Long Beach State University Athletics
Friday, April 3
Northridge, Calif.
2 p.m.
Long Beach State University
10-19, 5-9
17
at
4
CSUN
16-13, 7-7
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
9th innning9
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Long Beach St.
0
5
5
0
4
0
3
0
0
17
20
0
CSUN
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
0
1
4
11
1
Dirtbags Explode For Season-High 17 Runs To Even Series At CSUN
4/3/2026 6:29:00 PM | Baseball
Long Beach State answered emphatically Saturday, erupting for a season-high 17 runs to even the weekend series in Northridge.
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Long Beach State delivered its strongest offensive outing of the season Saturday afternoon, piling up a season-high 17 runs in a 17-4 victory over Cal State Northridge at Matador Field to bounce back after dropping the series opener the night before.
The Dirtbags set a new season high with 17 runs, surpassing their previous best of 16 in a win over LMU at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field, and did it behind a relentless lineup that scored in four different innings, highlighted by back-to-back five-run frames in the second and third innings.
Freshman right-hander Luke Howe set the tone early, retiring the side in order in the first inning with only three pitches as Matthew Thomas grounded out to shortstop, Will Linberg followed with a groundout to second, and Colton Boardman lined out to shortstop.
Long Beach State's bottom half of the lineup ignited the offense in the second. Smith Chandler opened the scoring with a home run to right field, his second of the season, before Conner Stewart doubled and Kaiden Smaka followed with an RBI triple. Trevor Goldenetz then drew a walk and stole second, setting the table for Jake Evans, who launched a three-run homer to right field, his second of the season, to stretch the lead to 5-0. Trotter Enright added a single later in the inning as the Dirtbags sent nine batters to the plate and finished with five hits in the frame.
Long Beach State kept the pressure on in the third when Smith Chandler opened the inning with a double to right-center and Matt Toomey followed with another double to left-center that brought Chandler home. Conner Stewart was then hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second before CSUN made an early pitching change. Kaiden Smaka followed by reaching on a fielder's choice to first, with Stewart forced out at second while Toomey advanced to third.
Trevor Goldenetz then reached on a fielding error by the second baseman, allowing Toomey to score while Smaka moved to second. After a wild pitch pushed Goldenetz to second and Smaka to third, Jake Evans reached on a fielder's choice back to the pitcher, with Smaka thrown out at the plate as Goldenetz advanced to third. Trotter Enright lined an RBI single through the right side to score Goldenetz, and another wild pitch moved Evans to third and Enright to second before Dylan Lina drove a single into right-center that scored both runners and stretched the Dirtbags' lead to 10-0.
CSUN broke through in the bottom of the third when Trent Abel doubled and later scored on a wild pitch, but Howe limited further damage by stranding Vaughn Coleman at third and closing the inning with a strikeout.
The Dirtbags kept adding on in the fifth, where Goldenetz singled to start another rally and eventually scored on Lina's sacrifice fly. Aaron Perez followed with an RBI single, and Toomey lined a two-run single to center after Smith Chandler worked a walk, pushing the lead to 14-1 and prompting another Matadors pitching change.
Long Beach State added three more runs in the seventh despite two quick outs. Aaron Perez kept the inning alive with a single through the left side before Smith Chandler launched a two-run home run to center field, scoring Perez and becoming the second Dirtbag this season to homer twice in one game, joining Dylan Lina's two-homer performance at San Diego State on March 4.
Matt Toomey followed with a double to left field, and Conner Stewart brought him home with an RBI single to left, extending the Dirtbags' lead to 17-1 before Kaiden Smaka flied out to center to end the inning.
Howe worked seven innings for the win, allowing three runs on nine hits while striking out four and continuing to keep CSUN off balance deep into the afternoon. Joey Iglesias handled the eighth, and Jake Fields closed the ninth.
Long Beach State finished with 17 runs on 20 hits, led by Chandler's (4-4) two-homer, four-RBI afternoon. Evans drove in three, Lina added three RBI, and Stewart, Toomey and Enright each contributed multi-hit efforts.
The series concludes Saturday in Northridge, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
The Dirtbags set a new season high with 17 runs, surpassing their previous best of 16 in a win over LMU at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field, and did it behind a relentless lineup that scored in four different innings, highlighted by back-to-back five-run frames in the second and third innings.
Freshman right-hander Luke Howe set the tone early, retiring the side in order in the first inning with only three pitches as Matthew Thomas grounded out to shortstop, Will Linberg followed with a groundout to second, and Colton Boardman lined out to shortstop.
Long Beach State's bottom half of the lineup ignited the offense in the second. Smith Chandler opened the scoring with a home run to right field, his second of the season, before Conner Stewart doubled and Kaiden Smaka followed with an RBI triple. Trevor Goldenetz then drew a walk and stole second, setting the table for Jake Evans, who launched a three-run homer to right field, his second of the season, to stretch the lead to 5-0. Trotter Enright added a single later in the inning as the Dirtbags sent nine batters to the plate and finished with five hits in the frame.
Long Beach State kept the pressure on in the third when Smith Chandler opened the inning with a double to right-center and Matt Toomey followed with another double to left-center that brought Chandler home. Conner Stewart was then hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second before CSUN made an early pitching change. Kaiden Smaka followed by reaching on a fielder's choice to first, with Stewart forced out at second while Toomey advanced to third.
Trevor Goldenetz then reached on a fielding error by the second baseman, allowing Toomey to score while Smaka moved to second. After a wild pitch pushed Goldenetz to second and Smaka to third, Jake Evans reached on a fielder's choice back to the pitcher, with Smaka thrown out at the plate as Goldenetz advanced to third. Trotter Enright lined an RBI single through the right side to score Goldenetz, and another wild pitch moved Evans to third and Enright to second before Dylan Lina drove a single into right-center that scored both runners and stretched the Dirtbags' lead to 10-0.
CSUN broke through in the bottom of the third when Trent Abel doubled and later scored on a wild pitch, but Howe limited further damage by stranding Vaughn Coleman at third and closing the inning with a strikeout.
The Dirtbags kept adding on in the fifth, where Goldenetz singled to start another rally and eventually scored on Lina's sacrifice fly. Aaron Perez followed with an RBI single, and Toomey lined a two-run single to center after Smith Chandler worked a walk, pushing the lead to 14-1 and prompting another Matadors pitching change.
Long Beach State added three more runs in the seventh despite two quick outs. Aaron Perez kept the inning alive with a single through the left side before Smith Chandler launched a two-run home run to center field, scoring Perez and becoming the second Dirtbag this season to homer twice in one game, joining Dylan Lina's two-homer performance at San Diego State on March 4.
Matt Toomey followed with a double to left field, and Conner Stewart brought him home with an RBI single to left, extending the Dirtbags' lead to 17-1 before Kaiden Smaka flied out to center to end the inning.
Howe worked seven innings for the win, allowing three runs on nine hits while striking out four and continuing to keep CSUN off balance deep into the afternoon. Joey Iglesias handled the eighth, and Jake Fields closed the ninth.
Long Beach State finished with 17 runs on 20 hits, led by Chandler's (4-4) two-homer, four-RBI afternoon. Evans drove in three, Lina added three RBI, and Stewart, Toomey and Enright each contributed multi-hit efforts.
The series concludes Saturday in Northridge, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Howe, Luke (4-1)
L: Lucas Alaniz (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Evans, Jake 1 ; Chandler, Smith 1 ; Toomey, Matt 3 ; Stewart, Conner 1
3B: Smaka, Kaiden 1
HR: Evans, Jake 1 ; Chandler, Smith 2
RBI: Goldenetz, Trevor 1 ; Evans, Jake 3 ; Enright, Trotter 1 ; Lina, Dylan 3 ; Perez, Aaron 1 ; Chandler, Smith 3 ; Toomey, Matt 3 ; Stewart, Conner 1 ; Smaka, Kaiden 1
SF: Lina, Dylan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Goldenetz, Trevor 3 ; Evans, Jake 2 ; Enright, Trotter 2 ; Perez, Aaron 2 ; Chandler, Smith 4 ; Toomey, Matt 2 ; Stewart, Conner 1 ; Smaka, Kaiden 1
SB: Goldenetz, Trevor 1
HBP: Stewart, Conner 1
Batting:
2B: Trent Abel 1
RBI: Andrew Becker 1 ; Evan Saito 1 ; Vaughn Coleman 1
SF: Vaughn Coleman 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Xavier Rios 1 ; Cameron Calvillo 1 ; Trent Abel 1 ; Vaughn Coleman 1
HBP: Evan Saito 1 ; Vaughn Coleman 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
4
H
4
RBI
3
AB
6
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
6
R
2
H
3
RBI
3
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballBeach Rewind: Dirtbags Vs Hawaii - Dirtbags Take Two
Friday, March 20
Friends Welcoming TJ Bruce to the Beach
Tuesday, July 02
Dirtbags Baseball Head coach TJ Bruce Welcome Celebration
Thursday, June 27
Dirtbags Baseball: Head coach TJ Bruce Welcome Celebration
Tuesday, June 25
