The chilly weather didn’t help UC Santa Barbara in its quest to cool off the sizzling Long Beach State bats on Friday night at Blair Field.
Just three days after dismantling nationally-ranked UCLA by 12 runs, the Dirtbags used Blair Field’s dimensions to their advantage en route to a 12-1 win over the visiting Gauchos.
LBSU (17-17, 5-5 Big West Conference) held a 5-1 record against left-handed pitchers going into Friday’s contest. To put the pressure on the Gauchos’ Mario Hollands – a lefthander – Dirtbags head coach Mike Weathers inserted seven right-handed batters and a switch hitter into the lineup.
Weathers shouldn’t expect a thank-you note any time soon from Hollands.
The Dirtbags touched up the junior for 10 runs and 15 hits in just 3 1/3 innings as he earned the loss. It was not Hollands’ night, as he also let a bunt pass through his legs and then turned an ankle on the very next play.
“[Scoring early] is the whole key,” Weathers said. “Our offense has been pretty good for the last eight games. And it also gives them some confidence about scoring runs at Blair Field, because we haven’t done a good job of that.”
LBSU’s biggest inning came in the fourth when it scored five runs on six hits to knock Hollands out of the game. Kirk Singer started off the Dirtbags’ rally with a solo home run before five consecutive hits put the rest of the runs on the scoreboard.
Jonathan Jones, who went 4-for-5 with four runs and finished a home run shy of the cycle, explained the Dirtbags’ recent surge in offense.
“We’re a lot more loose, and we’re better when we play loose,” Jones said. “…These past couple of games, you’ve seen what our lineup can do. So if we play loose, we can keep it going like this.”
It was not all offense as LBSU starter Drew Gagnon (4-4) finally received much-needed run support in his 10th start of the season. The sophomore didn’t allow his first and only run until the sixth inning to take the win. Gagnon surrendered seven hits in seven innings of work for the Dirtbags.
LBSU received contributions from the entire lineup in the win. Every Dirtbags starter reached base with a hit, while seven hitters earned RBIs in the win. TJ Mittelstaedt also pitched in by going 3-for-4 with three RBIs for The Beach.
The Dirtbags only have one Big West series win this season – over Pacific – but could pick up their second with a victory over the Gauchos (16-16, 3-4 Big West) on Saturday.
“We’ll see what we can do tomorrow with a completely different type pitcher, with more of an off-speed guy tomorrow,” Weathers said.
First pitch for Saturday’s contest is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Jake Thompson (5-1, 4.76 ERA) is set to start for LBSU, while Nick Capito (4-3, 5.40 ERA) is the scheduled starter for UCSB.
Game notes
Center fielder Brennan Metzger extended his hitting streak to 15 games with his 2-for-5 effort in Friday night’s game … LBSU had the leadoff hitter reach base for the first five innings, and scored at least one run in each of those innings.
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