After surrendering a six-run lead in a loss on Friday night, Long Beach State (4-5) was in dire need of an all-around performance to get back on track.
The Dirtbags used an outstanding start by pitcher Drew Gagnon to earn a 3-1 win over the visiting Washington Huskies (5-5) on Saturday afternoon at Blair Field.
Gagnon (2-1) didn’t allow a hit until the third Husky batter in the fourth inning. The sophomore finished the game allowing three hits in his first career complete game on the mound for LBSU.
His best career outing before Saturday lasted eight innings long. Gagnon tied that mark in this game and only needed 94 pitches to do it. The right-hander finished the game throwing 112 pitches in the complete game.
“Coming back today and having that performance and actually winning the game was such a big plus for us,” Dirtbag head coach Mike Weathers said. “We could have just caved in and gotten worse and worse, but now we’ve got another breath and a chance to win the series.”
After the game, Gagnon said he was caught a little off guard by his own performance today.
“I came out of the [bullpen] and I felt a little shaky and not like myself,” Gagnon said. “I told Kellen [Hoime], ‘I don’t feel like myself,’ but I wanted to compete and compete. … Right as I looked in at the catcher, confident.”
Devin Lohman helped the Dirtbags earn a 1-0 lead in the first inning when the shortstop laced a single to left field that drove in Brennan Metzger. Jonathan Jones helped the Dirtbags put another run on the board in the fourth inning as he roped a base hit to right field to drive in Joey Terdoslavich.
Metzger then added some more insurance in the seventh inning when he smashed a line-drive single to center field that scored Derek Legg from second base. Metzger later advanced to third on an error by Washington center fielder Caleb Brown, but wasn’t able to score.
“When we have a strong pitcher come out like that, it pumps up the whole defense and offense,” LBSU first baseman Steve Tinoco said. “Giving us the support that he [Gagnon] gave us today, it helps us bear down at the plate even more.”
Gagnon was able to tame the Huskies’ offense as Washington produced as many errors (3) as hits (3) in the game. Troy Scott picked up two hits for the Huskies, while Pierce Rankin earned the third hit for Washington in the ninth inning.
The Huskies pushed across their lone run in the ninth inning.
Metzger led the Dirtbags going 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored, while Lohman also drove in a run for LBSU.
The Dirtbags will look to take the series on Sunday as they finish the three-game set with Washington. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Blair Field.