LONG BEACH, Calif. - UC Riverside fell to the Long Beach State Dirtbags, 13-1, in the first of three games scheduled in this weekend's Big West matchup at Blair Field. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The Dirtbags lit up the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI single, followed by a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning to bring their lead up to 2-0. 
• Another Dirtbag single scored in the fourth to give LBSU a three-run advantage, as Highlander bats struggled to make a dent in the Dirtbag's defense. 
• In the fifth inning, Cole Koniarsky put the Highlanders on the board, reaching on an error that scored Rudy Rodriguez, on base from a walk. 
• A two-run homer and an RBI-double extended Long Beach State's lead in the fifth.
• Long Beach tacked on a run in both the bottom of the sixth and seventh inning, to lead 8-1. They ran away with it in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI-single and a grand slam to surge ahead 13-1 before UC Riverside could get out of the inning.

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS 

• Bubba Rocha and Anthony Mata made up half of the Highlanders hits for the evening with a pair of doubles. 

UP NEXT 

• UC Riverside is back at Blair Field tomorrow for game two. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+.