Friday, April 12
Northridge, Calif.
11 a.m.
Long Beach State University
17-13-1, 5-8
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CSUN
18-13, 7-3
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Long Beach State
0
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9
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CSUN
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8
11
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Photo by: Iori Miyakodani
Dirtbags Drop Doubleheader At CSUN
4/12/2024 5:53:00 PM | Baseball
Matadors win game one in the ninth; LBSU errors lead to four unearned runs in the nightcap
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.— Long Beach State dropped a Big West baseball doubleheader to CSUN Friday afternoon at Matador Field.
GAME 1
CSUN scored three times with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat Long Beach State 8-7 in the opener.
The Dirtbags stranded runners on first and second in the top of the first inning. With two outs in the bottom of the first, the Matadors loaded the bases on a pair of Myles Patton walks and a Patton hit-by-pitch. Patton ran the count to 2-2 on Ben Griffin before striking out the CSUN catcher to end the inning.
CSUN recorded back-to-back singles with two outs in the bottom of the second. Patton induced a Shunsuke Sakaino grounder to second for the third out.
Kevin Fitzer led off the bottom of the third with a single up the middle. Jakob Simons hit his 11th home run of the season, giving the Matadors a 2-0 advantage.
Mason Le bunted for a base hit to begin the bottom of the fourth. Kamau Neighbors successfully sacrificed Le to second. Patton struck out Sakaino looking before Fitzer reached on an error, which allowed Le to score. Simons' second two-run home run made it 5-0.
Thomas Bainton walked Nick Marinconz to begin the top of the fifth. Alex Champagne singled through the right side to advance Marinconz to third. A Bainton pitch hit Ty Borgogno to load the bases. Kyle Ashworth's sac fly to right plated Marinconz. Bainton went up 1-2 in the count against Adrian Lopez before hitting the LBSU shortstop to load the bases. John Newman Jr.'s sacrifice fly scored Champagne to make it 5-2. Jack Hammond's single, with the count 2-2, scored Lopez and Newman Jr. Kenji Pallares relieved Bainton. Cole Santander singled up the middle against Pallares, but Hammond was thrown out at home trying to tie the game.
Owen Geiss relieved Patton to begin sixth. His first batter, Le, singled up the middle. Neighbors lined out to right. With the count 2-0 on Sakaino, Le was thrown out at second attempting to steal by Newman Jr. Geiss battled back from 2-1 in the count to strike out Sakaino, looking to complete the frame.
Newman Jr. singled to left to begin the top of the eighth. Hammond's bloop single landed in the left center. Newman Jr. was aggressive on the basepaths and advanced to third on the play. Joshua Romero, the CSUN closer, came on to face Santander. Santander doubled to left center to drive in both runs to give the Dirtbags a 6-5 lead. Armando Briseno singled through the right side to send Santander to third. Marinconz's fly ball to left scored Santander, but Briseno was thrown out at second attempting to move up a base.
Leading 7-5 going into the bottom of the eighth, Dirtbags closer Mike Villani came on to close. Ashworth dove and caught Will Linberg's liner to begin the inning. Villani quickly got the next two outs to close the inning.
Villani faced the top of the Matadors' lineup in the ninth. Neighbors doubled to lead things off. On Villani's first pitch, Sakaino flew out to left. Fitzer, the second leading hitter in the Big West at .413, went up in the count 3-0 before taking three consecutive called strikes for the second out. Simons walked to bring up pinch hitter Roberto Gonzalez. Gonzalez singled through the left side to score Neighbors as Simons went to third. Griffin reached on an error as Simons tied the game. Gonzalez went to third. Linberg drove in the game-winning run with a single that plated Gonzalez.
Hammond and Santander both recorded two hits and two RBI for the Dirtbags. Le went 3-for-4 with a run scored to lead the Matadors.
GAME 2
Five Long Beach State errors led to four unearned runs as the Matadors defeated the Dirtbags 10-4 in the nightcap.
A Kellan Montgomery pitch hit Simons to begin the bottom of the second. Jarren Sanderson reached on an infield single, advancing Simons to second. Griffin doubled down the right field line to score Simons, with Sanderson taking third.
The Dirtbags got one back in the top of the third when Ashworth singled in Champagne with two outs.
Sakaino reached on an error with one out in the bottom of the third. Montgomery hit Fitzer to put runners on first and second. Simons fouled out before Sanderson walked to load the bases. Griffin grounded out to short for the final out.
Santander tied the game with his third home run of the year with one out in the top of the fourth.
Sakaino doubled to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Fitzer flew out to the warning track in center, as Sakaino tagged and advanced to third. With the infield in, Simons singled to left to drive in Sakaino and return the lead to the Matadors 3-2. Sanderson singled up the middle as Simons moved to third. Sanderson stole second to stay out of the double play. Griffin's opposite-field single to the right scored both runners. Gauna reached on an error to give CSUN runners on first and second. Le walked to load the bases. Barraza singled in a run as the bases remained loaded. Nick Williams relieved Montgomery to face Neighbors and came away with a strikeout. Sakaino flew out to center to end the frame.
Lopez doubled to begin the sixth. He advanced to third when Newman Jr. flew out to right. Santander grounded out to short, allowing Lopez to score.
Marinconz singled with one out in the top of the seventh. Champagne singled to give the Dirtbags runners on the corners. Champagne stole second to keep Long Beach State out of the double play. Ashworth grounded out to first, but the runners could not advance. Lopez struck out to keep it 6-3.
Gauna reached on a two-base error to begin the bottom of the seventh. Le reached on an infield single as the Dirtbags committed an error on the play, allowing Gauna to score an unearned seventh run. With one out, Neighbors singled in the eighth CSUN run. Nathen Morris relieved Williams with two outs. Fitzer was his first batter, and he hit an opposite-field two-run home run to right for a 10-3 score.
Marinconz capped off the scoring in the ninth with his first home run of the season.
Both teams charted 10 hits as Champagne went 3-for-3 with a run scored. Marinconz was 2-for-4 while Ashworth went 2-for-5. Griffin and Sanderson both had two hits to pace the Matadors.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State (17-14-1, 5-9 Big West) and CSUN (19-13, 8-3) will conclude the series Sunday afternoon. ESPN+ will stream the game beginning at 1 p.m.
~#skoBags~
GAME 1
CSUN scored three times with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat Long Beach State 8-7 in the opener.
The Dirtbags stranded runners on first and second in the top of the first inning. With two outs in the bottom of the first, the Matadors loaded the bases on a pair of Myles Patton walks and a Patton hit-by-pitch. Patton ran the count to 2-2 on Ben Griffin before striking out the CSUN catcher to end the inning.
CSUN recorded back-to-back singles with two outs in the bottom of the second. Patton induced a Shunsuke Sakaino grounder to second for the third out.
Kevin Fitzer led off the bottom of the third with a single up the middle. Jakob Simons hit his 11th home run of the season, giving the Matadors a 2-0 advantage.
Mason Le bunted for a base hit to begin the bottom of the fourth. Kamau Neighbors successfully sacrificed Le to second. Patton struck out Sakaino looking before Fitzer reached on an error, which allowed Le to score. Simons' second two-run home run made it 5-0.
Thomas Bainton walked Nick Marinconz to begin the top of the fifth. Alex Champagne singled through the right side to advance Marinconz to third. A Bainton pitch hit Ty Borgogno to load the bases. Kyle Ashworth's sac fly to right plated Marinconz. Bainton went up 1-2 in the count against Adrian Lopez before hitting the LBSU shortstop to load the bases. John Newman Jr.'s sacrifice fly scored Champagne to make it 5-2. Jack Hammond's single, with the count 2-2, scored Lopez and Newman Jr. Kenji Pallares relieved Bainton. Cole Santander singled up the middle against Pallares, but Hammond was thrown out at home trying to tie the game.
Owen Geiss relieved Patton to begin sixth. His first batter, Le, singled up the middle. Neighbors lined out to right. With the count 2-0 on Sakaino, Le was thrown out at second attempting to steal by Newman Jr. Geiss battled back from 2-1 in the count to strike out Sakaino, looking to complete the frame.
Newman Jr. singled to left to begin the top of the eighth. Hammond's bloop single landed in the left center. Newman Jr. was aggressive on the basepaths and advanced to third on the play. Joshua Romero, the CSUN closer, came on to face Santander. Santander doubled to left center to drive in both runs to give the Dirtbags a 6-5 lead. Armando Briseno singled through the right side to send Santander to third. Marinconz's fly ball to left scored Santander, but Briseno was thrown out at second attempting to move up a base.
Leading 7-5 going into the bottom of the eighth, Dirtbags closer Mike Villani came on to close. Ashworth dove and caught Will Linberg's liner to begin the inning. Villani quickly got the next two outs to close the inning.
Villani faced the top of the Matadors' lineup in the ninth. Neighbors doubled to lead things off. On Villani's first pitch, Sakaino flew out to left. Fitzer, the second leading hitter in the Big West at .413, went up in the count 3-0 before taking three consecutive called strikes for the second out. Simons walked to bring up pinch hitter Roberto Gonzalez. Gonzalez singled through the left side to score Neighbors as Simons went to third. Griffin reached on an error as Simons tied the game. Gonzalez went to third. Linberg drove in the game-winning run with a single that plated Gonzalez.
Hammond and Santander both recorded two hits and two RBI for the Dirtbags. Le went 3-for-4 with a run scored to lead the Matadors.
GAME 2
Five Long Beach State errors led to four unearned runs as the Matadors defeated the Dirtbags 10-4 in the nightcap.
A Kellan Montgomery pitch hit Simons to begin the bottom of the second. Jarren Sanderson reached on an infield single, advancing Simons to second. Griffin doubled down the right field line to score Simons, with Sanderson taking third.
The Dirtbags got one back in the top of the third when Ashworth singled in Champagne with two outs.
Sakaino reached on an error with one out in the bottom of the third. Montgomery hit Fitzer to put runners on first and second. Simons fouled out before Sanderson walked to load the bases. Griffin grounded out to short for the final out.
Santander tied the game with his third home run of the year with one out in the top of the fourth.
Sakaino doubled to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Fitzer flew out to the warning track in center, as Sakaino tagged and advanced to third. With the infield in, Simons singled to left to drive in Sakaino and return the lead to the Matadors 3-2. Sanderson singled up the middle as Simons moved to third. Sanderson stole second to stay out of the double play. Griffin's opposite-field single to the right scored both runners. Gauna reached on an error to give CSUN runners on first and second. Le walked to load the bases. Barraza singled in a run as the bases remained loaded. Nick Williams relieved Montgomery to face Neighbors and came away with a strikeout. Sakaino flew out to center to end the frame.
Lopez doubled to begin the sixth. He advanced to third when Newman Jr. flew out to right. Santander grounded out to short, allowing Lopez to score.
Marinconz singled with one out in the top of the seventh. Champagne singled to give the Dirtbags runners on the corners. Champagne stole second to keep Long Beach State out of the double play. Ashworth grounded out to first, but the runners could not advance. Lopez struck out to keep it 6-3.
Gauna reached on a two-base error to begin the bottom of the seventh. Le reached on an infield single as the Dirtbags committed an error on the play, allowing Gauna to score an unearned seventh run. With one out, Neighbors singled in the eighth CSUN run. Nathen Morris relieved Williams with two outs. Fitzer was his first batter, and he hit an opposite-field two-run home run to right for a 10-3 score.
Marinconz capped off the scoring in the ninth with his first home run of the season.
Both teams charted 10 hits as Champagne went 3-for-3 with a run scored. Marinconz was 2-for-4 while Ashworth went 2-for-5. Griffin and Sanderson both had two hits to pace the Matadors.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State (17-14-1, 5-9 Big West) and CSUN (19-13, 8-3) will conclude the series Sunday afternoon. ESPN+ will stream the game beginning at 1 p.m.
~#skoBags~
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Romero, Joshua (7-2)
L: Villani, Mike (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Santander, Cole 1
RBI: Ashworth, Kyle 1 ; Newman Jr., John 1 ; Hammond, Jack 2 ; Santander, Cole 2 ; Marinconz, Nick 1
SF: Ashworth, Kyle 1 ; Newman Jr., John 1 ; Marinconz, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Borgogno, Ty 1 ; Lopez, Adrian 1 ; Newman Jr., John 1 ; Hammond, Jack 1 ; Santander, Cole 1 ; Marinconz, Nick 1 ; Champagne, Alex 1
HBP: Borgogno, Ty 1 ; Lopez, Adrian 1
Batting:
2B: Neighbors, Kamau 1
HR: Simons, Jakob 2
RBI: Simons, Jakob 4 ; Gonzalez, Roberto 1 ; Linberg, Will 1
SH: Neighbors, Kamau 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Neighbors, Kamau 1 ; Fitzer, Kevin 2 ; Simons, Jakob 3 ; Gonzalez, Roberto 1 ; Le, Mason 1
CS: Le, Mason 1
HBP: Simons, Jakob 1
Game Leaders
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RBI
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