Long Beach State Dirtbags can't catch CSU Fullerton in series opener

LONG BEACH >> Long Beach State, ranked No. 22 by Baseball America and starting pitcher Chris Mathewson dug themselves a hole they couldn’t get out of on Friday night in the first game of a three-game series at Blair Field to determine the Big West Conference championship.

Cal State Fullerton, ranked No 23, scored three runs in the first iing on its way to a 6-2 victory.

The series continues tonight at 6 p.m. with LBSU needing a win to stay in the hunt for the Big West title.

In the top of the first, CSUF (34-20, 16-6) scored all three of its runs in with two outs. Josh Vargas led off the game with a walk, and Timmy Richards singled before Jerrod Bravo was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. After a strikeout, Ruben Cardenas drove in a run with a single, which was followed by consecutive walks to make it 3-0.

Mathewson settled down after that and pitched six iings while allowing seven hits, five walks and four eaed runs. He struck out seven batters, and now has 103 on the season which, is second best in the conference.

CSUF starter Coor Seabold was dominant until the sixth iing when he was replaced because of an injury. He pitched five iings, struck out four and didn’t issue a walk. The Dirtbags (35-19, 14-8) had fly balls, pop outs or foul outs on nine of the first 15 outs recorded by Seabold.

LBSU finally got on the board in the sixth iing after Zack Domingues singled up the middle to lead off the iing. Garrett Hampson pushed a bunt single to the right side, and with a 2-0 count on the next batter, Luke Rasmussen, Seabold was pulled due to an apparent leg injury. Junior Dylan Prohoroff came on in relief and his first pitch to Jackson was sent deep to left field, but left fielder Vargas caught it on the waing track. With one out, Brock Lundquist drove in Domingues with a sacrifice fly. Hampson scored from second on a two-out, RBI double to right field from Daniel Jackson on an 0-2 count to give the Titans a 4-2 lead.

CSUF got those runs back with one each in the seventh and eighth. Richards, the Wilson High product, scored one of his two runs on a wild pitch in the seventh. He finished with two hits and scored two runs.

The Dirtbags loaded the bases in the seventh and ninth, but couldn’t score. Hampson’s two singles moved him to eighth all time at LBSU with 208 hits. He’s tied with Jason Giambi. Lundquist’s hit streak ended at 17 games.

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