For the second time in as many years a UC Irvine starting pitcher no-hit the Long Beach State baseball team to open up the annual three-game series between the Big West foes.
Using 110 pitches, 67 for strikes, Andrew Thurman (4-2) stumped the Dirtbags (16-17, 7-3) allowing only two Long Beach batters to reach base while earning the win for the Anteaters, 4-0.
“[I used] fastball mostly in and out and occasionally a curve or change up to keep [Long Beach] off balance,” Thurman said. “I thought about [the no-hitter] in the middle of the game. Not only did I have a no-hitter going, but it was a close game and I wanted to focus on getting the out and getting out of there [with a win].”
In 2011, Irvine pitcher Matt Summers no-hit the Dirtbags on the Anteaters (20-14, 5-5) way to a 2-0 series opening win before Long Beach rebounded to win the final two games of the series at Anteater Ballpark in Irvine.
Similar to Thurman’s performance Friday night, Summers allowed two batters to reach base safely, hitting one batter and walking another.
On his first pitch of the game Thurman hit LBSU second baseman Jeff McNeil, but McNeil would be the only Dirtbags player to reach base till the eighth inning.
The 6-foot-3 right-hander walked pinch hitter Jeff Yamaguchi to break his streak of 23 batters retired in succession before getting four more outs to secure the no-hitter.
Overall, Thurman recorded 13 fly-ball outs while inducing seven ground-ball outs and striking out five to go along with the walk and hit batter.
“It’s always disappointing but we’ve been through this before, unfortunately, and last year this group showed a lot coming back to win the next two games on Saturday and then playing possibly our best game of the year that Sunday,” LBSU head coach Troy Buckley said.
The weather conditions at Blair Field Friday night included dense fog and an ocean breeze that hung every fly ball in the air longer than normal, but that didn’t stop Irvine from scoring four runs, including two off of Dirtbags starting pitcher Matt Anderson.
Anderson (3-2) kept Long Beach in the game through the seventh inning before exiting after 103 pitches. Out of the two runs attributed to Anderson only one was earned.
Irvine scored the first and only run it would need in the second inning when Anteaters second baseman Dillon Moyer singled to left field to score Kris Paulino. Moyer is the eldest son of 49-year old Colorado Rockies pitcher Jamie Moyer.
The Anteaters tacked on an unearned run in the sixth inning when Chris Rabago’s sac fly to center field scored Connor Spencer from third.
Long Beach center fielder Brennan Metzger’s throw home to catch Spencer was off line allowing Irvine’s second run to score.
Catcher Kellen Hoime’s mishandling of an Anderson breaking ball several pitches before Rabago’s fly ball into center field allowed Spencer to reach third base.
Dirtbags left-handed reliever Landon Hunt came into the game for Anderson when the Anteaters threatened with two runners on, but he was able to strike out Spencer to end the threat.
After giving up a hit to lead off the following inning Eddie Magallon entered the game. Irvine would score two more runs off of Magallon before he was pulled in favor of Milikan high school-product Josh Frye.
The three Long Beach relievers combined to pitch two innings surrendering two runs on three hits while walking two batters.
“Its one game and we need to debrief a little bit and put it away. There is a lot of game left, there is a lot of baseball left [till the end of the season],” Buckley said.