Dirtbags Score 2 In The 11th To Defeat Milwaukee 5-4

Friday, March 1

Long Beach, Calif.

6 p.m.

Long Beach State University

6-1-1

Milwaukee

0-7

Milwaukee

Long Beach State

Photo by: Iori Miyakodani

3/1/2024 10:09:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Long Beach State Battles Back Three Times In The Game

By: Matt Turk, Associate Athletic Communications Director

LONG BEACH, Calif.—In a back-and-forth contest, Long Beach State scored twice in the bottom of the 11th to defeat Milwaukee 5-4 Friday night in baseball action at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.

Myles Patton struck out five of the first six batters he faced, including four in a row at one point. Tai Walton tripled to lead off the Panthers' third before scoring on a Thomas Otto double. Otto advanced to third on a Q Phillips sacrifice bunt. Milwaukee leadoff hitter Gabe Roessler's safety squeeze bunt drove in Otto. Sean Tillman singled to left to push Roessler to third. Carson Hansen struck out. With Justin Hausser at the plate, the Panthers attempted a double steal. Patton threw to first to Jack Hammond. Hammond threw home where John Newman Jr. made the tag on Roessler for the final out.

Kyle Ashworth singled with one out in the bottom of the third. Hammond struck out as Ashworth stole second. Cole Santander grounded out off Panthers' starter Luke Hansel to keep the Dirtbags at bay. Hansel walked Newman Jr. and Connor Charpiot to begin the LBSU fourth. With two outs, both completed a successful double steal. Hansel induced an Alex Champagne grounder to second to get out of the inning.

Newman Jr. led off the bottom of the sixth with a single up the middle. He made it to second on an Otto passed ball. Charpiot flew out to right field, but the ball was deep enough for Newman Jr. to advance to third. The Panthers brought the infield in against Adrian Lopez, who struck out. Armando Briseno lined out to second to end the inning.

Patton reset his career high with his 11th strikeout in the top of the sixth. He ended the night after six innings with 13 K's, the most by a Dirtbags pitcher since Nico Zeglin struck out 13 against South Florida on Mar. 12, 2023. Nathen Morris relieved Patton to start the seventh, and he walked Hausser. With Tyler Bickers attempting to lay down a sac bunt, Newman Jr., the LBSU catcher, tried to pick off Hausser at first. His throw was wide, allowing Hausser to go to second. He advanced to third on Bickers' bunt. Otto flew out to right, but Hausser couldn't tag up on the play. Morris struck out Phillps to keep the score 2-0.

Hansel hit Ty Borgogno with one out in the bottom of the seventh. He stole second as Ashworth struck out. After 109 pitches, Hansel was relieved by Logan Snow. Snow hit Hammond to bring up Santander. Snow struck out Santander to end the frame. Sean Tilman singled with one out off the third Dirtbags' pitcher of the night, Nick Wallerstedt. Cristien Banda relieved Wallerstedt to create a lefty-lefty matchup against Hansen. Banda hit Hansen to bring up Zach Lane. The Panthers' cleanup hitter struck out looking. In the second lefty-lefty matchup of the inning, Banda got Hausser to ground out to third to complete the inning.

Snow walked Newman Jr. to begin the bottom of the eighth. Hausser made a diving catch in foul territory at first on a Charpiot pop-up to record the first out. Newman Jr. stole second as Lopez took a strike. With the count 1-1, Lopez smacked his second home run of the season to tie the game. With one out in the ninth, Walton singled to right against Alexander Mihalakis. Mihalakis struck out Teige Lethert as Walton stole second. Phillips reached on an infield single, giving the Panthers runners on the corners. Roessler's blooper to left scored Walton to put the Panthers into the lead. Mihalakis struck out Sean Tillmon for the third out.

Owen Rice struck out the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the ninth. With a count of 3-2 against Hammond, the LBSU first baseman homered to left to tie the game. Hausser struck out with two outs in the top of the 10th, but Nick Williams' (who relieved Mihalakis) pitch went to the backstop, allowing Lane to reach first. With the count 1-2 against Bickers, Williams picked Hausser off for the final out.

James Severson became the fourth Panthers' pitcher in the bottom of the 10th. Charpiot singled with one out. Landon Greenhouse ran for Charpiot as Lopez came to bat. Lopez popped out to second. With count 1-1 on pinch hitter Jonny Rodriguez, Severson attempted to pick off Greenhouse. The attempt failed as he threw the ball into foul territory, allowing Greenhouse to go to second. A Severson wild pitch advanced Greenhouse to third. Severson battled back to strike out Rodriguez to send it to the 11th. Lethert singled through the right side with two outs against Jonathan Largaespada. Lethert advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on an error for the go-ahead run.

Champagne singled to open the bottom of the 11th. Borgogno followed with a single up the middle. Ashworth bunted for a base hit that loaded the bases. The Panthers brought the infield in against Hammond. He hit a grounder into the hole at short to Roessler. His only play was to first as Champagne scored to tie the game. The infield remained in against Santander. The LBSU designated hitter struck out looking. With the count 1-0 on Newman Jr., a Severson wild pitch allowed Borgogno to score the game-winning run.

The Dirtbags pitchers struck out 21 as a team, tying LBSU with George Washington (vs. UMBC on Feb. 27) for the fifth most in a game by a Division I club this season. Friday was the fourth Long Beach State extra-inning game of the season, marking the first time in modern LBSU history (since 1989) that the Dirtbags have played four extra-inning games in the first eight of a season. Ashworth paced the Dirtbags as he went 2-for-5. Three Panthers had two hits: Roessler, Tillman, and Walton.

Long Beach State (6-1-1) and Milwaukee (0-7) continue the series Saturday. First pitch is 6 p.m.

~#skoBags~