Friday, April 18
Fullerton, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
15-20, 9-11
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Cal State Fullerton
19-19, 10-7
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Long Beach State
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Cal State Fullerton
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Photo by: Matthew Medina
The Dirtbags Even The Series At Cal State Fullerton 8-5
4/18/2025 9:37:00 PM | Baseball
Ashworth and Elliot both record three hits to lead LBSU
FULLERTON, Calif—Kyle Ashworth and Easton Elliot recorded three hits as Long Beach State evened its Big West series at Cal State Fullerton by defeating the Titans 8-5 Friday night in Big West baseball action at Goodwin Field.
Maddox Latta broke Kellan Montgomery's streak of 20 consecutive retired batters with a one-out triple in the bottom of the first. Andrew Kirchner's sac fly drove in Latta to give the Titans the lead.
Elliot became the first Long Beach State baserunner when he singled to begin the top of the third. He went to second on Conner Stewart's grounder to short. Matt Toomey tied the game with a single up the middle. Ashworth reached on an infield single to second. Alex Champagne singled down the leftfield line to load the bases.
Nathan Cadena reached on an error by third baseman Marcos Rosales that scored two runs. Cadena's failed pick-off attempt at first resulted in an error with runners on the corners, sending Champagne home.
A Dylan Smith pitch hit Jake Evans to begin the fourth. Elliot singled through the right side. Evans was aggressive, trying to advance to third, where he was thrown out by Paul Contreras, the Titans' right fielder. With two outs, Toomey singled up the middle. Ashworth tripled off the right field wall to score both runs, increasing the advantage to 6-1.
Montgomery retired seven in a row before issuing a leadoff walk to Matthew Bardowell in the bottom of the fourth. Montgomery induced Max Ortega to hit into a 5-4-3 double play. He quickly got Eli Lopez to fly out to center to quiet the Titans.
Elliot singled for the third time to start the top of the sixth. Stewart's sacrifice bunt pushed Elliot to second. Turner walked Toomey and Ashworth to load the bases. Champagne grounded out to first as Elliot scored.
Montgomery walked Kirchner with one out in the top of the sixth. Bardowell hit a grounder off Cadena's glove at first. Kirchner tried to take third on the play but appeared to have been thrown out 3-4-2-5. With instant replay available, Cal State Fullerton challenged the call. The call was upheld, resulting in the second out. Montgomery struck out Ortega to wrap up matters.
Stewart led off the eighth with a single up the middle. He advanced to second on a Jayden Harper wild pitch. The third Cal State Fullerton pitcher, Harper, struck out Toomey for the first out. Ashworth doubled to the right-center gap to plate Stewart. Ryan Seo relieved Harper and hit Cadena with his first pitch. He walked Charpiot to load the bases. Trotter Enright grounded to first as the score remained 8-1.
Tyler Gebb relieved Montgomery to begin the bottom of the eighth. Pinch-hitter Jakob Schardt doubled to left center gap. Carter Johnstone singled to center to score Schardt. Gebb struck out Latta. Gebb struck out Kirchner on three pitches for the second out. Bardowell popped out to short to end the inning.
Gebb walked Lopez with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Contreras doubled to leftfield. Rosales hit a shot to the warning track in center, where Champagne made the catch. Both runners advanced, making the score 8-3. Isaiah Gomez's infield single drove in Contreras. Johnstone singled up the middle. Latta walked to load the bases.
With the lefthanded hitting Kirchner coming to bat, the Dirtbags called in lefty Van Larson to face the Big West leader in RBI (50). Kirchner walked on the ninth pitch of the at-bat for an 8-5 score. With a righty in Bardowell coming up, Long Beach State went to righty Alex Ramos. Bardowell worked the count to 3-1 before lining out to Ashworth in right to end the game.
Ashworth was a home run away from the cycle as he went 3-for-4 with three RBI. Elliot was 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. Toomey was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Johnstone and Bardowell both registered two hits for the Titans.
Montgomery allowed four hits during his stint. He struck out four and walked three. He threw 92 pitches, 59 for strikes. Ramos picked up his first save of the season.
Long Beach State (15-20, 9-11 Big West) and Cal State Fullerton (19-19, 10-7 Big West) close the series Saturday afternoon. ESPN+ coverage begins at 1 p.m.
Maddox Latta broke Kellan Montgomery's streak of 20 consecutive retired batters with a one-out triple in the bottom of the first. Andrew Kirchner's sac fly drove in Latta to give the Titans the lead.
Elliot became the first Long Beach State baserunner when he singled to begin the top of the third. He went to second on Conner Stewart's grounder to short. Matt Toomey tied the game with a single up the middle. Ashworth reached on an infield single to second. Alex Champagne singled down the leftfield line to load the bases.
Nathan Cadena reached on an error by third baseman Marcos Rosales that scored two runs. Cadena's failed pick-off attempt at first resulted in an error with runners on the corners, sending Champagne home.
A Dylan Smith pitch hit Jake Evans to begin the fourth. Elliot singled through the right side. Evans was aggressive, trying to advance to third, where he was thrown out by Paul Contreras, the Titans' right fielder. With two outs, Toomey singled up the middle. Ashworth tripled off the right field wall to score both runs, increasing the advantage to 6-1.
Montgomery retired seven in a row before issuing a leadoff walk to Matthew Bardowell in the bottom of the fourth. Montgomery induced Max Ortega to hit into a 5-4-3 double play. He quickly got Eli Lopez to fly out to center to quiet the Titans.
Elliot singled for the third time to start the top of the sixth. Stewart's sacrifice bunt pushed Elliot to second. Turner walked Toomey and Ashworth to load the bases. Champagne grounded out to first as Elliot scored.
Montgomery walked Kirchner with one out in the top of the sixth. Bardowell hit a grounder off Cadena's glove at first. Kirchner tried to take third on the play but appeared to have been thrown out 3-4-2-5. With instant replay available, Cal State Fullerton challenged the call. The call was upheld, resulting in the second out. Montgomery struck out Ortega to wrap up matters.
Stewart led off the eighth with a single up the middle. He advanced to second on a Jayden Harper wild pitch. The third Cal State Fullerton pitcher, Harper, struck out Toomey for the first out. Ashworth doubled to the right-center gap to plate Stewart. Ryan Seo relieved Harper and hit Cadena with his first pitch. He walked Charpiot to load the bases. Trotter Enright grounded to first as the score remained 8-1.
Tyler Gebb relieved Montgomery to begin the bottom of the eighth. Pinch-hitter Jakob Schardt doubled to left center gap. Carter Johnstone singled to center to score Schardt. Gebb struck out Latta. Gebb struck out Kirchner on three pitches for the second out. Bardowell popped out to short to end the inning.
Gebb walked Lopez with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Contreras doubled to leftfield. Rosales hit a shot to the warning track in center, where Champagne made the catch. Both runners advanced, making the score 8-3. Isaiah Gomez's infield single drove in Contreras. Johnstone singled up the middle. Latta walked to load the bases.
With the lefthanded hitting Kirchner coming to bat, the Dirtbags called in lefty Van Larson to face the Big West leader in RBI (50). Kirchner walked on the ninth pitch of the at-bat for an 8-5 score. With a righty in Bardowell coming up, Long Beach State went to righty Alex Ramos. Bardowell worked the count to 3-1 before lining out to Ashworth in right to end the game.
Ashworth was a home run away from the cycle as he went 3-for-4 with three RBI. Elliot was 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. Toomey was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Johnstone and Bardowell both registered two hits for the Titans.
Montgomery allowed four hits during his stint. He struck out four and walked three. He threw 92 pitches, 59 for strikes. Ramos picked up his first save of the season.
Long Beach State (15-20, 9-11 Big West) and Cal State Fullerton (19-19, 10-7 Big West) close the series Saturday afternoon. ESPN+ coverage begins at 1 p.m.
~#LongBeachBuilt~
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Montgomery, Kellan (7-3)
L: Smith, Dylan (1-3)
S: Ramos, Alex (1)
Batting:
2B: Ashworth, Kyle 1
3B: Ashworth, Kyle 1
RBI: Ashworth, Kyle 3 ; Champagne, Alex 1 ; Cadena, Nathan 1 ; Toomey, Matt 1
SH: Stewart, Conner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ashworth, Kyle 1 ; Champagne, Alex 1 ; Elliot, Easton 2 ; Stewart, Conner 2 ; Toomey, Matt 2
HBP: Cadena, Nathan 2 ; Evans, Jake 1
Batting:
2B: Contreras, Paul 1 ; Schardt, Jakob 1
3B: Latta, Maddox 1
RBI: Johnstone, Carter 1 ; Kirchner, Andrew 2 ; Contreras, Paul 1 ; Rosales, Marcos 1 ; Gomez, Isaiah 1
SF: Kirchner, Andrew 1 ; Rosales, Marcos 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Latta, Maddox 1 ; Lopez, Eli 1 ; Contreras, Paul 1 ; Schardt, Jakob 1 ; Gomez, Isaiah 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
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RBI
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RBI
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RBI
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Players Mentioned
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