Baseball, Men's Sports, Sports

Long Beach State Dirtbags roll to sixth consecutive win

The No. 19 Long Beach State Dirtbags combined outstanding starting pitching from its rotation and a powerful display of offense to win 3-0 in game three on Sunday and sweep UC Riverside in a Big West Conference series over the weekend.

LBSU (20-11, 5-1) starters defended their home turf and only allowed one run in 24 2/3 innings against UCR (12-15, 1-5) while the Dirtbags offense hit three home runs and scored 21 runs in all three games.

“The team is competing and is in a really good position right now mentally and physically,” head coach Troy Buckley said. “Everything is working for us at this particular juncture.”

LBSU completed its third series sweep in three home series this season thanks to senior starting pitcher Dave Smith, who threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings against UCR. Efficiency was the name of the game for Smith, as he threw 77 pitches, 54 for strikes and induced 12 ground ball outs.

“We knew that [Riverside] is aggressive and the plan was to pound the zone early and swing at ‘our pitches’”, Smith said.

Smith went into game three having to follow junior starting pitchers Darren McCaughan (8 IP, 3 H, 13 Ks) and John Sheaks’ (7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 Ks) performances in games one and two, respectively. The senior did not disappoint.

“He was unbelievable,” Buckley said. “UCR continued to go after pitches aggressively, efficiency with us as far as quality pitches for us was going to mean easy outs, and that’s what Smith got.”

On offense, junior Lucas Tancas continued the tear he’s been on at the plate with a 3 for 4 day, adding another solo home run that came in the bottom of the fourth to give LBSU a 2-0 lead. Tancas finished the weekend 8 for 12 with five RBIs and two home runs and will be prime candidate for Big West hitter of the week.

LBSU set the table with an 8-0 win on Friday night and a series-clinching 11-4 win on Saturday.

McCaughan (3-2, 3.02 ERA) treated Dirtbags’ fans to his most dominant performance of the season that was complemented by a monster day for the offense against UCR’s senior ace Alex Fagalde.

In game two, LBSU exploded for 11 runs, most of which came in the bottom of the second against Hazahel Quijada, who started for UCR. Sheaks turned in his third straight solid performance that improved the junior to 4-1 on the season.

Coach Buckley spoke on how the Dirtbags can continue their winning ways.

“I think you just take care of what your preparation is as far as a daily basis,” Buckley said. “You compete and continue to give yourself chances, and look for that continuity and consistency.”

LBSU has no midweek game this week, which will allow the Dirtbags to recover from their stretch of seven games in 10 days. Big West Conference play resumes on April 13 when the Dirtbags, who have won nine straight at Blair Field, open another home series against Cal State Northridge (16-17, 3-3).

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