The Dirtbags’ offense finally got going on Tuesday night, but it wasn’t enough as a big third inning from the Trojans proved too much to overcome in a 10-5 loss at Blair Field.
Long Beach State (3-4) took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the second off the bats of senior TJ Mittelstaedt and sophomore Joey Terdoslavich.
Mittelstaedt hit an RBI-double off the wall in left field to bring in senior Steve Tinoco for the first run of the game. Terdoslavich came up next and cleared the bases with a massive home run to center field for the Dirtbags’ first home run of the season.
Sophomore starting pitcher Branden Pinder (0-2) struggled to find the plate early with two first inning walks. He faced all nine USC batters and gave up four hits in the top of the third inning, including a pair of three-run home runs to the Trojans’ Alex Sherrod and Ashton Kent before being pulled in favor of freshman Eddie Magallon.
LBSU head coach Mike Weathers said he wasn’t used to seeing Pinder miss his spots.
“He didn’t really have control of anything tonight,” Weathers said. “It’s not really what he has done all fall to earn the No. 3 spot in the rotation.”
The second home run might not have happened if it weren’t for a costly throwing error by shortstop Kirk Singer that sailed past Tinoco’s glove at first base and extended the inning.
USC (4-4) took a 7-3 lead and never looked back. Trojan starting pitcher Brett Williams (1-0) gave up five hits and four earned runs in 4.1 innings.
The Dirtbags tried to rally in the fifth inning as junior Kellen Hoime sent Williams’ pitch flying over the center field wall for the first home run of his collegiate career to help The Beach pull within five runs of the Trojans. Junior Jonathan Jones hit a single to right field and advanced to second base with only one out, but the Dirtbags failed to bring him home.
LBSU had another chance to rally during the bottom of the seventh inning after an RBI-single by junior Devin Lohman scored Jones and cut the Trojans’ lead to four. The rally was stopped once again when Lohman was caught trying to steal third base for the last out of the inning with Tinoco at the plate and ahead in the count 3-1.
“He was given a verbal sign and got a bad jump, it made us look bad,” Weathers said. “You live by the steal and die by the steal.”
The Dirtbags next host Waseda University tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. in an exhibition game. LBSU returns to regular season play on Friday night when it kicks off a three-game series with Washington, starting at 6:30 p.m.