Long Beach State completed the series sweep against Fordham University after a 7-1 win at Blair Field on Sunday.
“Overall, I thought this weekend was a collective effort,” head coach Troy Buckley said. “That being said, I thought [Jarren] Duran looked completely different than he did in the first four games.”
Sophomore second baseman Jarren Duran was the catalyst of LBSU’s lineup, going six for 10, scoring seven runs and having four RBIs over the weekend.
“Of course, I’ll miss facing those Fordham pitchers,” Duran said.
On Sunday, Fordham (1-5) got on the board first after a leadoff single from senior center fielder Jason Lundy. Rams’ catcher Justin Bardwell to give the Rams a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a two-out RBI single.
After the Rams got the initial run, LBSU (4-3) pitched eight innings.
The Dirtbags tied the game in the bottom of the first after Duran started the inning with an infield hit, stole second base and scored on a single by junior designated hitter Luke Rasmussen.
With the RBI single, Rasmussen hit a RBI in seven games in a row he’s driven in a run.
LBSU added two more runs in the bottom of the second inning after Fordham made two errors on routine plays.
Junior third baseman Ramsey Romano led off the inning with a single and got to third base after junior shortstop Markus Montelongo laid down a bunt that was thrown away by Murphy.
Junior catcher David Banuelos drove in Romano with a soft single over the head of Fordham shortstop Luke Stampfl.
Montelongo came around to score on a throwing error by Fordham catcher Justin Bardwell, giving the Dirtbags a 3-1 lead in the second inning.
In the fourth, Banuelos picked up his second hit of the game and scored from first after the Duran doubled into the right center gap.
Duran only got better as the game went on. In the seventh inning, he scorched a double into the right field corner with the bases loaded and two outs to extend the lead to 7-1.
Fields looked in command on the mound all game throwing 58 of his 90 pitches for strikes. The Dirtbags’ starter took advantage of the sharp defense behind him, inducing two inning-ending double plays.
“I trust my teammates a lot,” said Fields. “These guys are good behind me.”
Fields’ (2-0) final line was 6 IP, seven hits, four strikeouts and one earned run.
“He got better as the game went on and it was easy to forget that the kid is 18 years old,” Buckley said. “He scattered seven hits — all singles — and he had some big double plays that allowed him to go deeper into the game.”
The Dirtbags’ offense had a very productive weekend against Fordham, a welcomed sight after the struggles they endured in the first four games of 2017.
“We just have to stay with our approach,” said Duran. “We’re looking to hunt [pitches up in the strike zone] and stay on the fastball.”
Rasmussen drove in six runs against Fordham and pushed his season total to 11.
Another key to the Dirtbags success this weekend was freshman relief pitcher Connor Riley, who made two appearances and struck out all five batters he faced on Sunday. The Dirtbags struck out eight straight batters – the most since March 5, 2004, when LBSU struck out 10 straight against BYU.
“We’re trying to develop them,” Buckley said. “I thought Riley was really good today. He was a pleasant surprise this weekend.”
The Dirtbags will try to follow up their impressive showing against Fordham, playing five games in six days starting with a home game against San Diego State Tuesday.