Report by LBSU

Long Beach State rallied to score two runs in the ninth inning to force extra innings, and took leads in both the tenth and eleventh frames but allowed three in the bottom of the final inning as Cal Poly outlasted Long Beach State in 11 innings.

Both teams had 19 hits over the four hour, 45 minute contest, but Cal Poly took advantage of two late inning errors from the Dirtbags to first tie the game in the bottom of the tenth inning before closing out the game with three runs in the bottom of the 11^th.

Joey Terdoslavich was 4-for-7 with a home run and three singles, while Devin Lohman, Jonathan Jones and TJ Mittelstaedt each had three hits for the Dirtbags.

Joel Thys hit a two-run double in the second inning, part of four hits that helped Long Beach State score three runs in the inning. Another run in the top of the third helped the Dirtbags take a 4-0 lead after two and a half innings.

Cal Poly had the first of two big innings in the bottom half of the third inning, roughing up Long Beach State starter Branden Pinder, who had his shortest start of the season. Two wild pitches, two hit batters and four hits in the third by the Mustangs led to five runs, as Cal Poly took their first lead by a 5-4 margin.

Reliever Eddie Magallon came in to get the final out of the third inning, and held the Mustangs hitless over the next three innings as Long Beach State climbed back into the game. A two-run homer from Terdoslavich capped a three-run fourth inning, and the Dirtbags added two more runs after getting the leadoff runner on base in both the sixth and seventh innings to take a 9-5 lead.

After the stretch though, Luke Yoder and Adam Melker hit back-to-back home runs, chasing Magallon from the game and kick-starting a run of six straight hits for the Mustangs as Cal Poly regained the lead 10-9 with another five run inning.

With an insurance run in the eighth inning, Cal Poly held an 11-9 lead to start the ninth, but Long Beach State’s offense did not quit. Jonathan Jones was hit to start the inning, and after a base hit by Matt Duffy, TJ Mittelstaedt doubled to tie the game at 11. The Dirtbags left a runner at third however, and after a scoreless ninth, the teams headed to the tenth.

In the tenth, the heart of the lineup hit four straight singles to take a two-run lead into the bottom of the tenth, and with one out and a runner at second, Long Beach State appeared to get out of the game, as a deep fly ball was caught by Brennan Metzger in center, and Melker was caught in between second and third. The relay throw to third was wide of the base, and instead of being the final out, Melker scored to tie the game.

Long Beach State scored two more runs in the top of the 11th to take another lead, as Lohman scored on a single by Jones, and an error by Cal Poly shortstop JJ Thompson brought Terdoslavich home to put The Beach on top 15-13.

Nate Underwood in his third inning of relief, surrendered a pair of hits in the start of the 11th, putting runners on at second and third with no outs. Kenny Arnerich entered, and got two outs with a strikeout and a ground ball, but a wild pitch tied the game, and after a walk, an error on a ground ball to Lohman ended the game as Thompson came around from first to score the winning run. 

Long Beach State remains on the road for one more game, playing at Pepperdine in a midweek contest on Wednesday. Start time is scheduled for 3 p.m. on May 4.