The Dirtbags surrendered a leadoff single to start their game against UC Irvine on Friday. It was all downhill from there.
Long Beach State (23-30, 7-15 Big West Conference) couldn’t overcome the initial blow as the Anteaters compiled five extra base hits to put away the Dirtbags 6-0 at Blair Field.
UCI (35-19, 15-7 Big West) strung together four consecutive doubles and a single that brought in four runs in the second inning. The Anteaters’ Drew Hillman led the offensive barrage with the first double, and then Sean Madigan drove in the final run of the inning with a base hit to left field.
“Four doubles in a row … that was really the ball game,” head coach Mike Weathers said. “The four runs with our lack of offense did us in. … They (UCI) had a pretty good attack over there.”
The Dirtbags’ defensive struggles continued on Friday as Kirk Singer had two errors. The first of the sophomore’s miscues came in the third inning, and it eventually led to an unearned run after an RBI single by Jonathan Hurst.
Along with the defense, the LBSU offense couldn’t get anything going in the first game of the three-game series. That was due, in large part, to UCI starting pitcher Christian Bergman.
The right-hander entered the contest with a shutout streak of 15.1 innings. He continued that trend on Friday night with a complete game shutout. Bergman (8-3) allowed just seven hits, and only walked two batters, during his nine innings on the mound for the Anteaters.
A week after pitching nine innings against Cal State Northridge, Drew Gagon (5-7) struggled early in Friday’s contest. The right-handed ace surrendered six runs on 10 hits in six innings on the hill for the Dirtbags.
Weathers said that Gagnon “could be tired” at this point in the season. The sophomore leads the team in innings pitched at 50.1 this year.
Brennan Metzger led the Dirtbags on offense with a 2-for-4 effort against the Anteaters. Shortstop Devin Lohman went 0-for-4 in his first game back from a leg injury to end his 16-game hitting streak, which was still alive despite the missed time.
LBSU will send Kenny Arnerich (0-2, 2.08 earned run average) to the mound on Saturday for his first start of the season. The right-hander has 10 appearances out of the Dirtbags’ bullpen this season.
“He’ll throw strikes,” Weathers said of the junior. “He doesn’t walk batters and hurt himself.”
Evan Brock (4-4, 3.28 ERA) will take the hill for UCI on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
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