Sunday, March 24
Long Beach, Calif.
1 p.m.
Long Beach State University
9
vs
6
Cal State Fullerton
Photo by: Iori Miyakodani
Lopez's Late HR Sends Dirtbags Past Cal State Fullerton 9-6
3/24/2024 4:47:00 PM | Baseball
Long Beach State Sweeps The TItans In Front A Record Crowd
LONG BEACH, Calif.—Adrian Lopez hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to send Long Beach State past Cal State Fullerton 9-6 Sunday afternoon in the Big West baseball series finale at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field. The win marked the first time since 2017 (Mar. 24-26) that the Dirtbags swept the Titans at home.
Kyle Ashworth led off the bottom of the first with a single up the middle. Third baseman Eli Lopez fielded Adrian Lopez's grounder to third. Lopez's throw to second was wide, allowing both runners to reach safely. Connor Charpiot walked to load the bases. Cal State Fullerton starter Derek Turner struck out John Newman Jr. for the first out. Jack Hammond grounded into a 6-4 fielder's choice, which allowed Ashworth to score. Turner struck out Cole Santander to end the inning.
Long Beach State starter CJ Hood hit Moises Guzman to begin the top of the second. Matthew Bardowell walked. Draven Nushida attempted to bunt the runners over, but he popped out to third. Tyler Holley walked to load the bases. Alijah Ramos' pop-up to second was ruled as an infield fly for the automatic second out. A Hood pitch hit Waldie Perez to tie the game. Eli Lopez singled up the middle to drive in a pair of runs. Maddox Latta walked to load the bases for a second time. Marcos Rosales grounded out to second for the final out.
Alex Champagne opened the bottom of the second with an opposite field single to left. A Turner pitch hit Nick Marinconz. On his first pitch to Armando Briseno, Turner was called for a balk, advancing the runners a base. Briseno struck out. Ashworth doubled to right to drive in both runners and tie the game. With two outs, Charpiot's infield single allowed Ashworth to score from second to return the lead to the Dirtbags, 4-3. Peyton Jones relieved Turner. Newman Jr. reached on Lopez's second error of the game. Hammond flew out to second to conclude matters.
Josh Donegan relieved Hood at the beginning of the third. He retired his first two batters before Nushida singled through the left side. Nushida went to second on a Donegan wild pitch. Holley homered to left, his first hit of the season in 16 at-bats, to put the Titans ahead 5-4.
Santander's double down the left field line started the bottom of the third for the Dirtbags. Champagne singled to right center as Santander made it to third. Marinconz's drive to center was deep enough for Santander to score and tie the game at five.
Ashworth appeared to have caught Perez's diving shot to begin the top of the fourth. After the umpires met, the call was overturned, making it a single. Perez walked. Donegan appeared to have injured himself on the final pitch to Perez, and subsequently, he was relieved by Nathan Morris. Latta's sac bunt moved the runners up a base. Ashworth's diving catch in right off Rosales' fly ball kept Cal State Fullerton off the scoreboard as Morris quickly got the third out.
Ashworth singled to lead off the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Jones walked Charpiot. Andrew Morones relieved Jones to create a right-right matchup against Newman Jr. Morones walked Newman Jr. to load the bases. Hammond's fly ball to center appeared to have dropped in for a base hit. However, the play was ruled an 8-4-3 double play, which ended the inning.
Bardowell began the fifth with a single to right. Nushida grounded out to second to move to second. Hammond made an over-the-head catch in foul territory of a Holley pop-up to record the second out. Ramos singled up the middle to score Bardowell for a 6-5 score.
The third Cal State Fullerton pitcher of the game, Jason Kraskoshi, walked Ashworth with one out in the bottom of the sixth. Adrian Lopez singled through the left side, sending Ashworth to second. Charpiot flew out to center before Ashworth was thrown out attempting to steal third as the Dirtbags attempted a double steal.
Krakowski hit Newman Jr. with a 1-2 pitch to begin the bottom of the seventh. Hammond successfully sacrificed Newman Jr. with a bunt back to Krakowski on the hill. Santander's fly ball to right was deep enough for Newman Jr. to advance to third. Champagne singled through the right side to plate Newman Jr. and again tied the game.
Down 1-2 in the count to relieve Jason Blood, Briseno singled to right. Ty Borgogno ran for Briseno as Ashworth came to bat. Ashworth beat out a bunt attempt for his fourth base hit of the game as Briseno advanced to second, setting the stage for Adrian Lopez's home run.
Grant Cherry, the fourth Dirtbags' pitcher of the game, threw 2.2 innings of relief, striking out six. He was relieved by lefty Nick Williams with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to face a lefthanded-hitting batter, Colby Wallace. Wallace was pulled in favor of Nico Regino, a righthanded-hitting batter. Williams hit Regino with a 2-2 breaking ball. Max Ortega, a pinch-hitter, was next. He grounded back to Williams to end the game.
The teams played in front of 3,246 fans. The crowd was the second largest in school history at Blair Field for the Dirtbags (the school record is 3,342 on Feb. 21, 2009, against USC). 8,948 fans came through the turnstiles over the three games, breaking the school record for a regular season series. The previous regular season mark was 8,035 against Cal State Fullerton for games played from Apr. 26-28, 1996.
Ashworth went 4-for-4 with a walk, two RBI, and three runs scored. Lopez was 2-for-5 with his home run and three RBI. Champagne was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. The Titans (8-14, 1-5 Big West) saw seven players record one hit.
Long Beach State (13-8-1, 3-3 Big West) travels to Cal State Bakersfield (4-18, 1-4 Big West). The Roadrunners play at league-leader UC Irvine on Sunday night. The three-game conference series gets underway Thursday night, with the first pitch on ESPN+ at 6 p.m.
Kyle Ashworth led off the bottom of the first with a single up the middle. Third baseman Eli Lopez fielded Adrian Lopez's grounder to third. Lopez's throw to second was wide, allowing both runners to reach safely. Connor Charpiot walked to load the bases. Cal State Fullerton starter Derek Turner struck out John Newman Jr. for the first out. Jack Hammond grounded into a 6-4 fielder's choice, which allowed Ashworth to score. Turner struck out Cole Santander to end the inning.
Long Beach State starter CJ Hood hit Moises Guzman to begin the top of the second. Matthew Bardowell walked. Draven Nushida attempted to bunt the runners over, but he popped out to third. Tyler Holley walked to load the bases. Alijah Ramos' pop-up to second was ruled as an infield fly for the automatic second out. A Hood pitch hit Waldie Perez to tie the game. Eli Lopez singled up the middle to drive in a pair of runs. Maddox Latta walked to load the bases for a second time. Marcos Rosales grounded out to second for the final out.
Alex Champagne opened the bottom of the second with an opposite field single to left. A Turner pitch hit Nick Marinconz. On his first pitch to Armando Briseno, Turner was called for a balk, advancing the runners a base. Briseno struck out. Ashworth doubled to right to drive in both runners and tie the game. With two outs, Charpiot's infield single allowed Ashworth to score from second to return the lead to the Dirtbags, 4-3. Peyton Jones relieved Turner. Newman Jr. reached on Lopez's second error of the game. Hammond flew out to second to conclude matters.
Josh Donegan relieved Hood at the beginning of the third. He retired his first two batters before Nushida singled through the left side. Nushida went to second on a Donegan wild pitch. Holley homered to left, his first hit of the season in 16 at-bats, to put the Titans ahead 5-4.
Santander's double down the left field line started the bottom of the third for the Dirtbags. Champagne singled to right center as Santander made it to third. Marinconz's drive to center was deep enough for Santander to score and tie the game at five.
Ashworth appeared to have caught Perez's diving shot to begin the top of the fourth. After the umpires met, the call was overturned, making it a single. Perez walked. Donegan appeared to have injured himself on the final pitch to Perez, and subsequently, he was relieved by Nathan Morris. Latta's sac bunt moved the runners up a base. Ashworth's diving catch in right off Rosales' fly ball kept Cal State Fullerton off the scoreboard as Morris quickly got the third out.
Ashworth singled to lead off the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Jones walked Charpiot. Andrew Morones relieved Jones to create a right-right matchup against Newman Jr. Morones walked Newman Jr. to load the bases. Hammond's fly ball to center appeared to have dropped in for a base hit. However, the play was ruled an 8-4-3 double play, which ended the inning.
Bardowell began the fifth with a single to right. Nushida grounded out to second to move to second. Hammond made an over-the-head catch in foul territory of a Holley pop-up to record the second out. Ramos singled up the middle to score Bardowell for a 6-5 score.
The third Cal State Fullerton pitcher of the game, Jason Kraskoshi, walked Ashworth with one out in the bottom of the sixth. Adrian Lopez singled through the left side, sending Ashworth to second. Charpiot flew out to center before Ashworth was thrown out attempting to steal third as the Dirtbags attempted a double steal.
Krakowski hit Newman Jr. with a 1-2 pitch to begin the bottom of the seventh. Hammond successfully sacrificed Newman Jr. with a bunt back to Krakowski on the hill. Santander's fly ball to right was deep enough for Newman Jr. to advance to third. Champagne singled through the right side to plate Newman Jr. and again tied the game.
Down 1-2 in the count to relieve Jason Blood, Briseno singled to right. Ty Borgogno ran for Briseno as Ashworth came to bat. Ashworth beat out a bunt attempt for his fourth base hit of the game as Briseno advanced to second, setting the stage for Adrian Lopez's home run.
Grant Cherry, the fourth Dirtbags' pitcher of the game, threw 2.2 innings of relief, striking out six. He was relieved by lefty Nick Williams with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to face a lefthanded-hitting batter, Colby Wallace. Wallace was pulled in favor of Nico Regino, a righthanded-hitting batter. Williams hit Regino with a 2-2 breaking ball. Max Ortega, a pinch-hitter, was next. He grounded back to Williams to end the game.
The teams played in front of 3,246 fans. The crowd was the second largest in school history at Blair Field for the Dirtbags (the school record is 3,342 on Feb. 21, 2009, against USC). 8,948 fans came through the turnstiles over the three games, breaking the school record for a regular season series. The previous regular season mark was 8,035 against Cal State Fullerton for games played from Apr. 26-28, 1996.
Ashworth went 4-for-4 with a walk, two RBI, and three runs scored. Lopez was 2-for-5 with his home run and three RBI. Champagne was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. The Titans (8-14, 1-5 Big West) saw seven players record one hit.
Long Beach State (13-8-1, 3-3 Big West) travels to Cal State Bakersfield (4-18, 1-4 Big West). The Roadrunners play at league-leader UC Irvine on Sunday night. The three-game conference series gets underway Thursday night, with the first pitch on ESPN+ at 6 p.m.
~#skoBags~
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