19-17, 9-4
Long Beach State
20-19, 6-7
Cal Poly Blanks Long Beach State, 10-0, in Series Opener
4/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Junior right-hander Mason Radeke won his fifth straight start, scattering five hits over seven scoreless innings, as Cal Poly, utilizing a makeshift lineup due to injuries, defeated Long Beach State 10-0 in the opening game of a Big West Conference baseball series Friday night at Blair Field.
Radeke walked one and struck out four to raise his record to 7-1 on the year and lower his ERA to 2.19, keeping the Mustangs in second place in the Big West Conference at 9-4, a game behind Cal State Fullerton. Cal Poly is 19-17 for the season.
Long Beach State fell to 20-19 and 6-7.
Cal Poly scored five earned runs – one in the first and four in the third – off Andrew Gagnon, the Big West leader with a 1.93 ERA, and added five more runs in the eighth on back-to-back two-run doubles by Elliot Stewart and Evan Busby plus a sacrifice fly by Mitch Haniger.
Gagnon finished seven innings before giving way to the bullpen, allowing seven hits, walking three and striking out nine in falling to 4-6 on the year.
In the first inning, Haniger extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a leadoff single. Two walks later, Haniger scored from third on a wild pitch.
Cal Poly's four-run third-inning rally was fueled by Matt Jensen's sacrifice fly, a two-run single by DJ Gentile and an RBI double by Stewart. Haniger and J.J. Thompson also doubled in the inning.
Gentile, Haniger and Stewart each collected a pair of hits as Cal Poly outhit Long Beach State 9-6. Stewart finished with two doubles and three RBI.
Long Beach State's six hits included two singles each by Michael Hill, Mike Marjama and Matt Duffy.
Radeke (pictured above) did not allow any 49er to reach third base and just three made it to second base. He recorded 13 flyouts and only three grounders. Junior southpaw Kyle Anderson pitched the final two frames in relief of Radeke, giving up one hit and one walk.
Missing from Cal Poly's lineup were center fielder Bobby Crocker (hamstring), second baseman Denver Chavez (calf muscle) and shortstop Mike Miller (mononucleosis). Closer Jeff Johnson likely won't pitch this weekend due to elbow tendinitis.
For Crocker, it was the first Mustang game he missed since May 8, 2009, against Cal State Fullerton, ending a streak of 102 consecutive games played.
Second game of the three-game series will be played Saturday at 5:30 p.m., with Cal Poly to send senior right-hander Steven Fischback (4-2, 3.60 ERA) to the mound against Long Beach State junior right-hander Branden Pinder (3-4, 5.55 ERA).
Fischback is the reigning Big West Pitcher of the Week after tossing a complete-game five-hitter in a 4-2 win over Cal State Fullerton on April 22.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Radeke, Mason (7-1)
L: Gagnon, Andrew (4-6)
Batting:
2B: Haniger, Mitch 1 ; Thompson, J.J. 1 ; Stewart, Elliot 2 ; Busby, Evan 1
RBI: Haniger, Mitch 1 ; Jensen, Matt 1 ; Gentile, DJ 2 ; Stewart, Elliot 3 ; Busby, Evan 2
SH: Wise, Tim 1
SF: Haniger, Mitch 1 ; Jensen, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Haniger, Mitch 2 ; Hoo, Chris 1 ; Thompson, J.J. 2 ; Gentile, DJ 2 ; Wise, Tim 1 ; Stewart, Elliot 1 ; Busby, Evan 1
CS: Jensen, Matt 1
HBP: Gentile, DJ 1
Base Running:
SB: Duffy, Matt 1
CS: Marjama, Mike 1
HBP: Hill, Michael 1
