February 19, 2010
Pepperdine and Long Beach State Box Score (Feb. 19, 2010) 
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Cole Cook struck out seven batters in as many innings, but was outmatched by fellow right-hander Jake Thompson who went the distance in Long Beach State's 2-1 Opening Night victory Friday before 1,974 fans at Blair Field.
LBSU's (1-0, 0-0 Big West) win snapped Pepperdine's (0-1, 0-0 WCC) Opening Day winning streak at nine.
Despite running into some early troubles, Cook (Los Angeles, Calif./Palisades Charter HS) delivered his sixth quality start in nine attempts dating back to last season and steadily improved as the game progressed.
After allowing 10 runners to reach base through the first five innings, Cook breezed through the Dirtbags' lineup in the sixth and seventh before turning the game over to the bullpen in the eighth. He tossed 96 pitches and issued just one base on balls.
Long Beach leadoff man Brandon Metzger was a thorn in Cook's the side all night, reaching base three times and scoring both Dirtbag runs in the first and third innings. Metzger singled to lead off the game and scored two batters later on Devin Lohman's shot through the left side; then, in the third, he was hit by a pitch and came around on Steve Tinoco's one-hopper to first.
Pepperdine cut Long Beach's 2-0 lead in half on Torrey Jacoby's (Camarillo, Calif./Notre Dame (Ariz.) Preparatory) fielder's choice RBI in the seventh, scoring Colin Rooney (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS) from third. Rooney led off the frame with a hit by pitch, and then advanced to second on Aaron Gates' (Villa Park, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) single before racing to third on Ryan Heroy's (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley HS) sacrifice bunt.
Cook leaned on the defense to help him escape several early-inning jams. Brian Humphries (El Cajon, Calif./Granite Bay HS) tracked down Joey Terdoslavich's warning-track shot to right center in the first; middle infielders Miles Silverstein (Bell Canyon, Calif./Calabasas HS) and Joe Sever (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory) initiated routine double plays to end the fourth and fifth; and in the third, Cook and battery mate Nathan Johnson (Camarillo, Calif./Camarillo HS) baited Jordan Casas into a steal of home only to catch him diving back into third.
With Dirtbags on the corners, Johnson gunned for second base on a pitch out but Cook used his entire 6-foot-6 frame to pick off the throw and trapped Casas in no man's land.
LBSU showcased some leather of its own in the eighth when Casas slid forward on the slick grass in center field to snatch a sinking line drive off the bat of Humphries. That played proved pivotal since Sever would double over Casas' head on the next at bat, but was left stranded at third following Johnson's strikeout.
Thompson finished the game with six punch outs.
The Dirtbags hoped to add a few more insurance runs in the eighth with Cook on the bench, but reliever Keven Inman (Bakersfield, Calif./Garces HS) left two runners stranded after striking out Tinoco and getting Jonathan Jones to fly out to right.
Pepperdine remains on the road Saturday to face No. 4 Cal State Fullerton at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast live over the World Wide Web via Wave Casts at PepperdineSports.com.
Long Beach State 2, Pepperdine 1 (Feb 19, 2010 at Long Beach, Calif.)----------------------------------------------------------------------Pepperdine.......... 000 000 100 - 1 3 0 (0-1)Long Beach State.... 101 000 00X - 2 7 0 (1-0)----------------------------------------------------------------------Pitchers: Pepperdine - Cook, Cole; NAJERA, Alex(8); INMAN, Keven(8) and Johnson, Nate.Long Beach State - Thompson, Jake and Hoime, Kellen.Win-Thompson, Jake(1-0) Loss-COOK, Cole(0-1) T-2:35 A-1974Weather: Clear
