Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
10-21
California Baptist
27-6
Dirtbags Strike Early But Lancers Rally For Monday Night Win
4/6/2026 10:18:00 PM | Baseball
Long Beach State scored early but couldn’t hold off California Baptist in bullpen battle.
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Long Beach State struck first with a four-run opening inning, but California Baptist responded with a decisive second inning and held on for a 10-5-win Monday night at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.
The Dirtbags wasted no time setting the tone, capitalizing on control issues early. Trevor Goldenetz and Jake Evans were both hit by pitches to open the game, and Smith Chandler worked a walk to load the bases. A wild pitch brought in the first run, and Matt Toomey followed with a single into the outfield to keep the pressure on. Dylan Lina added to the surge with a base hit that turned into another run after a throwing error in right field, helping Long Beach State build a 4-0 lead before the Lancers could settle in.
CBU answered immediately in a chaotic second inning that flipped the game. Ben Castelli and Connor Ross opened the frame with back-to-back walks to put runners on first and second, and Matt Chavez followed with another walk to load the bases. After a pitching change for LBSU brought in Alex Ramos, Cole Howarth lifted a sacrifice fly to send Castelli home from third while Chavez remained at first and Ross advanced to second.
The pressure continued as Deisel Toth drew a walk to reload the bases, and Carter Eberhard followed with another walk that scored in Ross from third to cut the lead to 4-2. Chris Ramirez then lined a single to left field to score Chavez and trim the deficit to one with the bases still loaded. A balk by Alex Ramos allowed Toth to score from third while moving Ramirez to second and Eberhard to third, tying the game at 4-4 and prompting another pitching change for the Dirtbags in the inning, bringing in Jaxon Baker from the bullpen.
With runners on second and third, Riley Hunsaker delivered a two-run single to give CBU its first lead of the night. Moments later, Bryce McFeely launched a two-run homer to right field, bringing Hunsaker home and capping the eight-run inning. Castelli later struck out for the second out, Ross reached on a single and stole second, and Chavez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Lancers in front 8-4.
From there, both teams leaned heavily on their bullpens in a game that featured 15 combined pitchers, eight from the Lancers and seven from Long Beach State. Jaxon Baker provided stability in the middle innings, striking out six batters and limiting further damage, while Joey Iglesias and Mason Tymick kept the Lancers off the board to give the Dirtbags a chance to respond.
Long Beach State chipped away in the seventh when Ty Borgogno reached on a fielder's choice and Trotter Enright delivered a timely single on an 0-2 pitch, bringing home Borgogno who had reached second on a wild pitch, to cut the deficit to 8-5. Despite putting runners on in later innings, the Dirtbags were unable to find the key hit to complete the comeback.
California Baptist added insurance in the ninth, using a hit batter and a walk to set up Matthew Bline's two-run double that extended their lead to five.
The Dirtbags will open a three-game series against Big West rival Cal State Fullerton in the 15-mile rivalry series this weekend.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Palmer, Ryne (3-2)
L: Ramos, Alex (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Bline, Matthew 1
HR: McFeely, Bryce 1
RBI: Ramirez, Chris 1 ; Eberhard, Carter 1 ; McFeely, Bryce 2 ; Howarth, Cole 1 ; Hunsaker, Riley 2 ; Bline, Matthew 2
SF: Howarth, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ramirez, Chris 1 ; Eberhard, Carter 1 ; Ross, Connor 2 ; McFeely, Bryce 1 ; Hunsaker, Riley 1 ; Castelli, Ben 2 ; Chavez, Matt 1 ; Toth, Diesel 1
SB: Ross, Connor 2 ; Castelli, Ben 1
CS: Toth, Diesel 1
HBP: Castelli, Ben 1
Batting:
RBI: Toomey, Matt 2 ; Enright, Trotter 1
SH: Enright, Trotter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Evans, Jake 1 ; Toomey, Matt 1 ; Borgogno, Ty 1 ; Chandler, Smith 1 ; Goldenetz, Trevor 1
SB: Toomey, Matt 1
HBP: Evans, Jake 1 ; Goldenetz, Trevor 1 ; Perez, Aaron 1
