The Long Beach State baseball team took an early lead again Saturday only to get blown out later by UC Davis for the second night in a row in an 11-1 loss at Blair Field.
“[Tonight was] not very good baseball in all facets,” Dirtbags head coach Troy Buckley said of his team’s performance.
The Dirtbags (15-14, 2-3 Big West Conference) scored its first and only run of the night off a sacrifice fly by second baseman Matt Duffy, who extended his RBI count to 20 on the season.
But it wouldn’t be enough by any stretch. The Aggies (7-18, 2-3 Big West) answered with a run in the second inning before taking the lead in the third following a RBI triple by David Popkins, and never looked back.
In the fourth inning, The Aggies added six more runs to the scoreboard after starting a rally with a single to center by Karl Kobler. Following a fielding error by Duffy, Jason Andrade hit a single to center that brought in Kobler.
LBSU starting pitcher Branden Pinder pitched to the entire Aggies lineup during the inning.
Pinder (1-4) — who was charged with the loss — was then relieved by Matt Johnson after allowing eight runs on 10 hits in just three 2/3 innings pitched.
Anthony Kupbens (3-3) pitched eight innings for the Aggies and allowed only one run and six hits out of the 100 pitches he threw, while inducing over 15 LBSU groundouts.
LBSU left fielder Jeff McNeil accounted for four of The Beach’s seven hits as he went 4-of-4 on the night.
Saturday night’s game was eerily similar to Friday night’s contest. In both games, the Dirtbags struck first with one run in the first inning before the Aggies scored the bulk of their runs in the fourth inning.
“[The Dirtbags] are behind early and we’re behind big,” Buckley said.
The first 1,500 fans in attendance also received a bobblehead of former Dirtbag and Colorado Rockies Major League All-Star Troy Tulowitzki.
But Tulowitzki’s miniature simply bobbled in disbelief Saturday as the Aggies loaded the bases against Johnson and added three more runs in the eighth inning off a hit batter, a sacrifice fly and a single to take a 10-run lead.
“Tomorrow’s a new day,” McNeil said.
The Dirtbags will continue conference play with the Aggies on Sunday at Blair Field for the series finale. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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