With three outs left, leading 4-0, the Long Beach State baseball team had cruised through eight innings.
With limited options in the bullpen, the Dirtbags (23-16, 6-6) ran into a roadblock in the ninth as San Diego State (12-26, 5-10) scored two runs with one out and loaded the bases to cut into the lead. Still, LBSU managed to escape, defeating the Aztecs 4-2 Tuesday night at Blair Field.
With relievers Chris Rivera and Joshua Advocate unavailable due to undisclosed injuries, LBSU head coach Troy Buckley had fewer options to finish the game.
Buckley sent junior right-hander Dave Smith back out after he retired 10 straight and tallied seven strikeouts through five innings of relief.
“We knew we were thin,” Buckley said. “Especially coming off a long weekend, so it was huge.”
In the ninth, Smith walked freshman catcher Dean Nevarez and allowed back-to-back singles by SDSU’s senior designated hitter Spencer Thornton and sophomore right fielder Tyler Adkison that loaded the bases with no outs.
“Arguably he could’ve been tired,” Buckley said. “But I let him go out there for the ninth because he deserved it and he wanted it.”
Looking to reduce the damage, junior Kyle Brown replaced Smith. Brown walked the first batter he faced, freshman Jordan Verdon, which cut the Dirtbags lead to 4-1.
The Dirtbags would make another pitching change as junior Austin McGeorge replaced Brown. Facing a 3-0 count to junior third baseman Andrew Brown, McGeorge fought his way back to strike him out.
The Aztecs’ next batter, centerfielder David Hensley, hit a RBI single allowing Thornton to score and cutting the Long Beach State’s lead to 4-2, but McGeorge closed the the deal to tally his second save of the year, forcing sophomore left fielder Chase Calabuig fly out.
LBSU got off to a quick start in the first inning after senior third baseman Zack Domingues walked and stole second. Junior shortstop Garrett Hampson then drilled a hit down the third baseline, allowing Domingues to score and give the Dirtbags a 1-0 lead.
The Dirtbags scored two more runs after freshman designated hitter Luke Rasmussen hit a 2-RBI single that allowed junior first baseman Daniel Jackson and Hampson to score to take a 3-0 lead after the first inning.
“My coaches and teammates have faith in me and have entrusted me [in these situations],” Rasmussen said. “We’ve been working on things so I don’t think it’s more pressure, but when guys get on in front of you, it’s fun to hit them in.”
Freshman Jacob Hughey, who was making his first collegiate start at Blair Field, struggled early but pitched three shutout innings, allowing only one hit, five walks while striking out two batters.
Smith entered the game in the fourth inning for the Dirtbags and shutout SDSU for five innings.
“I think that was huge for [Smith],” Buckley said. “He’s been grinding through and hasn’t had a lot of success, numbers wise. That was huge for us, then again we needed to use the whole village to make it happen.”
The Dirtbags will now set their sights on first-place Cal Poly Pomona for a three game series starting on Friday at 6 p.m.
“We pitched good tonight,” Buckley said. “This conference has a lot of parity, but this will be a big one for us.”