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At 5 feet 6, Long Beach State’s Clayton Andrews has a stature of no limitations.
Andrews, a left-handed junior, pitched a one-hitter over seven innings to help silence Hawaii in Saturday’s 8-0 baseball victory before a crowd of 2,340 at Les Murakami Stadium.
It was the second consecutive one-sided loss for the Rainbow Warriors in this three-game Big West series. The ’Bows dropped to 25-22 overall and 9-11 in the Big West. In winning for the eighth time in nine games, the Dirtbags improved to 26-27 and 11-9.
“Tip your cap to them,” UH coach Mike Trapasso said. “They were better than us yesterday, better than us today. We need to be better tomorrow. The disappointment is we haven’t been playing well.”
Andrews made a case for his third consecutive Big West pitcher of the week award. He did not allow an earned run for the second start in a row, mixing an 88 mph fastball, arcing change-up and biting slider. Andrews issued three walks — two of them to Eric Ramirez. Andrews did not allow a hit until his 97th pitch, which Adam Fogel smacked into center field.
“I had great pitch calls (from the dugout),” Andrews said. “I didn’t have to shake off at all.”
Andrews entered averaging 1.51 walks and 10.76 strikeouts per nine innings. He struck out seven ’Bows, and threw strikes on 68.5 percent of his 108 pitches.
“I try to go out there and put up zeros for the team,” Andrews said. “I try to go out there and throw strikes and get quick outs. I was able to get ahead (in the counts), and I had great defense behind me.”
Trapasso said Andrews “was the story of the night. Pitching was the story of the night. They had it, we didn’t.”
With three ailing pitchers unavailable, Brody Hagel-Pitt was summoned for his third start. He lasted 31⁄3 innings, allowing six runs, of which five were earned. Eight of the 18 batters he faced reached base.
“He got hit,” Trapasso said of Hagel-Pitt. “He was up in the zone all night long. He couldn’t throw strike one. He was behind the count, and they were sitting fastball and teeing off.”
Andrews, who also batted leadoff, went 2-for-5 and scored a run. As usual, he made contact each plate appearance. Andrews leads the nation in fewest strikeouts (one every 33.2 at bats). Andrews said he once was recruited by UH.
“With everything that was going on, with everything I needed to weigh, Long Beach was the choice,” Andrews said.
The Dirtbags scored the game’s first run in the second inning. Tristan Mercadel hit a two-out drive that right fielder Fogel could not secure on a full sprint. Fogel was charged with a two-base error. Shaq Robinson followed with a run-scoring triple to right-center.
The Dirtbags added two runs in the third to increase their lead to 3-0.
Andrews grounded a single between short and third, then sprinted to third when Brooks Stotler pulled a grounder past first baseman Ramirez for a double. Andrews and Stotler scored on Jarren Duran’s single to center.
The Dirtbags chased Hagel-Pitt in a four-run fourth. Mercadel opened the inning with an opposite-field single to left. Robinson then pulled a grounder past third baseman Ethan Lopez for a double, scoring Mercadel from first.
Joey Sanchez then drew a four-pitch walk. After Santino Rivera popped out on a third-strike bunt attempt — it was credited as a strikeout because it was caught behind the plate — Hagel-Pitt was pulled.
Left-handed freshman Jeremy Yelland induced Andrews to fly out to right, enabling Sanchez to advance to third. Stotler then hit a drive to deep center that eluded the reach of sprinting outfielder Dylan Vchulek. The ball and then Vchulek both ricocheted off the padded wall on what would become Stotler’s three-run, inside-the-park homer.
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