The Dirtbags struggled against USC on Tuesday evening, allowing the Trojans to score 14 hits and play catch-up for most of the game.
Long Beach State got the first run on the board through an RBI double by senior catcher John Newman Jr., which scored true freshman shortstop Adrian Lopez and gave The Beach a 1-0 lead.
The Trojans struck back and evened the score after a leadoff double by freshman left fielder Kevin Takeuchi. Freshman right fielder Brayden Dowd advanced Takeuchi to third after a sacrifice groundout into the shift.
A fielding error by sophomore third baseman Armando Briseno cost the Dirtbags to give up an unearned run to tie the game 1-1.
Sophomore starting pitcher Van Larson went two innings and allowed one run on one hit.
USC exploded offensively in the top of the third, putting five runs on the Dirtbags to take a commanding lead. This offensive frenzy started with back-to-back hits from sophomore center fielder Austin Overn and senior second baseman Ryan Jackson.
Sophomore designated hitter Jacob Galloway hit a double to right field and gave the Trojans a 2-1 lead.
After walking Takeuchi, the bases were full of Trojans with only one out. Dowd hit a sacrifice fly to left field, allowing Jackson to score from third to make it a 3-1 lead.
With two runners on for the Trojans and two outs, USC still had a chance to add more runs as the dangerous freshman first baseman Dean Carpentier was up to the plate.
Carpentier would ground out to the shortstop Lopez committed a throwing error and allowed an unearned run, making it a 4-1 USC lead.
“Those were some costly errors,” Bryan Peters, Long Beach State’s had coach, said.
Sophomore third baseman Ethan Hedges would continue the Trojans offensive frenzy by hitting an infield single, cushioning their lead to 5-1.
Freshman shortstop Abbrie Covarrubias would tack one more run in the inning as he hit an RBI single making it a 6-1 game.
The Trojans would start right where they left off in the previous inning by starting the top of the fourth with an Overn bunt single and a passed ball to advance Overn in scoring position. Jackson singled up the middle making it a 7-1 ball game.
Long Beach State would try their best to answer back as they would tack on a run in the bottom of the fourth after an RBI single by Briseno gave Long Beach State another run to build on.
The offense was picking up for Long Beach as they would put another run on the board by way of an RBI double by Marinconz making it a 7-3.
“Our plate coverage isn’t very good,” Peters said. “We gotta make some significant adjustments with our offense.”
USC was on the verge of brewing another big offensive inning but freshman pitcher Josh Donegan would get out of the jam by striking out the next two batters and a groundout to stop the bleeding.
Sophomore pitcher Michael Ebner and junior pitcher Xavier Martinez for the Trojans closed out the game and secured the win against the Dirtbags.
The USC pitchers had a clean inning in the ninth and secured the win against the Dirtbags to give them their eighth loss of the year and their fourth straight loss; Long Beach State’s record stands at 10-8-1.
The Dirtbags look to turn a new leaf as they host Cal State Fullerton this weekend for a three-game series starting on Friday.