LONG
BEACH, Calif. �€" Long Beach
State�€™s Chris Nelson scored the winning run in
the bottom of the ninth as the 49ers downed Oral Roberts
University, 8-7, in front of 1,157 fans at Blair Field on Friday
night.
LBSU
�€˜s (16-11) Nelson scored the winning run after
Erik Crichton (Seal Beach, Calif.) walked Matt
Cline on a full count with the bases loaded. Nelson started the
ninth with a pinch-hit single off reliever Michael
Jarman (Stigler, Okla.).
For the
first time since March 22 against California, the Golden Eagles
(15-14) scored the first run in a road game by scoring three in the
top of the third to take a 3-0 lead.
Adam Younger (Cape Coral, Fla.) scored the first
run for the Golden Eagles after Long Beach
State�€™s Manny McElroy pitch got past the
catcher allowing Younger to score. Kelly
Minissale (Murphy, Texas) and Jake
Kahaulelio (Windsor, Calif.) each knocked in runs in the
inning.
The
49ers rallied in the bottom of the frame to knot the game at 3-all.
Long Beach State loaded the bases off starter Jeremy
Hefner (Perkins, Okla.), who was untouched in the first
two innings. Brandon Godfrey appeared to single to left field but
the ball got past leftfielder Stephen Pearson
(Petaluma, Calif.) and rolled all the way to the wall to score all
three runs and allow Godfrey to reach third.
Pearson
made up for his mistake in the next frame as he led off
the fourth inning with a opposite field home run. Tyler
Warmerdam (Lodi, Calif.) knocked in David
Genao (Newark, N.J.) with his third double of the year.
Warmerdam was plated by Younger�€™s single to
center field as ORU built a 6-3 advantage.
Long
Beach answered in the bottom of the fourth with two runs to cut
ORU�€™s lead to 6-5.
Chad Rothford (Fresno, Calif.) hit a double off
the wall in right field and scored ORU�€™s
seventh run after Pearson�€™s RBI single.
A pair
of run scoring singles by the 49ers in the bottom of the seventh
tied the game at 7-7.
Hefner
finished his night with seven complete innings of work. The right
hander allowed seven runs, although only four of them were earned,
on nine hits and struck out two.
The
Golden Eagles scored their most runs in a road game since ORU put
up seven runs against Baylor on Feb. 24.
Pearson
paced the Golden Eagle attack with a 2-for-4 effort and two RBI in
his first start in left field.
Jarman
(2-4) went 1.1 innings allowing three hits and striking out
one.
Long
Beach State used seven different pitchers with Brian Shaw (3-2)
getting credit for the victory.
ORU and
Long Beach State will conclude the series tomorrow at 3 p.m.
central time.
-ORU-
