RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Long Beach State dinked and dunked UC Riverside ace Eddie Orozco until Brennan Metzger’s big RBI double put the Dirtbags ahead in the fifth inning.
The Dirtbags beat Orozco 5-4 Friday night at Riverside Sports Complex to even the Easter weekend Big West conference series.
Metzger scored two runs and knock home two more as he, Matt Duffy (pictured) and Jeff McNeil all tallied three hits. It was just enough for southpaw Ryan Strufing, who picked up the win with three earned runs in seven innings pitched, and Kyle Friedrichs, who earned his third save with two innings of work.
After the game, we chatted with Long Beach State head coach Troy Buckley and shortstop Matt Duffy.
Buckley talked about leaving Strufing in to begin the eighth inning and Friedrichs coming in to close the door. He also discusses Duffy’s recent surge offensively and the work of Metzger at the plate:
Duffy talked about how a change in his batting stance and approach at the plate has translated into recent success. Duffy also discussed how the Dirtbags were able to get to Orozco and how the Dirtbags are looking at the Big West conference schedule.:
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