Frye Leads Dirtbags to Upset of No. 2 Cal Poly

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LONG BEACH, Calif. — All good things must come to an end.

And Josh Frye finally had his scoreless streak snapped at 30.2 innings pitched, but by the time Cal Poly (36-6, 12-2) got to the 6-foot-7 senior Saturday afternoon at Blair Field, Long Beach State already had the game in hand.

The Dirtbags (19-21, 6-5) scored six runs (only three earned runs) off starter Justin Calomeni to chase him from the game in the fourth inning. And when Frye did allow two runs to score, Long Beach immediately answered with a run in the bottom of the sixth, taking a 7-2 victory to even the series with the Mustangs.

Frye needed just 100 pitches over eight innings to earn his fourth win. He allowed six hits and two runs (one earned) while tying his career high with six strikeouts.

Here’s Josh Frye talking about what he’s done to make the most of his opportunity in the starting rotation:

For the second day in a row, Long Beach State grabbed an early 2-0 lead. And it appeared Cal Poly would quickly rally back for the second straight day. The Mustangs got back-to-back singles to lead off the second inning and were prepared to end the shutout early with men on the corners, but Frye bowed his neck, striking out a pair and getting a lazy fly to end the threat.

Long Beach State head coach Troy Buckley talks about Frye’s performance and how big that second-inning stop was for the Dirtbags:

Rather than being satisfied with a 2-0 lead, the Dirtbags put another run on the board in the third when Ino Patron followed Garrett Hampson’s two-out double with an RBI single. The next time up Long Beach added three more runs with the assistance of two dropped flyballs and an off-the-mark throw to the plate with the infield drawn in.

That was more than enough for Frye.

Following the game, Ino Patron, who finished the day 4-for-5 and surpassed Jason Giambi and Dan Twiss to move to No. 6 on Long Beach State’s career hits list, talked about the offense’s aggressive approach against Cal Poly and about the joy of seeing his fellow senior succeed on the mound:

Patron was one of four Dirtbags with multiple hits. Cameron Pongs continued his strong weekend, going 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Garrett Hampson reached four times, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs and two walks. For the Mustangs, Nick Torres’ 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI was the highlight of the day.

Check out the top photos CBD photographer Shotgun Spratling took from Blair Field:

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