The Aztecs secured their first home victory since the Arizona State series on March 6 on Tuesday night. Going into the midweek matchup, the Aztecs were coming off a 1-2 weekend in Nevada while the Long Beach State Dirtbags had just completed a 1-2 weekend of their own against UC San Diego.
The Scarlet and Black’s scoring frenzy began in the bottom of the third following a two-run triple from sophomore Caden Miller. Miller’s triple brought home redshirt sophomore Xavier Carter who had previously singled and redshirt freshman Tino Bethancourt who drew a walk.
Long Beach State made their only mark in the top of the sixth inning thanks to consecutive wild pitches by the Aztecs after a lead-off double from redshirt-freshman Rocco Peppi.
The Aztecs provided themselves with some insurance in the bottom of the six after sophomore Cole Carrigg sent a two-run homerun barreling out of left-center field. Carrigg’s second homer of the year plated sophomore Poncho Ruiz, increasing their lead to 4-1.
The scoring did not stop there as the Aztecs tacked on one additional run in the eighth after Ruiz rushed home on a sacrifice fly from freshman Tyler Glowacki.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Chris Canada made his first start for the Aztecs and secured his first collegiate career win with seven strikeouts in five innings pitched.
In addition to Canada’s efforts, four additional Aztecs — freshman right-handed pitcher Eldrige Armstrong, freshman right-handed pitcher Omar Serrano, sophomore right-handed pitcher Ricky Tibbett, and sophomore right-handed pitcher Jadon Bercovich worked to combine for 12 total strikeouts.
The win was a much-needed morale boost for the Aztecs as they head into a weekend series with San Jose State, who previously swept the Scarlet and Black on March 18-20.
On Deck…
The Aztecs will host the San Jose State Spartans at Tony Gwynn Stadium in a weekend conference series starting Friday at 6pm.
