San Diego State (11-25) was not enough for Long Beach State’s high-scoring play(19-14-1), losing 12-5 on Tuesday night.
The Aztecs’ offense tried to keep pace, but their consistent pitching woes held them back against the advantageous Dirtbags.
SDSU notched the game’s first runs, jumping all over Dirtbags’ starter Van Larson. A Jake Jackson single and a Zane Kelly double put the Aztecs in front in the opening frame 2-0.
Their lead did not last long, however. Aztecs’ starter Chris Canavan allowed the Dirtbags to score seven runs in the bottom of the first inning by way of four walks, three hit-by-pitches and only two hits.
The Aztecs’ sloppy play led to, in total, five hit-by-pitches, 12 walks, two unearned runs and one fielding error. The offense left nine runners on base as well.
In response to the Dirtbags’ retaliation, the Aztecs climbed back into striking range in the top of the fourth inning by tacking on another run by way of a Finley Bates single, scoring Josh Quezada. Shaun Montaya reached on an error which scored Brady Lavoie and cut the Long Beach State lead to 7-4.
The Dirtbags scored in the bottom of the fourth, making the game 8-4. Evan Sipe quickly got the lost run back by hitting a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth inning to score Jake Jackson and get the deficit back to three runs.
In the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings, Long Beach State put the nail in the coffin with two RBIs by Cole Santander and an RBI apiece from John Newman Jr. and Alex Champagne.
SDSU outhit Long Beach State and had fewer errors, but the seven-run first frame mustered by the Dirtbags’ bats was too much to contend with in the end.
The stellar Dirtbag bullpen consisting of Nathen Morris, Nick Williams and Jonathan Largaespada, tossed five scoreless innings, shutting down the Aztecs’ winning hopes.
Van Larson got the win, improving his record to 2-0. Chris Canavan earned the loss, dropping his record to 0-3 on the season.
The Aztecs look to return to the win column as they take on the UC Irvine Anteaters for a three-game series starting on Friday, April 19 at 6 p.m.
