Dirtbags Upset No. 12 USC To Open Homestand

Tuesday, April 14

Long Beach, Calif.

6:05 p.m.

Long Beach State University

12-23

USC

30-8

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Southern California	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	3	5	1
Long Beach State	2	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	X	5	8	1

4/14/2026 9:52:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Long Beach State opened its five-game homestand with a statement victory Tuesday night, defeating No. 12 USC 5-3.

By: Cianna Smith-Andrews, Assistant Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State delivered a statement win Tuesday night at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field, knocking off No. 12 USC 5-3 to open its five-game homestand with energy and momentum.

The Dirtbags wasted no time setting the tone. After Caleb Anderson struck out the side in order in the first, Long Beach State capitalized in the bottom half. Jake Evans beat out an infield single and Matt Toomey followed with a shallow single to right, putting runners on the corners. With two outs, Kaiden Smaka delivered the early spark, ripping a double down the left field line to score both runners and give the Dirtbags a 2-0 lead.

From there, Anderson took over. The right-hander dominated the Trojans lineup, working efficiently through the first five innings while piling up strikeouts. He recorded a career-high nine punchouts over six innings, repeatedly getting ahead in counts and finishing hitters with swing-and-miss pitches.

Long Beach State added on in the fourth with clean, situational baseball. Aaron Perez and Reid Montgomery opened the inning with back-to-back singles before a Damon Valdez sacrifice bunt moved both into scoring position. Trotter Enright lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score Perez. Evans then dropped a single into center, allowing Montgomery to score and push the Dirtbags' lead to 4-0.

The Dirtbags continued to pressure in the middle innings. Smaka stayed aggressive, legging out a triple down the right field line in the fifth, while the pitching staff kept USC off balance. Anderson worked out of limited traffic, including a clean double play in the sixth, before handing the ball over to the bullpen.

USC finally broke through in the seventh with back-to-back singles and an RBI knock, trimming the lead to 4-1. Long Beach State answered immediately in the bottom half when Evans reached on an error and later came around to score on a Smaka groundout, pushing the advantage to 5-1.

The Trojans made one last push in the eighth as Augie Lopez launched a two-run homer to right field, but the Dirtbags bullpen held firm. Tyler Gebb navigated the inning before closing the door in the ninth, retiring the side to secure the 5-3 upset victory.

The win marks Long Beach State's first victory over USC since May 7, 2024, and highest ranked win since beating UCLA in 2022 at home 4-3 (12).

Dirtbags were anchored by Smaka, who drove in three runs with a double and added a triple, while Evans collected three hits and an RBI. Anderson earned the win with six strong innings and a career-high nine strikeouts, setting the tone in a complete team performance.

Dirtbags will now set their attention to another midweek opponent in San Diego State as they will face them tomorrow evening, first pitch set for 6:05 p.m. at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.