Dirtbags Baseball - Long Beach State 49ers

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Monday, February 14, 2005

Dirtbags Come Up Short Against USC

Friday was a rainout. Unfortunately, that was the best result of the weekend for the Long Beach State Dirtbags. Here's links to the stories:

On the series: Daily 49er

Saturday: USC 4, LBSU 3:

Box Score
longbeachstate.com
USC Webpage
Long Beach Press-Telegram

Sunday: USC 7, LBSU 5:

Box Score
longbeachstate.com
USC Webpage
Long Beach Press-Telegram

I didn't make it to the game at Blair Field on Saturday (though Rich Lederer did), but was on hand at USC yesterday. A few thoughts:

...These guys don't quit! After the Trojans put 5 across in the 3rd inning to take at 6-1 lead, I got the sense they thought they would just cruise to victory. They found out otherwise as the Dirtbags scratched and clawed their way back...only an accurate throw from left field to prevent Steve Valazco from scoring on a sac fly in the 8th kept the game from being tied.

...The number of stranded baserunners, an ever present issue in this young season, reared it's head again. Yesterday, 11 runners were left on base, as the 49ers got 16 hits, drew a walk, had 2 hit batters, and USC committed 2 errors.

...An error by Brandon Godfrey in the 3rd inning proved very costly, as 4 unearned USC runs crossed the plate. The error seemed to rattle freshman reliever Andrew Liebel, as he gave up 2 hits and a walk in 2/3rds inning of work.

...USC starter Zack Kalter didn't seem to have a clue how to get Brandon Godfrey out. Brandon ended up 3 for 5 on the day, including a double.

...Jered Hughes looked good in his Dirtbags debut, going 4.0 innings, giving up 3 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 4. Coming on after Andrew Liebel to pitch the 4th through 7th innings, his effort kept the Trojans in check as Long Beach chipped away at the USC lead.

...Scott Bradley got the start in left field. I may be wrong, but I don't recall him ever playing in the Dirtbags outfield. He had two tough chances going back for long drives. On the first, he made an outstanding catch going back to the wall. On the second, in the fateful USC 3rd inning, he missed the catch as he slammed into the wall in left center.

...Brian Anderson continued his outstanding pitching in relief. After Steve Hammond came on in the 8th and gave up 2 hits, Brian came in with runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. After a lead walk to load the bases, Brian allowed only 1 run to score. Not perfect, but pretty darned good.

Update: In addition to Rich Lederer, Rob McMillin of 6-4-2 - an Angels/Dodgers double play blog - made the Saturday game - and he has a post on the subject here. I've added his blog to the sidebar.

posted on 2/14/2005 by Jeff Agnew

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