In the first start of pitcher Jon Maciel’s career, the Dirtbag’s former set-up man gave up 10 runs in five innings at No. 2 Vanderbilt.
In the second start of his career, Maciel threw seven scoreless innings and earned the win as Long Beach State (5-3) got its first sweep of the season against Valparaiso.
“It’s very difficult to sweep people,” LBSU head coach Troy Buckley said. “[The Dirtbags] certainly get some credit, and they need to be commended for that.”
The Beach got an early lead Crusaders (1-5) for the third time in as many games. First baseman Ino Patron led off the second inning with a double in the right-center gap, and right fielder Richard Prigatano drove him in with a single to center.
Prigatano collected another RBI two innings later when he hit a double of his own to score third baseman Juan Avila. He finished the day with a season-high three hits.
“I just tried to be as short [with my swing] as possible and didn’t try to do too much,” Prigatano said. The sophomore right fielder is hitting .322 in eight games this season after going 1-for-19 in his first eight games last year.
“I thought he had much better at-bats,” Buckley said. “He’s a good player. The goal for him is to…make him a consistent, middle-of-the-lineup type of bat.”
Maciel started his gem with some early trouble, as he had to get out of jams in two of the first three innings. He managed to notch some clutch strikeouts, however, as all of his first four punch-outs came with runners on base.
After throwing 99 pitches in seven scoreless innings, Maciel was relieved by junior Josh Frye. Frye set up closer Eddie Magallon with a solid eighth inning, and Magallon struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his first save of the year and put a 2-0 LBSU victory in the books.
“So far, so good,” Buckley said of his pitching staff, which has a 1.75 ERA over the last four games. “They’re making strides, which is important.”
The Dirtbags will hope their pitching keeps performing at a high level when they travel to Southern California to take on the Trojans on Tuesday. Left-handed pitcher Nick Sabo, who beat No. 10 Arizona his last time out, is the probabable starter for LBSU.