FULLERTON — Dirtbags coach Mike Weathers summed it up best at the end of his postgame interview.
“Its the same old adage: pitching wins. When they don’t let you on base you’re just not going to score.”
LBSU (25-28, 11-12 Big West Conference) managed just four hits on Saturday night and one second inning run as the fourth-ranked Titans won the end-of-the-year series for the first time since sweeping the Dirtbags in 2006.
Five CSUF players had two hits and freshman Noe Ramirez (7-1) went eight innings to earn the victory, giving up three hits and one run, while striking out seven.
After TJ Mittelstaedt tripled to start the second and Devin Lohman singled up the middle to bring him in, Ramirez retired 19 batters in a row before Jonathan Jones singled with one out in the eighth.
“He made it real tough,” Weathers said of Ramirez. “He’s a good one for a freshman. Good sinker, pitches on the outside of the plate and a good breaking ball. He throws a lot of strikes.”
It was all downhill for the Dirtbags after their early 1-0 lead as CSUF (41-14, 16-7 Big West) put four runs across in the third and never looked back.
The Titans added insurance runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings — two of which came on huge home runs.
Jared Clark smacked a 3-2, two-out pitch off the scoreboard in the fifth for his 11th homer of the season and Joe Scott blasted the first homer of his collegiate career off the netting above the left field wall in the eighth.
It wasn’t those runs Weathers was most worried about but it was the ones that came from mistakes by Dirtbags starter Jake Thompson, as he hit three batters and uncorked two wild pitches.
“They have scored 11 runs in two games and six are from what we call freebies — either from hit by pitches or walks,” Weathers said. “They are really good at scoring without a whole lot of explosive innings.”
Thompson (4-7) went 7 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs on 12 hits. He walked one and struck out three.
But the story of the night was the starter for the Titans and his incredible performance.
“The ball was moving everywhere,” Mittelstaedt said of Ramirez pitches. “He had some good stuff tonight. Probably one of the best freshman I have ever seen.”
The Dirtbags failed to help their own cause with more porous defense and failed bunt attempts.
“That’s not typical for us,” Mittelstaedt said of the sloppy play. “If we clean that up it could be 1-1 going into tomorrow, but we didn’t, so now we have to battle to avoid the sweep.”
Long Beach State has now dropped eight of its last nine games and all five at Goodwin Field after being swept by UC Santa Barbara two weeks ago. The loss ensures the team of their first-ever losing season in the Dirtbag era, which began in 1989.
Sunday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. Andrew Gagnon (3-6, 6.17 ERA) throws for LBSU while Tyler Pill (9-3, 4.19 ERA) will start for Fullerton.
Game notes
Jonathan Jones stole second base in the eighth, the 118th steal of the season for the Dirtbags, which is second best in school history behind the 123 bags swiped by the 1980 49ers.