The Long Beach State Dirtbags continued to put up runs but dropped two out of three to the University of California Riverside Highlanders.
Sophomore starting pitcher Myles Patton had another dominant outing as he pitched six strong innings, allowed one run on two hits and struck out 10 in a 13-1 victory on Friday.
The Dirtbags scored three runs in the first four innings thanks to an RBI single from junior designated hitter Cole Santander, a solo shot from senior catcher John Newman Jr. and an RBI single from junior first baseman Jack Hammond.
UCR tagged their only run of the game due to a fielding error, which allowed junior third baseman Rudy Rodriguez IV to score from third.
The Dirtbags blew the game open in the fifth inning and added three runs highlighted by a two-run home run from true freshman shortstop Adrian Lopez.
Sophomore infielder Armando Briseno pierced the dagger into the heart of the Highlanders with a grand slam to put the dirtbags on top 13-1 and shut the door on game one.
Saturday night’s contest saw UCR get their revenge in a back-and-forth game to even up the series with a final score of 10-6.
The two teams traded runs until the game was 3-3 in the top of the sixth when senior catcher Nick Poss singled in a pair of Highlanders to retake the lead 5-3.
The Beach came back to tie it up at five in the bottom of the sixth by way of a wild pitch and a sac fly.
UCR posted a three-run inning in the top half of the eighth thanks to errors and a sacrifice fly that put them up 8-5, a lead that proved to be too much to overcome for Long Beach State.
The ‘Bags got one back, but UCR shut the door as they took advantage of wild pitches and added two more runs of insurance to keep the game out of reach and win by a score of 10-6.
The Highlanders took the rubber match on Sunday afternoon and clinched the weekend series with an 11-4 win.
UCR set the tone early when junior catcher Bubba Rocha slashed a two-run double to put UCR on top by two in the first.
The ‘Bags responded quickly with a run of their own when junior right fielder Connor Charpiot hit a sacrifice groundout to third to cut the lead in half.
Alex Champagne, the junior center fielder, tied the game in the bottom half of the second by way of a sacrifice fly to center field.
Junior center fielder Jayden Lopez tacked on another extra-base hit and run for UCR as the Highlanders took back the lead 3-2 in the third.
From then on, it was all Highlanders as they cracked off eight runs in the next three innings to put the game out of reach and take advantage of sophomore pitcher CJ Hood’s lack of command.
Senior second baseman Nick Marinconz led off the Dirtbags’ bottom half of the fifth with a solo shot over left field, his second home run of the year.
This would be the last time the Dirtbags crossed home plate as UCR tacked on three more runs and closed out the game.
Riverside leaves Bohl Diamond at Blair Field with an overall record is at 11-22 with a 3-12 conference record while Long Beach State has a record of 20-16-1 and a 7-11 conference record.
The Dirtbags look to bounce back as they travel to Riverside to play California Baptist University on Tuesday at 6 p.m.