The Long Beach State baseball team rallied in the sixth inning for a 4-1 win against No. 15-ranked Oregon on Sunday.
The victory gave LBSU (5-6) its first series win this season.
Trailing 1-0 in the sixth, Dirtbags senior Matt Hibbert hit a two-run double with the bases loaded that brought in the tying and go-ahead runs.
“We have to do a good job for our pitchers,” Hibbert said.
After catcher Mike Marjama was walked to load the bases again, LBSU’s Brennan Metzger scored from third on a wild pitch by Ducks starter Christian Jones.
Oregon (5-6) kept the Dirtbags hitless for five innings thanks to the efforts Jones (1-1), who threw over 100 pitches across seven innings, the first four of which were perfect innings. He struck out nine batters but allowed four runs and picked up his first loss.
“[Oregon] has some really good pitching,” Dirtbags head coach Troy Buckley said. “We did a good job of turning our bats around.”
Dirtbags starting pitcher Shawn Stuart pitched seven strong innings in his first start of the season. He gave the Ducks’ lone run early in the first on a double play.
“[The pitching and defense’s] first innings have been a little shaky,” Buckley said. “[Stuart] did a good job … he kept the ball on the ground more.”
Stuart (2-0) struck out four of the 26 batters he faced and allowed just three hits.
“I just wanted to establish an aggressive tempo,” Stuart said. “[Pitching] is easy when you get out there and you have adrenaline.”
In the eighth, Buckley brought in reliever Eddie Magallon, who closed the door for a six-out save. The sophomore right-hander did not allow any hits to the six batters he faced and struck out the first and last batters he faced.
“[Magallon] is another weapon at the back end,” Buckley said.
LBSU second baseman Matt Duffy added an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning for his team-leading eighth RBI this season.
The Beach will host Hawaii on Monday at Blair Field to end an 11-game homestand. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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