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By the time Long Beach State (10-22, 5-11 Big West) was able to stop the bleeding on Friday night against Cal State Fullerton (16-16, 10-6), the damage had already been done.

The visiting Titans scored four times in each of the first two innings, led by double-digits after three, and cruised from there in a dominant 10-0 win over the Dirtbags.

“I think you’re just trying to grab anything you can, really,” said Dirtbags head coach TJ Bruce after his team’s sixth loss in their last seven games. “The freebie war is kind of the story of the game. We gave up, I think 21 free 90 feet, that’s just really hard to overcome. And then on top of that, just freebies in general, we gave them 11 and they gave us one. So that just becomes a really tough uphill battle for any group to overcome.”

Senior Caleb Anderson got the start for LBSU and was unable to make it out of the second inning. He allowed three runs and three walks in the first, then four more hits in the second before he was pulled with one out in the inning.

Ka’imi Kahalekai did yeoman’s work out of the Dirtbags bullpen and was easily one of the bright spots for Long Beach. He hit the first batter he faced and allowed both his inherited runners to score, but one was via error. After allowing a two-run homer to Fullerton’s Paul Contreras in the third, Kahalekai locked in from there, getting all the way through the 7th inning without allowing another run to help save the LBSU bullpen.

“Kaimi, we lengthened him out today, and he kept the bullpen intact. I think that’s one thing that maybe people outside the dugouts don’t see all the time,” said Bruce of his sophomore right-hander. “He had a little hiccup, right? He gave up the home run. And then after that, he kind of settled in. I think that’s really good for his confidence, personally. And so we kept checking in with him, and he kept feeling good. So we just kept running him out there.”

Kahalekai set a new career high with 5.2 innings pitched–extra impressive since his previous season high was just one inning. His 98 pitches also blew his previous high of 33 out of the water.

There weren’t a ton of offensive bright spots for the Dirtbags throughout the night as Fullerton ace Mikiah Negrete tossed seven shutout innings, scattering three hits and striking out five.

Sophomore Matt Toomey and freshman Damon Valdez each had a pair of hits for the Dirtbags, who had some notable changes in their lineup. Freshman outfielder and leadoff man Trevor Goldenetz was held out of the starting lineup for the first time all season, while senior Camden Gasser received his first start in a month manning second base.

Bruce said that Goldenetz is “battling some things” and his status for tomorrow’s game is “up in the air” as the coaching staff monitors him and several other players on the roster.

Meanwhile, Fullerton’s leadoff man, Nick Miller, reached safely in all six trips to the plate, going 4-for-4 with a double, three runs scored, a walk, and a hit by pitch. Cameron Kim, Ty Thomas and Andrew Kirchner each had two hits for the Titans, who totalled 12 hits as a team and worked six walks.

Both Bruce and Fullerton head coach Jason Dietrich had an animated conversation during the postgame handshake. That followed some chirping from both teams in the ninth inning, when each side had a batter hit by a pitch.

These bitter rivals will be back in action on Saturday night at 6 p.m. on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.