Three clubs were sitting with 34 wins and trying to push ahead to the 35-win threshold — a sign of a quality season. But would any of the quads be able to pick up that victory against some quality Southern California midweek opponents?
Find out if anyone was able to get Win #35 in the roundup of all of Tuesday’s Southern California action. Also, check out the three photo galleries with action from Pepperdine, Irvine and Long Beach.
Long Beach State 6, San Diego 1
#27 Pepperdine 12, UC Santa Barbara 5
With its RPI slipping, UC Santa Barbara (29-16-1) resorted to using its dynamic bullpen duo of Greg Mahle and Dillon Tate early, bringing in Mahle in the first inning and having Tate enter in the fourth inning. Pepperdine (35-14) didn’t care.
The Waves put 14 hits and 12 runs on the board, scoring in all but the second inning. Five different hitters had multiple hits led by Bryan Langlois and Aaron Brown, who both homered and drove in two runs. Jackson McClelland (7-3) kept the Gauchos off-balance, striking out seven and allowing just one earned run in six innings.
Here are CBD photographer Mark Alexander’s top photos from the game:
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And here’s some highlights from Pepperdine:
UC Riverside 9, Loyola Marymount 6
UC Riverside (23-24) inched closer to getting above .500 and NCAA Tournament eligible with a 9-6 victory over LMU. A six-run fourth inning that featured a Devyn Bolasky two-run single and a pair of two-run doubles from Thomas Walker and Francisco Tellez put the Highlanders ahead.
Bolasky reached three times, scoring once and swiping a base to go along with his two RBI. Walker was 3-for-5 with two runs, two doubles and two RBI while Tellez was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Cody Rogina pitched three scoreless innings to pick up his first win of the season.
Austin Miller, Ted Boeke and David Edwards each reached base three times for LMU (28-21). The Lions will have to regroup before a huge weekend series with Pacific, which will determine whether they make the WCC Tournament.
#6 Cal Poly 6, St. Mary’s 5
Cal Poly (42-10) got four RBI from the nine-hole spot in the lineup. John Schuknecht and Brett Barbier both drove in two runs to help the Mustangs set a school record with 42 wins. Danny Zandona pitched five quality innings, allowing only two runs to improve to 3-0. Anthony Gonsolin reached three times for St. Mary’s (15-37), scoring twice and driving in two runs.
#25 UC Irvine 10, UCLA 2
UC Irvine used a 12-hit attack and four UCLA errors to knock off the defending champs, 10-2, and reach the 35-win plateau. Connor Spencer was 3-for-4 with three runs while Taylor Sparks knocked in two runs, going 1-for-3 with a triple.
Mitch Merten pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, allowing only two hits and striking out one, to pick up the win for the ‘Eaters. If Merten can emerge as another dependable option once again, after struggling with arm issues all season, the Irvine bullpen could be extended, giving head coach Mike Gillespie more late-inning options.
UCLA (23-26-1) also got a positive note as closer David Berg made his first appearance since April 29 and only his second appearance in the last month. Shane Zeile reached twice and had the Bruins’ only RBI.
CBD photographer David Cohen was in attendance. Here are his top photos from the game:
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