LONG BEACH, Calif. - For the first time since 2019 the Highlanders swept a series and for the first time since the 2007 season UC Riverside swept Long Beach State. That according to GoHighlanders.com. Pitching was at a premium for the Highlanders this past weekend as they outscored the Dirtbags 16-6.
Jayden Aviña got the start for UC Riverside in the afternoon tilt at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field. Coming into the game the righty had an 0-2 record, but only threw 11 innings until this point. This afternoon he pitched 1.2 innings and gave up only one run. That run came in the second on a bases loaded walk.
Aviña gave way to Josh Martinez, who in his two innings of work struck out three. In total the Highlanders used six pitchers on the afternoon and combined for six strikeouts.
Marco DiGirolamo earned his first win of the season after pitching two innings and striking out two.
UC Riverside scored first when they put up three in the first inning.
Isaiah Hernandez got things rolling with a double down the left field line scoring
David Gibbs.
Lucas Bonham scored on a ground out by
Jarren Sanderson and the third run came across on a single by
Andrew Rivas, scoring Hernandez. The Highlanders then pushed two more runs across in the second as Sanderson drove in two more on a single to center making it 5-0.
In the top of the fourth
David Whittle hit his first homer of the year on the first pitch he saw making it 6-1. Hernandez followed later in the inning with a sac-fly scoring Gibbs and it was 7-1 UCR.
Long Beach State got one back in the bottom of the seventh to make it 7-2. They had a chance to score in the bottom of the ninth, but
Jaxon Byrd was able to get out of a two out jam.
With the win the Highlanders' conference record improves to 8-10 on the year and head into their mid-week game at LMU winners of five in their last seven. First pitch from LMU is set for 6PM on Tuesday night.
