LONG BEACH “”mdash; With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Bruin starter Tim Murphy stared down and got the sign from catcher Ryan Babineau. Murphy had just given up a triple to shortstop Danny Espinosa, and now had a full count against designated hitter/pitcher Shane Peterson, searching for that final, elusive out. Murphy got the sign, threw from the stretch and pumped his tired left arm in the air as he saw shortstop Brandon Crawford throw the runner out at first.
The Bruin players on the field and bench swarmed sophomore Murphy, all jubilant after the 7-4 Bruin victory over No. 1-seeded Long Beach State on Sunday night, which earned them a spot in the Super Regionals next weekend.
“I just believed that we could win this regional,” Regional MVP sophomore third baseman Jermaine Curtis said.
“We did struggle at the beginning but the big picture is that it is not in innings. You just have to come out and play every day. We believed in every pitch and got it done.”
As a way of celebrating the tremendous accomplishment of beating all three regional teams at the expansive Blair Field this weekend, the Bruin players and fans erupted into an 8-clap.
“You had four really good teams coming in here on Friday,” junior second baseman Alden Carrithers said.
“Coach said he knew we could pull it off, and we were able to play our game and come out with a win.”
With a 7-3 win against Pepperdine on Friday, and a 3-1 win against Illinois-Chicago on Saturday, the Bruins sat in the driver’s seat on Sunday when they faced host Long Beach State.
The Dirtbags were able to get to Murphy early in the game, going ahead 3-0 in the first inning. Throughout the inning, Murphy struggled with his control and could not find the strike zone. The big blow came with the bases loaded and one out when center fielder Robert Perry drove in two with a double over the head of Bruin right fielder Gabe Cohen.
However, as was the case with senior Tyson Brummett on Friday and freshman Gavin Brooks on Saturday, Murphy put the early struggles behind him and turned in a sharp performance for the Bruins. He tossed the Bruins’ second complete game of the weekend, allowing four runs off eight hits while striking out eight.
“(At first), I was looking too much at the big picture and at results instead of going at it one pitch at a time,” Murphy said.
“My command was a little off and I was rushing through the delivery. Mechanical stuff like that. But you cannot think about (that stuff) on the mound. You just have to compete and correct it.”
The big Bruin comeback began in the third when the Bruins scored two runs off a fielding error by Long Beach right fielder Jason Corder and a run-scoring bunt single by Carrithers.
But the Bruins took the lead in the fifth and never lifted their foot off the gas. Heading into the inning trailing 4-2, the Bruins were in need of a spark on offense. And like he has done so many times this season, Curtis came through. The sophomore spark plug began the inning with a bomb to left that trimmed the Dirtbag lead to one.
The Bruins proceeded to load the bases on a single, a hit by the pitch and a walk. With the bases juiced and no outs, freshman Cohen came to the plate and hit a frozen rope liner over the head of the center fielder, scoring two runners to give the Bruins a 5-4 lead, which they would not relinquish.
“It was a hard fought game,” coach John Savage said.
“We started off rough again, a lot like last night. Murphy really struggled early, but there again, he found his composure and started throwing strikes. We did what we needed to do offensively and kept going at them. It was a great win for our program.”
This year, the Bruins were able to take advantage of playing the tournament in the winner’s bracket. Last year, the Bruins beat UC Irvine 3-2 in the first game, yet were unable to keep the momentum going, as they lost their next two games.
But this year was different. The Bruins won their first game and rode the winner’s bracket to the top of the Long Beach Regional.
The Bruins will advance to the Super Regionals in Fullerton where they will face Cal State Fullerton in a three-game series. Earlier this year, the Bruins lost two out of three to the Titans.