A 5-foot-7, 175-pound catcher smacked a strut-off homer in Long Beach State’s 5-4 baseball victory over Hawaii on the LBSU campus.

A crowd of 1,868 saw Chris Jimenez drive a 2-1 pitch over the fence in center field in the 10th inning to break a 4-all tie. By winning for the second day in a row, the Dirtbags clinch this three-game series to open Big West play. Today’s series finale begins at 10 a.m.

The ’Bows took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Jimenez, who entered as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning, singled to open the ninth. UH catcher DallasJ Duarte threw out Jimenez on a steal attempt. But then Koali‘i Pontes, the third UH pitcher, walked three of the next four batters to load the bases.

Left-handed freshman Harry Gustin was summoned. But Gustin issued back-to-back walks as the Dirtbags tied it at 4. Dalton Renne, who was scheduled to start today, was beckoned to get the final out of the ninth.

The ’Bows stranded two in the top of the 10th.

In the LBSU 10th, Renne struck out Sebastian Murillo on five pitches, bringing up Jimenez. After Renne fell behind 2-1, his next pitch was deposited beyond the fence in center field. It was Jimenez’s third home run in three LBSU seasons and second of this year.

Asked about the game-winning homer, UH coach Rich Hill said, “I’ve been better.”

The outcome diminished several bright moments for the ’Bows. Cole Cabrera, who had been struggling with runners in scoring position, had a two-out single to bring home Jacob Igawa for a 2-0 UH lead in the fourth. Matt Wong pulled a hanging curve for a two-run, 390-foot homer to left in the sixth. With Dirtbags on second and third with two outs in the seventh, Igawa made a diving stop for the third out. This is Igawa’s first season as a first baseman.

And right-hander Cade Halemanu produced his best outing of the season. Halemanu allowed three hits and three walks while striking out five in six innings.

“Cade Halemanu was awesome,” Hill said.

Halemanu was UH’s ace for the first two weeks of the season. A blister on a finger of his right (pitching) hand moved him to the fourth game for the Vanderbilt series. To maintain his schedule, he pitched in the second game against Rutgers and Long Beach State.

Hill said Renne, who was a little tight on Saturday, was the preferred starter for today’s game. “We really didn’t have a choice,” Hill said, referencing Gustin’s control problems. “We had to have Dalton take us home. He got us out of the bases-loaded job in the ninth. He was great, man.”

Renne threw 15 stress pitches, a total that might prevent him from extended work today. Buddie Pindel and Corey Ronin are the top candidates to start today.

The Dirtbags are 10-7 overall and 2-0 in the Big West. The ’Bows fell to 6-12 and 0-2.