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Two nights after feasting on free opportunities, Long Beach State (3-6) was far too generous on Friday night against visiting Washington State (4-5).
The Dirtbags’ pitching staff issued 14 free passes (11 walks and three hit batters) on their way to a 10-4 loss against the Cougars on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.
Long Beach State took the lead in the bottom of the third with a three-run rally, capped by a two-run single by Trotter Enright to make it 3-0 in favor of the home team. But things got off the rails quickly from there as the Cougars scored four runs in the next half inning and eight consecutive runs overall on their way to victory.
“I thought our team didn’t show a whole lot of fight,” said LBSU head coach TJ Bruce after the game. “We put up three and then we got punched in the mouth. I think we threw 11 straight balls after we put up three runs, and that’s a recipe for disaster. And when you play a well-coached team like Nathan Choate has his teams prepared to play, then you’re going to pay for it.”
Dirtbags starting pitcher Jake Fields eluded trouble in each of the first three innings, including a bases loaded, no outs situation in the top of the first. But things got away from him in the fourth, when he plunked the leadoff batter, Matthew Priest, then walked Long Beach Poly grad Ryan Skjonsby before issuing another base on balls to Dane Chavez to load the bases.
A hit batter forced in the first Washington State run, and chased Fields from the game. Gavin Roy then delivered a two-run single off Joey Iglesias to tie the score. An RBI grounder would give the Cougars a lead they’d never relinquish.
Leadoff man Trevor Smith had three hits on the night and was a home run shy of the cycle, driving in four runs for Wazzu. Roy also had a pair of hits and three RBIs. Catcher Noah Thein scored three runs out of the No. 8 hole. Skjonsby and Chavez each scored twice for the Cougars.
The Dirtbags actually out-hit Washington State 9-7, getting two hits apiece from Smith Chandler, Luke Taylor, and Jake Evans. Smith also stole a pair of bases for the Dirtbags, who continue to emphasize the running game as a catalyst for their offense.
“That’s the kind of offense just by trade of how I like to run things,” Bruce said. “We set a school record at TCU in 2023 with 145 stolen bases, so that’s the offense I would like to run, but it’s going to take everybody … I don’t think we have a whole lot of impact on the baseball offensively, so we’re trying to put ourselves in scoring position as best as we can, and give us as many shots on goal that we can get.”
The Dirtbags offense struck out 11 times, led by three from Matt Toomey in the cleanup spot. Senior shortstop Camden Gasser extended his base-on-balls streak by drawing a walk for the ninth straight game to open the season. Gasser remains the nation’s leader in that category.
LBSU will be back in action on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. against BYU and then close the weekend with a rematch against Washington State on Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
