Report by LBSU

Six Long Beach State pitchers held the Trojans to one run on four hits, while five Dirtbags each had two hits as The Beach rolled past USC 9-1 on Wednesday.

The Dirtbags also took advantage of four USC errors to open up what had been a close game through six innings with five runs in the seventh.

Nate Underwood, getting the start for Long Beach State, was very strong through his scheduled four innings to get the win for the Dirtbags, allowing just one infield hit over four innings. He also held a one-run lead for Long Beach State after Jonathan Jones scored on a Kirk Singer RBI single in the second inning.

After the Dirtbags cut down a runner at home in the fifth after a leadoff double by USC, Long Beach State added another in the sixth inning after back-to-back singles by Joey Terdoslavich and Jones to take a 2-0 lead. USC picked up a run in the bottom half on a solo home run by Mike O’Neill, cutting the Dirtbag advantage to one.

The Trojans turned to Ryan Cabral in the seventh, and Cabral immediately got off to a rocky start, walking Jordan Casas on four pitches. Matt Duffy then laid down a sacrifice bunt, but Cabral’s throw to first base sailed wide and rolled into the outfield, scoring Casas and moving Duffy to third. TJ Mittelstaedt followed with an RBI single, making the score 4-1.

Two more errors in the inning led to three more runs, concluding with an RBI single by Tre Dennis as the Dirtbags took a 7-1 lead.

Cris Trout and David Brown each worked 1-2-3 innings for Long Beach State in the seventh and eighth. Three hits and another USC error in the ninth led to two more Long Beach State runs, and Jason Markovitz closed out the ninth for the Dirtbags.

It’s rivalry weekend at Blair Field starting on Friday, as the Dirtbags host Cal State Fullerton for three games. First pitch in the opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 14.