Mustang News Staff Report
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Long Beach State struck for two runs in the first inning to put No. 1 Cal Poly baseball on its heels early, as the Dirtbags took the second game of a three-game series 7-2 on Saturday afternoon.
Held to just six hits in the game, the loss for the Mustangs (36-6, 12-2 Big West) snapped their nation-leading 12-game win streak. Cal Poly had also won 18 of its last 19 and 26 of 28 entering the game.
The Dirtbags (19-21, 6-5) used 13 hits in the game to get their first win in their last four outings.
The Mustangs fell behind 6-0 before scoring two runs in the sixth inning. Junior center fielder Jordan Ellis collected Cal Poly’s lone extra-base hit with a double and scored on an RBI single by junior right fielder Nick Torres in the inning. Torres eventually came around to score on a passed ball later in the frame.
Freshman starter Justin Calomeni (7-2) got the loss, as he gave up six runs (three earned) on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings of work.
Long Beach State’s Josh Frye got the win as he went eight innings and allowed two runs on six hits. Those two runs were the first he had allowed in 30 2/3 innings up to that point.
UC Irvine (27-14, 10-1 Big West) won its doubleheader against UC Davis to move within 1/2 game of the Mustangs. Meanwhile, both Virginia and Louisiana-Lafayette, the two teams behind Cal Poly in this week’s Collegiate Baseball Newspaper rankings, lost their Saturday games as well.
Cal Poly has yet to lose a series this season, and will look to continue that trend with sophomore right-hander Casey Bloomquist (9-0, 1.36 ERA) on the mound Sunday.
Cal Poly has struggled at Blair Field in years past — the Mustangs last won a series at Long Beach State in 2009.
Stephan Teodosescu contributed to this report.