May 13, 2016
LONG BEACH, Calif. - In the first meeting in 14 years between San Jose State and Long Beach State, the Spartans could not hang on to a first-inning lead and dropped a 6-2 ballgame Friday night at Blair Field.
The Spartans (16-34) and Dirtbags (29-18) clashed for the first time since they met in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Regionals at Stanford, and the first time at Blair Field since the 1995 campaign.
Friday, San Jose State got off to a promising start by scoring a pair of first-inning runs against 2016 Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America Third Team selection Chris Mathewson (W, 6-4). Leadoff man Aaron Pleschner singled to open the game, and back-to-back walks to Joe Stefanki and Ozzy Braff loaded the bases. Shane Timmons got the Spartans on the board with a sacrifice fly to left, and Brendt Citta laced a single back up the middle to score Stefanki from second.
The 2-0 lead didn't last long, however, as the Dirtbags jumped on Spartan starter Jonathan Hernandez (L, 1-2) for three runs in the bottom half. All three runs scored after LBSU had one man on and two outs. An RBI single by Brock Lundquist followed back-to-back RBI doubles by Luke Rasmussen and Daniel Jackson.
The one-run lead was all Mathewson would need. The sophomore settled in nicely and allowed just three baserunners - singles by Pleschner and Shane Timmons and a walk to Josh Nashed - after the first inning. He finished with nine strikeouts and three walks over his 7.1 innings of work while allowing the two runs on four hits. Chris Rivera relieved him with one on and one out in the eighth and allowed just a single by Citta in his 1.2 frames on the mound.
Long Beach State built the lead to 6-2 by scoring another three two-out runs in the third, this time on another RBI single by Lundquist and a two-run double by David Banuelos.
Matt Brown took over in the fourth inning and was stellar in relief. He kept the deficit to four by tossing 5.0 scoreless of scoreless baseball while striking out four and scattering five runs. He got some help from his battery mate, Stefanki, who threw out a runner in the both the fourth and fifth innings.
Pleschner (2-4, run) and Citta (2-4, RBI) each posted multi-hit night for San Jose State. Timmons (1-3, sac fly, RBI) and Michael Breen (1-4) rounded out the six-hit night.
The series continues with a 2:00 p.m. game Saturday at Blair Field. Josh Nashed gets the ball for San Jose State and opposes Darren McCaughan of Long Beach State.