BAKERSFIELD, Calif. \u2014 Long Beach State was limited to six hits Friday night as Cal\u00a0State\u00a0Bakersfield claimed a 3-0 win in the series opener, snapping the Dirtbags’ three-game winning streak and handing them their first shutout loss of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
Long Beach State threatened in the first when Jake Evans<\/a> doubled to right-center with one out, but Cal State Bakersfield’s starter Ryan King stranded him there with consecutive outs to end the inning. In the bottom half, the Roadrunners took advantage of a leadoff walk, and a failed pickoff attempt that moved Jacob May into scoring position. Devon Wilkes drove in the game’s first run with a groundout to second before Elgin Bennett added a two-out solo home run to right field for a 2-0 lead.<\/p>\n The Dirtbags created one of their best scoring chances in the third when Conner Stewart<\/a> singled, advanced on Ty Borgogno’s<\/a> sacrifice bunt and moved to third on Trevor Goldenetz’s<\/a> single to center. Goldenetz then stole second to put two runners in scoring position, but King escaped with back-to-back strikeouts to keep Long Beach State off the board.<\/p>\n Long Beach State put two aboard again in the fourth when Matt Toomey<\/a> singled down the left-field line and Aaron Perez<\/a> followed with a single to right field, but Bakersfield ended the inning with a pickoff at first base before the Dirtbags could capitalize.<\/p>\n On the mound, Caleb Anderson<\/a> kept the Dirtbags within reach through 6.2 innings. The right-hander allowed three runs on seven hits while generating 10 ground-ball outs. Cal State Bakersfield added its final run in the fifth after Evan Cloyd doubled to right-center and Wilkes followed with a two-out RBI double down the left-field line to make it 3-0.<\/p>\n Long Beach State’s final push came in the seventh when Matt Toomey<\/a> was hit by a pitch to open the inning and moved to second after Conner Stewart<\/a> reached on a shortstop error following Aaron Perez’s<\/a> flyout to center. With two aboard and one out, Cal State Bakersfield turned to Jacob Gutierrez out of the bullpen, and after Reid Montgomery<\/a> lifted a sacrifice\u00a0fly ball to center, Gutierrez struck out Trevor Goldenetz<\/a> swinging to end the game.<\/p>\n