Box Score Long Beach, CA—The UC Riverside Baseball Team picked up its first Big West Conference win of the season Friday night with a 3-2 victory at Long Beach State. The win also snapped an 11-game losing streak for the Highlanders (listen to audio highlights).

Joie Dunyon (1-0) picked up the win for UC Riverside (11-24, 1-6) making just his fourth start of the season. In each of his first three starts, he failed to make it out of the fifth inning, but Friday he lasted eight-plus innings allowing six hits and no walks while striking out a half dozen.

Dunyon struggled in the first giving up three singles and a sac fly to the first four batters falling behind 1-0. A double steal later in the frame put the Beach (19-15, 5-5) up 2-0, but that was the last run they would get the rest of the evening. Dunyon allowed just two more hits over the next seven innings, at one point retiring 14 straight hitters.

Kyle Friedrichs, who came into the game with a 2.11 ERA, matched Dunyon pitch for pitch over the first six innings allowing just two hits. The Highlanders broke through in the top of the seventh, though, as Vince Fernandez led off the inning with a single, scoring two batters later on a double by Robby Witt. Alex Rubanowitz singled through the left side to put runners on the corners, and Dante Chupek doubled down the left field line give UC Riverside a 3-2 lead.

It was still a one-run game heading into the bottom of the ninth, but lead-off hitter Zack Rivera singled off of Dunyon, sending the Highlanders to the bullpen. Keaton Leach got the call, but he walked Brock Lundquist to put runners on first and second. That was the only batter he faced as Ryan Lillie trotted out to the mound in search of his fourth save. After getting a force out at third, Lillie struck out the final two batters of the game to secure the win.

UC Riverside and Long Beach State play game two of their three-game series on Saturday beginning at 2 pm PT.