Despite holding a lead twice during the game, the Dirtbags lost the final game of their three-game series against Irvine on Saturday, 9-5. The loss means they were swept by the Anteaters.
Steve Tinoco led off the second inning with a double to help Long Beach get on the board first. After Tinoco’s hit, the Dirtbags pushed him over with a hit by John Hill, and then Tinoco scored on a sacrifice fly, beating the out placed on Hill at second base.
After UC Irvine tied the score in the bottom half of the second with help from an Andrew Gagnon balk, Long Beach State regained the lead in the third. Derek Legg doubled to start the inning, the second straight leadoff double for the Dirtbags. Tre Dennis then hit an RBI triple, and scored on a Jonathan Jones sacrifice fly, giving Long Beach State a 3-1 lead.
UC Irvine regained the lead in the bottom half of the third, courtesy of a two-run home run by Francis Larson. Ben Orloff started the inning with a leadoff single before Long Beach State picked up two outs. Ronnie Shaeffer singled to bring home Orloff, and then the blast by Larson put the Anteaters on top 4-3.
The scoring seesaw continued in the fourth inning. Tinoco drew a leadoff walk to start the inning, and scored on a Devin Lohman double. A balk moved the sophomore over to third, where he came home on a sacrifice fly from John Hill, putting Long Beach State back on top 5-4.
The lead was short-lived again, though, as UC Irvine again answered in the bottom half. DJ Crumlich started the inning with a single, and after a hit batter and a bunt, scored on a sacrifice fly from Orloff. A second run scored on an RBI single by Eric Deragisch making the score 6-5 in favor of UCI.
UC Irvine added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth, and held the Dirtbags scoreless from the fourth inning on to collect the sweep on the weekend.
Long Beach State gets Easter off, and then the team hits the road one more time to play at Pepperdine on Monday, April 13 at 3 p.m. The Dirtbags return home for a three game series with Cal State Northridge beginning next Friday, April 17 at 6:30 p.m. in Blair Field.
From LBSU reports