Oregon lefthander Tyler Anderson struck out 14 and Long Beach State was limited to six singles as the Ducks took a 5-0 decision at Blair. It was a 1-0 game through seven innings, and the Dirtbags came close to a run just twice all night.
The game times for two of Long Beach State's baseball games against Arizona have been changed in an effort to beat Mother Nature. With heavy rain forecast for Friday night and into Saturday, today's game at Blair Field will begin at 3 p.m. instead of 6:30 p.m. Saturday's game time has been pushed back from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Game time for Sunday remains at 1 p.m.
Long Beach State's Brenden Pinder pitched six sharp innings and the Dirtbags rallied for two runs in the ninth but dropped a 4-3 decision to Fullerton. Two errors helped the Titans to a run in the first. The Bags tied it in the sixth but the Titans nicked the bullpen for two runs in the seventh.
Mike Marjama's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth scored a run and enabled Long Beach State to draw even with Fullerton, 1-1, after six innings. The Titans scored their only run on the strength of two Dirtbag errors. Branden Pinder allowed just three hits in six innings and worked out of several error-induced jams.
Long Beach State notched its first win of the season and beat Fullerton for the first time since 2008, coming back from a 4-0 deficit to taken 8-5 win at Blair Field. Matt Duffy had three RBI, Jeff Yamaguchi had a two-run single for the go-ahead run, and Eddie Magallon pitched 2 2/3 strong innings of relief to get the win. Fullerton compiled 17 hits on the day.
Andrew Gagnon has allowed just two hits and struck out five Titans as the Dirtbags hang on to a 1-0 lead over Fullerton.
Mike Marjama singled home Matt Duffy in the first inning to stake Andrew Gagnon to a lead and the Dirtbags led Fullerton 1-0 after three. The game was delayed for 30 minutes because of rain and Fullerton's earlier game against North Carolina going 11 innings.
The 2009 Long Beach football season ends Friday when La Mirada plays for the CIF Southern Division title against unbeaten Garden Grove, and its a opportunity for the proud Matadores to extend their legacy as one of the more consistent teams in the area.
La Mirada has made the postseason every year since 1980, according to the school, and this will be its eighth time playing for a title---the last coming in 2001, and their only win coming in 1992.
La Mirada reached the 1963 AAA Division final against St. Francis, losing 7-0; Central Division title in 1984, losing to Fullerton 17-7; and Division 8 final in 1992, where head coach John Mele and quarterback Mike Moschetti, now the Mats head coach, took the title with a 28-7 win over San Marino.
The Matadores dropped finals in 1994 (Division 8) to Temesca Canyon, 34-21; 1997 (Division 8) to Laguna Hills, 56-14; 1998 (Division 9) to Mayfair, 28-14; and 2001 (Division 6) to Mayfair against, 22-9.
Congrats go to Lakewood for reaching the Pac-5 semfinals for the second consecutive year and third time since 2004, and there's no shame in losing to the top-ranked team all season, Edison., When you realize that Lakewood lost 13 consecutive first round games between 1985 and 2003, it's no small achievement.
It would have been fun to relfect on the 1970 CIF title game between the Lancers and Bishop Amat. The unsung Lancers met a team featuring Pat Haden and J.K. McKay and were tied at 17 at the end of regulation, Bishop Amat winning the tiebreaker, which back then was a series of alternating possessions.
Likewise, it would have been extra cool to see La Mirada face Suburban League colleague Norwalk in the Southern finals, Norwalk has now reached the semifinals two straight years after a long drought, and their Wing-T offense is a lot of fun to watch.
Good luck to La Mirada Friday.
Next season, look for Lakewood, Poly and Wilson to be the top of the Moore League and another Suburban free-for-all with La Mirada, Norwalk, Dominguez and Mayfair.
Last week, Wilson pushed back against Lakewood for a half before the Lancers gathered themselves for the win. Friday, they did the same against Mission Viejo before a 41-14 Diablos win in the first round of the playoffs.
Mario Morales used a new-look offensive set on their first drive and the defense has MV's offense on its heels. But Wilson's lack-of-depth---too many two-way players---and two fumbles by Ezell Ruffin proved to be the difference.
What Wilson did learn was that they have a bonafide quarterback the next two years in Brett Harper. The soph had several big plays and will only get better. Kicker Alex Boy will also be back.
Monday's column on Moore League history had an error. Wilson beat Poly in 1991 and won the Moore League with a perfect 5-0 record, so their drought of titles doesn't go back as far as I indicated. Poly finished second that season at 4-1.
Sorry for the error, and a correction will run in the paper Tuesday.
Sorry for the error, and a correction will run in the paper Tuesday.
