Jarren Duran hit a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning and Long Beach State defeated Texas 4-3 on Sunday to force a deciding game on Monday in the Long Beach Regional.
The top-seeded Dirtbags (40-18-1) fell 5-3 to Texas in 12 innings on Friday night in the double elimination tournament. Long Beach set up a rematch with Texas with a 7-4 victory over San Diego State earlier Sunday. Duran's two-run single sparked five unanswered runs for the Dirtbags.
The winner will face Cal State Fullerton in the Super Regional. The Titans (37-21) beat Stanford 4-2 on Saturday to advance.
Luke Rasmussen scored on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded in the second inning to give Long Beach the early lead. Ramsey Romano added an RBI single in the fifth. Texas (39-23) tied it in the bottom half and both teams added a run in the sixth.
Zak Baayoun (3-0) pitched two innings in relief for the win, and Josh Advocate earned his fifth save.
