Behind a dominant Luis Ramirez start, Long Beach State beat Hawai’i 4-0 to open conference play.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – In his return to the mound Luis Ramirez was tremendous, leading the Dirtbags (9-7, 1-0 Big West) to a 4-0 victory over Hawai'i (6-11, 0-1 Big West) in their conference opener. Long Beach State has now won four straight and seven of their last eight games.
After missing his start last weekend, Ramirez was back on the bump in the black and gold uniforms on Friday night. The right-hander did not miss a beat, tossing seven shutout innings while allowing just two hits and a walk. He struck out a season-high 10 Rainbow Warriors, the first double-digit strikeout performance by a Dirtbag this season.
The third-year sophomore handed the ball over to Matt Fields for the final two innings. The redshirt senior retired all six Hawai'i hitters he faced on his way to securing the 4-0 victory. He has allowed just one run in 11.2 innings this season, good for a 0.66 ERA.
Offensively, the Dirtbags took the lead in the fourth inning on an RBI infield single from Tanner Carlson after Sebastian Murillo and Eddie Saldivar collected back-to-back one-out hits to get the rally started.
The fifth inning started with a Rocco Peppi double down the left field line. He came around to score on an RBI single up the middle from Jonathon Long to make it a two-run ballgame. After an error and walk loaded the bases, Saldivar sent a double into the right field corner to plate two more and give the Dirtbags a four-run lead.
That lead would hold thanks to Ramirez and Fields shutting the Rainbow Warriors' offense down as the Dirtbags won their first game of Big West play.
Around the box score, Saldivar led the offense going 2-for-4 with two RBI, a run scored, and a walk. Peppi (2-for-4), Long (2-for-4), and Carlson (2-for-4) also recorded multi-hit performances as the quartet combined for eight of the team's eight hits.
The Dirtbags will look to keep the streak going and take the series from Hawai'i tomorrow afternoon. First pitch from Bohl Diamond at Blair Field will be at 3:00 p.m.
After missing his start last weekend, Ramirez was back on the bump in the black and gold uniforms on Friday night. The right-hander did not miss a beat, tossing seven shutout innings while allowing just two hits and a walk. He struck out a season-high 10 Rainbow Warriors, the first double-digit strikeout performance by a Dirtbag this season.
.@_luisramirez44 was filthy in his return to the mound ??
— LBSU Dirtbags (@LBDirtbags) March 19, 2022
7 IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 10K pic.twitter.com/OZlwuBTkmY
The third-year sophomore handed the ball over to Matt Fields for the final two innings. The redshirt senior retired all six Hawai'i hitters he faced on his way to securing the 4-0 victory. He has allowed just one run in 11.2 innings this season, good for a 0.66 ERA.
Offensively, the Dirtbags took the lead in the fourth inning on an RBI infield single from Tanner Carlson after Sebastian Murillo and Eddie Saldivar collected back-to-back one-out hits to get the rally started.
The fifth inning started with a Rocco Peppi double down the left field line. He came around to score on an RBI single up the middle from Jonathon Long to make it a two-run ballgame. After an error and walk loaded the bases, Saldivar sent a double into the right field corner to plate two more and give the Dirtbags a four-run lead.
.@EddieSaldivar3 doubles the lead!
— LBSU Dirtbags (@LBDirtbags) March 19, 2022
?? https://t.co/t3Qau3mHo2 pic.twitter.com/PU7ueyyW6n
That lead would hold thanks to Ramirez and Fields shutting the Rainbow Warriors' offense down as the Dirtbags won their first game of Big West play.
Around the box score, Saldivar led the offense going 2-for-4 with two RBI, a run scored, and a walk. Peppi (2-for-4), Long (2-for-4), and Carlson (2-for-4) also recorded multi-hit performances as the quartet combined for eight of the team's eight hits.
The Dirtbags will look to keep the streak going and take the series from Hawai'i tomorrow afternoon. First pitch from Bohl Diamond at Blair Field will be at 3:00 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ramirez, Luis (2-0)
L: Andy Archer (0-3)
Base Running:
SB: Stone Miyao 1
CS: Scotty Scott 1
HBP: Scotty Scott 1

Batting:
2B: Peppi, Rocco 1 ; Saldivar, Eddie 1
RBI: Long, Jonathon 1 ; Saldivar, Eddie 2 ; Carlson, Tanner 1
SH: Pimentel, Alex 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Peppi, Rocco 1 ; Long, Jonathon 1 ; Pimentel, Alex 1 ; Saldivar, Eddie 1
SB: White, Tyler 1
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