March 18, 2009
Box Score
LONG BEACH, Calif. - LMU (8-12) dropped its 10th consecutive game on Tuesday, falling to Long Beach State (6-9) by a count of 12-6 at Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif. LMU earned leads after the first and third innings, taking a 6-5 advantage into the bottom of the seventh before losing.
Ryan Hawthorne, Ryan Wheeler, Ollie Enos and Evan Simonitsch each collected multiple hits in the loss. Simonitsch finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored, while Enos was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Junior Angelo Songco belted his sixth home run of the year, a two-run shot, in the top of the first inning to hand LMU an early 2-0 lead.
Long Beach State scored 12 runs on 15 hits and three Lion errors, led by Rylan Sandoval and Taylor Krick who finished with four hits apiece. Sandoval was 4-for-5 with three runs scored, a double, a stolen base and a triple. Krick finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI.
Jeremy Burrell was tagged with the loss after failing to record an out and allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and a walk. With the loss, he fell to 0-1. The win went to Manny McElroy after he pitched two scoreless innings and allowed one hit and two walks while striking out a batter.
After Songco's blast, Long Beach responded for three runs in the bottom of the second, highlighted by a double from Sandoval and a RBI-single from Jonathan Jones. The Lions answered for three runs of their own in the top of the third, claiming a 3-2 lead. A bases-loaded Enos single brought two runs home before Brad Bauer drove in a run with a single to centerfield.
The two teams traded runs in the fourth with LMU's coming on a Kyle Spraker sacrifice fly and LBSU's on a Kip Masuda RBI-single. The single was Masuda's first of the season. Long Beach posted one more run in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to one run at 6-5. A Sandoval single and stolen base set the table for Krick's RBI-single to right field.
The Dirtbags would add five more runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth en route to the victory. Krick singled in a run to start before a two-run error charged to Jonathan Johnson allowed the next two runs to score. T.J. Mittelstaedt made the most of his one hit on the night, driving in two runs with a single to centerfield to cap the seventh inning. A Sandoval triple preceded another Lion error, this one charged to Shon Roe. Roe tried forcing Sandoval out at the plate, but threw high, allowing Sandoval and Jones to come home on the play.
The Lions return to action on Friday when they host the defending National Champions from Fresno State. Game one of the four-game series is slated to start at 3:00 p.m.
