Baseball, Men's Sports, Sports

Dirtbags’ comeback erased by walk-off home run

The Dirtbags fell far short of the sweep they needed over Pacific, as they lost two of three to the Tigers, the last of which came at the mercy of a walk-off home run.

Long Beach State’s conference title hopes may have disappeared with Taylor Murphy’s home run ball, which sailed over the right field wall at Klein Family Field and handed the Dirtbags (12-18, 3-3 Big West) an 8-6 loss in Sunday’s series finale.

LBSU nearly escaped with a victory, as it put together a three-run ninth to go ahead 6-5 after trailing since the second inning. But Pacific (8-18, 2-4 Big West) rallied back with three runs of its own in the bottom frame and claimed its first series win over the Dirtbags since 1999.

The series started with a 3-1 loss to the Tigers, as LBSU ace Shane Carle was outdueled by Pacific starter John Haberman. Carle gave up just two runs in 5.2 innings of work, but the Dirtbags failed to get much of anything going against Haberman, who gave up one run in six innings and earned the win.

The Dirtbags evened the series on Saturday thanks to multi-hit games by Richard Prigatano, Colby Brenner, Michael Hutting and Jeff McNeil. Starting pitcher Jake Stassi complemented the offensive effort by throwing 7.2 innings without giving up an earned run. Stassi earned his team-leading third win in the 6-2 victory.

The loss in Sunday’s series finale was another step back in what has already become a disappointing season for The Beach. Pacific, which was outscored 45-8 (and lost one game 25-0) in a sweep at the hands of Cal State Fullerton last week, was picked to finish last in the preseason conference coaches poll and represented a chance for the Dirtbags to get some wins and move toward the top of the Big West standings.

Now, with their toughest conference games still ahead of them, LBSU has a much tougher path to a Big West title.
The Dirtbags will try to get back on track with a nonconference home game against San Diego State Tuesday night. It will then host UC Davis in a three-game series over the weekend.
 

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