It may be long overdue, but the Long Beach State baseball team finally gave its number one starting pitcher Andrew Gagnon something he hasn’t had all season: run support.
In Gagnon’s five previous starts this year, the Dirtbags (12-9) have scored just five runs. But on Friday, The Beach provided him with more than enough ammunition as they used a 6-0 lead through four innings to knock off No.12-ranked Stanford, 6-3, in Palo Alto, Calif.
Gagnon (3-3) allowed just two runs on six hits, while striking out eight batters in six innings of work.
LBSU jumped on Cardinal (8-6) pitcher Mark Appel (1-3) in the first inning as Ino Patron drew a two-out walk to set up Mike Marjama, who ripped a triple down the right field line to give the Dirtbags a 1-0 lead.
But the The Beach didn’t stop there. Jeff McNeil led off the third inning with a base hit, while Brennan Metzger was hit for the 33rd time in his career, tying him with Bobby Crosby in the LBSU record books for fourth place to put a pair of runners on board.
Matt Hibbert then advanced both runners with a sacrifice before Patron drove a two-run single up the middle to give the Dirtbags a 3-0 advantage.
A single from Matt Duffy put Patron in scoring position before Jonathan Kim connected for a single to drive in Patron for The Beach’s fourth run of the game, which would eventually be all it would need.
Back-to-back singles by Michael Hill and Kirk Singer in the fifth inning would help give the Dirtbags two insurance runs in the fifth inning. Jeff McNeil laid down a bunt to advance the both runners, while Metzger brought Hill home with a sacrifice fly before a Hibbert came around on a Stanford error.
With a six-run lead, Gagnon didn’t experience trouble until the fifth inning when a walk and a hit batter put two runners on board. From there, a pair of singles from Stephen Piscotty and Eric Smith scored two runs for the Cardinal, which cut the deficit to four.
Gagnon eventually closed out the inning, and pitched a hitless sixth to put the rest of the game in the hands of the LBSU bullpen, which combined for three innings between Kyle Friedrichs, Jon Maciel and Eddie Magallon.
Friedrichs allowed a run in the seventh, but Magallon entered in the ninth and retired the side in order to record his fifth save of the season as the Dirtbags held on for the 6-3 victory.
The Beach will return to action Saturday for its second meeting in three games against Stanford this weekend. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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