19-21, 7-5
Long Beach State
22-17, 8-7
Long Beach State Rallies From Seven-Run Deficit to Beat Cal Poly, 12-11
4/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly dominated the first five innings, building a 9-2 advantage on a home run by John Schuknecht and two triples by Jordan Ellis. Long Beach State owned the final five frames with a trio of three-run rallies.
In the end, the visiting Dirtbags salvaged one victory in the three-game Big West Conference baseball series at Baggett Stadium, rallying from the 9-2 deficit for a 10-inning 12-11 triumph over the Mustangs on Sunday afternoon before 1,437 fans.
Cal Poly, seeking to sweep Long Beach State for the first time since 1997, the Mustangs' first year in the Big West, instead fell to 19-21 overall and 7-5 for fourth place in the conference. The Mustangs had a chance to join three other teams with four losses atop the standings.
Long Beach State snapped Cal Poly's three-game winning streak as well as the Mustangs' streak of seven consecutive wins at home, improving to 22-17 and 8-7 by outhitting Cal Poly 18-10 and taking advantage of four Mustang errors.
Ellis tripled home a pair of runs and Brian Mundell scored on a wild pitch as Cal Poly scored three times in the first inning.
The Mustangs added single runs in the second (Tommy Pluschkell scoring on a wild pitch), third (Ellis scoring on a passed ball) and fifth frames (Schuknecht's solo home run off the top of the left-center field wall) and tallied three runs in the fourth (Zack Zehner's two-run single and a sacrifice fly by Ellis) in extending their lead to 9-2.
Long Beach State launched its comeback with three runs in both the sixth and eighth frames sandwiched around a run in the seventh, tying the game at 9-9, and added three more runs in the 10th for a 12-9 cushion. Luke Rasmussen's three-run home run, his second of the year, tied the game in the eighth.
With the runners at first and second going on the pitch in the 10th, Brock Lundquist singled up the middle to break the tie. Alex Bishop singled to right-center field to score two insurance runs and it turned out the Dirtbags needed them.
Schuknecht (pictured above) led off the bottom of the 10th with his second home run of the game, a towering first-pitch shot to left field. Mark Mathias singled up the middle and Peter Van Gansen doubled to right, putting runners at second and third with out one.
Mundell's grounder to third base for the second out scored Mathias and, after Zehner was intentionally walked, Brett Barbier struck out swinging to end the game, leaving Van Gansen at second base.
Mustang sophomore right-hander Slater Lee cruised through the first five innings, allowing two runs and four hits, before running into trouble in the sixth. He left the game with Cal Poly leading 9-5 and the Mustangs' bullpen couldn't hold it.
Senior right-hander Danny Zandona (1-4) suffered the loss, surrendering four runs and five hits over 2 1/3 innings. The win went to Logan Lombana, the fourth of six Long Beach State pitchers used in the game. Lombana pitched two scoreless frames with a pair of strikeouts.
The Dirtbags, who entered the game with a .239 team batting average, pounded out 18 hits Sunday, led by Bishop with four hits and two RBI. Tristan Mercadel added three hits and two RBI.
Cal Poly's 10 hits included Schuknecht's two homers and Ellis' pair of triples. Ellis became the 10th Mustang to triple twice in a game since the Mustangs moved to Division I 21 years ago. Forty-four Mustangs have hit two home runs in a game during the same period, including Mundell twice earlier this year.
Coach Larry Lee's Mustangs play at CSU Bakersfield on Tuesday night before returning home to host CSUN for three Big West games next weekend in Baggett Stadium.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lombana, Logan (1-1)
L: Zandona, Danny (1-4)
S: McGeorge, Austin (1)
Batting:
HR: Rasmussen, Luke 1
RBI: Rasmussen, Luke 3 ; Lundquist, Brock 1 ; Bishop, Alex 2 ; Mercadel, Tristan 2 ; Hutting, Eric 1 ; Domingues, Zack 1
SH: Rivera, Zack 1 ; Mercadel, Tristan 1 ; Banuelos, David 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rasmussen, Luke 1 ; James, Jared 1 ; Rivera, Zack 2 ; Hampson, Garrett 1 ; Lundquist, Brock 2 ; Bishop, Alex 1 ; Mercadel, Tristan 2 ; Domingues, Zack 1 ; DeGoti, Alex 1
SB: Rasmussen, Luke 1
Batting:
2B: Van Gansen, Peter 1 ; Mundell, Brian 1
3B: Ellis, Jordan 2
HR: Schuknecht, John 2
RBI: Mundell, Brian 1 ; Zehner, Zack 2 ; Ellis, Jordan 3 ; Schuknecht, John 2
SF: Ellis, Jordan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mathias, Mark 2 ; Van Gansen, Peter 1 ; Mundell, Brian 1 ; Zehner, Zack 1 ; Barbier, Brett 1 ; Ellis, Jordan 1 ; Schuknecht, John 2 ; Pluschkell, Tommy 2
HBP: Mathias, Mark 1
