LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach State pitching staff combined to strikeout 15 in a 6-2 win over Utah Valley University in the opener of a three-game series on Friday at Blair Field.

Starter Kyle Friedrichs struck out 12 batters without allowing a walk in 7.0 innings of work and Ty Trimble struck out the side in the ninth for the Dirtbags (4-1). The Wolverines (0-5) led 2-0 four batters into the game, but were shutout the rest of the way.

Walks came back to hurt the Utah Valley pitching staff, with four of the six Long Beach State runs reaching base via walk or hit by pitch.

The Wolverines wasted little time getting on the board after Kade Andrus doubled on the first pitch of the game and came in on a Seth Rhineer single. Rhineer scored two batters later on a base hit by Jake Atkinson. UVU would have just three baserunners the rest of the way.
 
Long Beach State scored one run in both the fourth and fifth innings to tie the game at 2-2 before taking the lead for good in the sixth. Garrett Hamson, who walked to lead off the sixth, scored the go-ahead run on a double by Zach Rivera. Rivera also delivered a two-run double in the seventh and finished the game with four RBIs.
 
UVU starter Danny Beddes surrendered four runs (three earned) on four hits but walked five. In the third inning Beddes walked two hitters but escaped any damage by completing the rare feat of picking off consecutive runners at first base. Freshman Marco Briones made his season debut and struck out three in 1.1 innings of work. Briones, who attended high school a few miles up the road at Alhambra, retired the first two hitters he faced via strikeouts.

Friedrichs, who struck out 10 hitters against Michigan in the season opener on Feb. 13, retired 19 of the final 20 batters he faced with only a Jordan Schlehuber single the lone baserunner after the first inning.

The series continues on Saturday with a 2 p.m. PT/3 p.m. MT first pitch.