Baseball: Dirtbags come from behind to edge Wildcats
Down 4-0 after the first inning, Long Beach State climbed back into the game a couple runs at a time, culminating in a two-run ninth for an 8-7 comeback win over Arizona.
Junior Jonathan Jones was 4-for-5 with a double, two runs, an RBI and a stolen base.
The Beach finished the contest with 16 hits and eight runs, seeing nine players get hits and four with multiple hits, including Jones’ career high four. Steve Tinoco added three hits.
The comeback was completed in the ninth, sparked by a one-out triple by Mittelstaedt, who tied Steve Moore for second in school history with 14 triples, and few have been as aptly timed.
Jones singled to tie the game, and a double by Tinoco scored Jones, giving the Dirtbags their first lead of the game.
Brown retired the side in order in the ninth to clinch the win for the Dirtbags.
Down 7-4, LBSU pasted a run in the top of the seventh courtesy of a pair of balks from reliever Nick Cunningham after Lohman’s second hit, and cut the lead to one with a run in the eighth after a leadoff walk from Tinoco.
With a one-run lead, Arizona had a chance to extend its lead in the bottom of the eighth, with two runners on and one out, but David Brown entered and picked up a second out on a grounder, and after an intentional walk loaded the bases, Brown got out of the inning with a strikeout to keep the lead at one run.
The Dirtbags are back in action Saturday for game two against Arizona, taking on the Wildcats at Sancet Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. Andrew Gagnon will take the hill for LBSU, facing Kyle Simon.
Softball: 49er upset bid falls short
The Long Beach State softball team tied No. 10 Stanford at 3-3 in the fifth inning, but the Cardinal was able to push the game-winner across in the sixth to come away with the 4-3 victory Friday evening at the Cathedral City Classic.
Sophomore Taylor Petty (2-4) went the distance for The Beach, giving up four runs on seven hits and four walks. LBSU committed three costly errors that led to two unearned Stanford runs. Teagan Gerhart (5-1), the sister of former Cardinal running back Toby Gerhart, picked up the win for Stanford.
Senior Brandy Reyes led the 49er offense, going 3-for-3 with one walk and two runs scored. Freshman Nalani St. Germain connected for her team-leading sixth home run of the season, while junior Liz Javier and freshman Caitrin DeBaun each finished with a hit and an RBI.
The Cardinal scored what proved to be the game-winner in the bottom of the sixth. Sarah Hassman singled and advanced to second on a throwing error before coming around to score on an infield hit by Ashley Hansen.
The Beach threatened in the final inning as Reyes doubled to left field with one out. Megan Denio came in to pinch run for Reyes and advanced to third on a Christina Schallig grounder. With two down, Javier worked Gerhart to a full count before lining out to second base to end the game.
LBSU continues action at the Cathedral City Classic tomorrow with a doubleheader against Long Island (12:30 p.m.) and Utah (3 p.m).
Track and Field: Beach wraps up first day at MPSF Indoor Championships
The Long Beach State track and field team concluded the first day of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Championships Friday evening at the University of Washington’s Dempsey Indoor facility.
The 49er men sit in 10 th place with two points, with UCLA leading the team standings. Meanwhile, the LBSU women are also straggling in 10th, with Stanford topping the women’s team standings.
Colin Dunbar scored for the men in the weight throw, claiming seventh place with a toss of 60-03.75. Dunbar has now hit the 60-foot mark three times this season, including a lifetime-best and NCAA Provisional distance of 64-06 at the NAU Team Challenge on Feb. 6.
Rajan Bains (51-02.75) and Peter Fourtounis (49-06.50) also competed in the weight throw, finishing 10th and 11th, respectively.
In the 200-meter run, Sam Jeter clocked in at 22.24 seconds to take 21st overall. Richard Crawford was not far behind in 22nd with a time of 22.28.
Nicholas Armstrong currently sits in fifth place in the heptathlon with 2,926 points after four events. Armstrong posted three top 10 finishes on the day, including a first-place performance in the high jump. He cleared a lifetime-best 6-09.50 to win the event.
Armstrong also took fifth in the 60-meter dash, crossing the finish line in a season-low 7.21 seconds, and tied for eighth in the shot put (38-11.75). He will compete in the 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1000m run tomorrow.
On the women’s side, Jessica Barnard, Kristen Kiefer, Missy Barclay and Annie Randall scored for The Beach with a seventh-place showing in the distance medley relay (12:08.64).
Kiefer was also the 49ers’ top finisher in the 60-meter hurdle prelims, coming in 14th with a time of 9.19 seconds. Krissy Knowles took 15th with a season-best 9.23, while Aiyana Welsh rounded out the trio in 16th place (9.49).
Rachel Hammar notched a season-long 43-01.75 as she placed 12th overall in the weight throw. Alexandra Cervantes also competed in the event, coming in 13th with a distance of 38-00.
LBSU closes out the two-day MPSF Indoor Championships on Saturday. The 49ers open action with the men’s triple jump at 11 a.m. and finish the meet with the women’s 4×400 relay at 3 p.m.
Men’s Volleyball: Pestolesi’s 15 kills lift LBSU over Bruins
Tommy Pestolesi had a team-high 15 kills and hit .355 to lead Long Beach State to a 30-23, 30-26, 30-23 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation win over UCLA at Pauley Pavilion Friday night.
Pestolesi helped the 49ers (8-6, 6-4 MPSF) jump out to an early lead in the first game, finishing with nine kills and a .750 hitting percentage to help The Beach take a 1-0 lead in a game it never trailed. LBSU hit .379 as a team in the game, while UCLA struggled hitting just .167.
LBSU fell behind early in game two but rallied to take a 15-14 lead. The 49ers held on to push the lead to 2-0 behind Antwain Aguillard and Jim Baughman. Aguillard had six kills in the second game, while Baughman finished with three aces.
Pestolesi, a senior, led the 49ers to an easy win in game three. He added six of his 15 kills in the game, while senior Dean Bittner chipped in four kills, two blocks and two service aces. The Beach hit .261 in winning the match, while UCLA (9-8, 8-6 MPSF) struggled hitting just .136.
Bittner finished with 10 kills on 20 swings and a .350 hitting percentage. Aguillard added seven kills on 10 swings, a .500 hitting percentage and eight blocks. Garrett Maugututia led UCLA with seven kills.