With an opposing starting pitcher in the zone, the Long Beach State baseball team had little margin for error Monday night. Unfortunately for the Dirtbags, their pitching and defense could not support the effort of junior right-hander Branden Pinder.
Cal State Fullerton counterpart Colin O’Connell pitched seven strong innings, and the Dirtbags lost, 4-3, in the rubber game of a three-game nonconference series at Blair Field.
Tied at 1 in the top of the seventh, Pinder ended an otherwise solid night by hitting Titans second baseman Matt Orloff with a pitch to leadoff the inning.
Pinch hitter Walker Moore then promptly laced a go-ahead RBI double down the left-field line off LBSU freshman reliever Ryan Strufing. After a sacrifice bunt moved Moore to third, Strufing then allowed an RBI single to pinch hitter Michael Lorenzen.
The Titans (2-2) added what proved to be a crucial insurance run in the ninth with the help of three wild pitches between LBSU relievers Austin Boyle and Troy Watson, whose second errant delivery scored Moore.
Like they did just one day ago, the Dirtbags (1-2) tried to mount a rally but to no avail.
In the bottom half of the frame, designated hitter Jake Stassi and shorstop Kirk Singer accounted for an RBI apiece off CSUF junior reliever Chris Devenski to pull The Beach to within 4-3. But pinch hitter Brennan Fulkerson struck out swinging with a runner on first to end the threat and the game.
Pinder (0-1), who struck out four in six-plus innings, was charged with the loss after allowing two runs — one earned — on three hits. He also escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the fifth to keep LBSU within striking distance.
However, O’Connell (1-0) countered by allowing just one earned run on five hits while fanning six. Devenksi picked up his first save and allowed two earned runs on five hits in the final two innings.
LBSU’s defense did not help matters at the start. The Titans went up 1-0 after a first-inning single by Nick Ramirez — coupled with a throwing error by right fielder Juan Avila — scored Richy Pedroza, who reached on a fielding error by third baseman Matt Duffy to lead off the game.
Dirtbags catcher Mike Marjama, who finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI, delivered a sacrifice fly to right field in the sixth to tie the game at 1.
The Beach will play for the fourth time in four days Tuesday in a nonconference affair with Loyola Marymount. Stassi is scheduled to take the mound for the Dirtbags, while the Lions will answer with Aaron Griffin.
First pitch at Blair Field is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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