GAME RECAP: Anteaters Take Series Victory Over Dirtbags with 7-1 Road Win in Long Beach

LONG BEACH, CA – The UC Irvine Anteaters capped off a hard-fought Big West series by claiming the series victory over the Long Beach State Dirtbags with a decisive 7-1 victory Sunday afternoon at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field. UCI improved to 11-16 overall (3-6 Big West) while the Dirtbags fell to 9-18 (4-8 Big West).

Finnegan Wall (2-1) was dominant on the mound for the Anteaters, tossing seven strong innings and allowing just one run on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Jack Ross followed with two clean innings of relief to close out the win. The Anteater pitching staff held the Dirtbags to just seven hits and limited them to a single tally all afternoon.

Long Beach State starter Jason Gerfers (2-2) took the loss after struggling through five innings. He surrendered six runs (four earned) on seven hits and four walks while striking out three. The Dirtbag bullpen kept things from getting completely out of hand but could not mount any offensive momentum.

UC Irvine jumped on top early, plating three runs in the second inning. Auggie Gutierrez scored on an RBI walk, and Rowan Felsch and another runner came home on Zach Doyle’s two-RBI single through the right side. The Anteaters added an unearned run in the third thanks to a Dirtbags error, then pushed across two more in the fifth on Dylan Hillman’s RBI double and one in the sixth via Hillman’s bases-loaded walk.

Doyle finished with two hits and two RBI to pace the UCI attack, which totaled 11 hits on the day. Gutierrez chipped in two hits and scored twice, while Hillman drove in a pair and Zach Fjelstad crossed the plate twice. Frankie Carney, Alonso Reyes, and others added extra-base knocks, including a triple from Felsch.

The Dirtbags’ lone bright spot came in the second inning when Dylan Lina crushed a solo home run to deep left field for their only run of the game. Trotter Enright collected two hits, but Long Beach State could never string together enough offense to challenge Wall and the UCI bullpen.