Long Beach State Has Enough Offense to Get by USC

Long Beach State got some hitting, for a change, and got something even rarer so far this season: A victory.

Long Beach took a quick lead and made it hold up Sunday in a 7-3 nonconference victory over USC, snapping a three-game losing streak in front of 1,448 at Blair Field.

“Our offense set the tone today,” Long Beach Coach Dave Snow said. “Scoring some runs at the start really helped. The thing we did today was play with more passion and a little more determination.”

And not a second too soon.

Long Beach, which improved to 2-4, salvaged a victory in the three-game series by outhitting the Trojans in key moments. Long Beach came through with clutch hits Sunday, something it didn’t do in Games 1 and 2.

The 49ers got off to a great start, scoring six runs in the first two innings to take a 6-0 lead. That was more than they scored in the first two games of the series combined, and was more than enough to make Denny Gilich (1-0) a winner in his first start of the season.

Gilich pitched six strong innings, giving up eight hits and three runs--only one earned--with three strikeouts and two walks. The right-hander impressed Snow by staying cool in the top of the fourth inning when a teammate’s error enabled USC (7-2) to score two runs. Right-handed reliever Ara Petrosian pitched the final three innings, giving up only one hit and striking out four.

“We got a solid pitching effort,” Snow said.

In the fourth, the Trojans loaded the bases with three consecutive hits off Gilich. Jeff DePippo then popped up and third baseman Izzy Gonzalez raced in to make the catch in front of the mound.

However, home plate umpire Victor Bernstein ruled that catcher Casey Martin interfered with DePippo. Eric Munson, who led off the inning with a double, was awarded home plate and DePippo went to third, keeping the bases loaded. Gilich struck out Brian Ponchak, but Greg Hanoian followed with a sacrifice fly to center that scored Robb Gorr from third. Wes Rachels then flied out to left-center to end the inning.

“He held his ground pretty well,” Snow said. “That was a tough situation and he didn’t back down.”

USC cut the lead to 6-3 in the fifth when Greg Walbrige doubled and scored on a single by Munson. But Long Beach came back in its half of the inning, pushing its lead to 7-3 when Martin drove in his third run with a one-out groundout that scored Gonzalez from third.

Long Beach, which has struggled on offense, looked especially impressive in the second inning. Long Beach scored four runs in the inning on five hits, sending eight batters to the plate.

Steve Doherty sparked the 49ers with a one-out double to right. J.J. Newkirk followed with a single, scoring Doherty. Then, as they did in the first inning, Lateef Vaughn and Jaron Madison singled. Gonzalez cleared the bases with a double to left-center.