After a three-game series against rival Cal State Fullerton, it’s clear that the Dirtbags are still a few steps behind the Big West Conference’s team to beat.
Long Beach State (9-14) found all sorts of ways to lose in a sweep at the hands of the eighth-ranked Titans (20-3), which are once again proving to be the pride of the Big West.
First came Friday’s opener, a 6-0 loss that saw the Dirtbags get just one hit off CSUF starter Thomas Eshelman, who cruised through seven shutout innings.
“The efficiency was off the charts,” LBSU head coach Troy Buckley said. “Our game plan was to get into the bullpen, and [Eshelman] doesn’t walk any people, so you’ve got to be aggressive, but at the same time we weren’t very productive when we swung at the first pitch.”
Eshelman, who hasn’t walked a batter all season, got some early run support when preseason All-American Michael Lorenzen homered in the third inning. The Titans tacked on five insurance runs throughout the remainder of the game, but the result was never in doubt, as the Dirtbags couldn’t even threaten to score.
Saturday’s contest was a bit more of a heartbreaker for The Beach, as a 5-1 lead and seven quality innings by LBSU starter Jake Stassi were thrown away when Titans scored seven runs in the final two innings to take an 8-5 victory.
“It was a good win for them and a tough loss for us,” Buckley said. “It hurts, no question, but that’s why you play nine.”
The Dirtbags almost avoided the sweep on Sunday afternoon, but a squandered ninth-inning opportunity left LBSU fans seeing more of the same.
Down 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth, catcher Michael Hutting came to the plate with one out and runners on second and third. Hutting hit a pedestrian fly ball to center field, and Michael Hill tagged up from third to score the tying run – or so it seemed.
A full minute after the play looked to have concluded, the Titans tagged third base to get Hill out, whom the umpires ruled had left the bag before the ball was caught in the outfield.
“[Hill] left early,” Buckley said. “I was standing right there and saw him leave. I’m not going to argue a call that was actually made correctly.”
It was a tough ending to a tough series for the Dirtbags, who were outplayed in almost every facet of the game throughout the weekend.
LBSU was out-hit 27 to 18, had five errors to CSUF’s three and gave up 16 runs while only scoring seven.
“You can learn a lot from the other team,” Buckley said.
The Dirtbags will try to regroup this week and prepare for the beginning of conference play. LBSU will host Cal State Northridge in its Big West opener Thursday night at 6 p.m.