Long Beach State baseball head coach Troy Buckley may have opted to give his regular starting pitchers some much-needed rest Tuesday, but the Dirtbags didn’t show any signs of taking the night off.
LBSU rallied from a one-run deficit and piled on seven unanswered runs, including four in the fifth inning to rout USC, 7-1, at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning, the Dirtbags (20-18) finally broke through thanks to smart base running and a little help from USC’s pitching staff.
Following a leadoff walk to LBSU second baseman Matt Duffy, Ino Patron ripped a single to center field.
From there, USC starting pitcher Kyle Richter was relieved by Brandon Garcia, who allowed a sacrifice bunt that advanced both LBSU runners to scoring position. Duffy then came around to score to tie the game at 1 after a wild pitch by Garcia sailed past the reach of catcher Kevin Roundtree.
Garcia would eventually escape the inning by striking out Jonathan Kim, but then it all came crashing down for him and the Trojans (18-22) in the fifth.
After opening up the inning with consecutive base hits, LBSU left fielder Jeff McNeil drove in the go-ahead run by shortstop Kirk Singer on a sacrifice fly deep to center field.
Duffy then followed up with a single to shallow right to put runners on first and third, setting up Patron, who drove in Matt Hibbert on a throwing error by USC shortstop James Roberts.
It only went from bad to worse for the Trojans. Patron and Duffy stole second and third, respectively, before an RBI single by Mike Marjama and a failed pickoff attempt by Garcia brought in two more runs to extend LBSU’s lead to 5-1.
Garcia was then relieved by Chris Metzger, but the damage was already done.
Hibbert anchored LBSU’s offense with career-highs of four hits and two runs.
LBSU starting pitcher Austin Boyle, who threw for the first time since March 19, hurled the first two innings and conceded just one run.
He was followed by five LBSU relievers, who held the Trojans scoreless the rest of the way, and at one point, set down 15 straight batters from the third through eighth innings.
Nate Underwood (2-0) collected the victory as he allowed just one hit in two innings of work while the Dirtbags took the lead during the fifth.
Garcia (2-3) would eventually be charged with the loss as he allowed four runs — two earned — on four hits in just one 2/3 innings pitched.
The Dirtbags would tack on two more insurance runs in the sixth and seventh as they easily held on for the win.
LBSU will return to Big West action Friday to begin a three-game series against Cal Poly at Blair Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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