Johnny Bekakis’ pinch-hit single to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning drove in the winning run as the Long Beach State baseball team stole a 5-4 win from USC Tuesday night at Blair Field.
“I got my pitch, slowed myself down and found the hole [between first and second]”, said Bekakis, who drove in Kirk Singer from second base. “I knew [the pitcher] was just as nervous as I was, it was a big situation.”
The win marks the first LBSU walk-off win of the year as it used 21 players off the 37-man roster.
“It was a good win for [us]”, head coach Troy Buckley said. “Over time, we have to execute better in all areas, but tonight it didn’t kill us. When they gave us a blow, we gave them a blow and we fought back.”
Before the Dirtbags’ winning run in the ninth, the Trojans tied the game in the seventh with two runs off of two LBSU pitchers. After Trojans center fielder Omar Cotto Lozada reached on an infield single, Dirtbags pitcher Austin Boyle’s wild pitch allowed Lozada to score from third base.
The second run of the inning was scored off of Dirtbags pitcher Shawn Stuart (1-0), but credited to Boyle. After Stuart threw a wild pitch of his own, USC second baseman Joe De Pinto singled home catcher Kevin Roundtree.
De Pinto’s hit was the last that Stuart would surrender on his way to earning the win, his first of the season. Stuart tallied a total of 2 1/3 innings, striking out two and walking one.
Trojans reliever Chad Smith (0-2) was charged with the loss.
Dirtbags starting pitcher Kyle Friedrichs threw 4 2/3 innings, giving up one earned run and striking out four, before pitcher Ryan Struffing came on in relief.
“He really pitched [well] even after we gave them some opportunities”, Buckley said. “I thought [Friedrichs] threw the ball pretty darn good.”
Leading the Dirtbags offense was third baseman Mike Marjama, who went 2-for-4 with one RBI, which came in the sixth off a looped double into left field.
Trojans starting pitcher Ben Mount matched Friedrich’s effort with five strong innings of his own. Mount struck out four LBSU batters over five innings.
The Dirtbags return to Blair Field for three more games this weekend, hosting No. 15-ranked Oregon for the team’s third straight weekend series against a ranked foe. First pitch for Friday night is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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