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The Long Beach State Dirtbags got everything they wanted from their opening series win over visiting Wichita State on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field. They got to solidify their ace pitcher, win a close game, go deep into their bench and bullpen all while finding success.
“Just like my old boss at San Diego State, Tony Gwynn, used to say, ‘You have no idea until you put them in the game’ because you can have all the intrasquad scrimmages you want, but you never know,” LBSU coach Eric Valenzuela said.
New Friday night starting pitcher Graham Osman tossed a gem to win the season opener, and then Rocco Peppi hit a 2-run walk off home run on Saturday night to take the series. A big third inning helped the Shockers salvage a high-scoring game on Sunday.
“I’m proud of a lot from this weekend,” Valenzuela said. “We got to play three different games. It was a good weekend to help us learn how to be a better baseball team. Early in the season we’re going to give a lot of guys opportunities, especially on the mound where we have a lot of unproven guys. I think we have the makings of a club that can be pretty good.“
The roster may be full of new faces with 34 new players, but it looked like classic Dirtbags on Friday night.
Osman pitched a seven-inning gem and the Dirtbags took an early lead on their way to a 2-0 opening night victory over Wichita State in front of a crowd of 2,511.
“It was an awesome and super electric atmosphere,” Osman said. “I was just super happy to be out there and be the one to kick us off for the season. I think we did a really good job of setting the tone.”
Osman, a redshirt junior transfer from Arizona State, struck out eight while allowing just three baserunners on one hit and a walk. He was also named Big West Pitcher of the Week.
“Osman was really really good,” Valenzuela said. “I’m proud of him for doing that on his first night in a Dirtbags uniform. For him to come out and do that to a very offensive club is great to see.”
The game took only two hours and eight minutes because of quick work from Osman and Wichita State starter Clark Candiltti.
“I like to work fast,” Osman said. “I think that’s where I’m most comfortable. I just tried to keep that up the entire time and it worked to my favor.”
Osman only needed 75 pitches to get through seven innings and 53 of those were strikes.
“I started with my fastball in the first two innings, then we decided to start flipping some sliders in there and it was working so we stuck with that,” Osman said of keeping it simple on the mound.
“I could’ve sent him back out (for the eighth inning) but we’ve got a whole bullpen and you’ve got to trust these guys, and we have to see what we’ve got,” Valenzuela said of pulling Osman.
Ethan Clough and Josh Haley came out of the LBSU bullpen to finish the shutout. Haley struck out one and picked up the save. Dalton Ponce, Will Levine and Kellan Montgomery also had great appearances out of the bullpen over the weekend.
The Dirtbags took a lead with two outs in the bottom of the first inning when left fielder Rocco Peppi doubled off the third baseman’s glove. He finished the weekend with six hits and five RBI.
“I was just looking for a pitch to drive, I got to two strikes and he flipped me one and I got a good piece of it down the line and I got a double and I was fired up,” Peppi said.
Peppi screamed back at the Dirtbags dugout in celebration, and the crowd responded in kind.
“He’s our energy and our fire,” Valenzuela said of Peppi. “He’s had a lot of experience and we’re counting on those guys heavily.”
Jonathon Long came up next and also delivered a two-strike, two-out hit to left field to drive in Peppi.
In the fifth inning, Dirtbags newcomers Jashia Morrissey-Jakel and Alex Champagne led off with back-to-back singles into center field. Nick Marinconz was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Peppi drove home a run with a sacrifice fly.
Long and Champagne each had a pair of hits, and the transfer second baseman Champagne reached base three times from the leadoff spot.
Peppi provided the drama and emotion again on Saturday night when he hit a 2-run walk off home run, and the celebration video filmed from the Dirtbags dugout went viral online.
LBSU starter Nico Zeglin was also great in his debut with five scoreless innings and eight strikeouts on Saturday.
The Dirtbags started last season with an impressive series win but then stumbled to a disappointing finish. Valenzuela thinks that’s a good lesson for this new team.
“(Last year) when you go to Mississippi State, the defending National Champions, and you beat them two out of three that can be poison to you just focusing on results and winning,” Valenzuela said. “That can’t be the focus in baseball. These guys have done a much better job of talking about good baseball. We’re just not focused on the results and that’s what it comes down to. The enemy is the scoreboard. If we play good baseball we’re going to win a lot of games.”
The Dirtbags host Seattle this weekend.
Women’s Basketball
Long Beach State trailed Hawaii by one with one second remaining in regulation when Courtney Murphy drew a foul and sank both free throws to give the Beach their first road win, 48-47, over the Rainbow Wahine since 1995. LBSU also extended its winning streak to 12 games.
The Beach (19-7, 14-2 Big West) have now won 14 games in The Big West, the most since LBSU went 15-3 in conference action during the 1990-91 season. Additionally, Long Beach State’s 12-game winning streak is the longest such streak since the program strung 13-straight wins together during the 1986-87 season.
Malia Bambrick played all 40 minutes of action and finished with 12 points on 60 percent shooting (6-10). Kianna Hamilton-Fisher finished with nine points, while Tori Harris added eight, and Ma’Qhi Berry recorded seven. Berry also led the team with eight rebounds, while adding three assists and three steals. Hamilton-Fisher also chipped in three assists and three steals.
The Beach hosts UC Santa Barbara on Thursday.
Men’s Basketball
LBSU roared to life with a massive charge late, tying the game at 66 in the closing minutes, but Hawai’i was able to do just enough to hold off the Beach in the end 70-67. AJ George led the way for LBSU with a career-high 20 points.
The Beach visits UC Santa Barbara on Thursday.
Softball
Pitcher Shannon Haddad went the distance and LBSU got key RBIs from Emily Salazar and Mikayla Ceballos to finish its own Wilson Invitational with a 2-1 victory over Louisiana-Monroe. Haddad struck out a season-high six batters and scattered three singles on the way to her third complete game of the season.
LBSU 17th year coach Kim Sowder becomes just the fourth coach in Big West history to reach the 500 win plateau, joining Pete Kolze, Judi Garman and LBSU legend Pete Manarino.
The Beach is at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic this week to take on No. 14 Washington, Utah Valley, BYU, Missouri and Arizona State.
Men’s Volleyball
Setter Aidan Knipe led No. 4 LBSU to a .500 attack percentage as the Beach cruised to a 25-19, 25-13, 25-13 sweep over NJIT on Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid.
Knipe’s solid passing over the last two matches guided the Beach (8-2) to a .457 clip against NJIT (5-7) which was limited to just .093 against LBSU. In addition to Long Beach’s solid hitting, the Beach defense was unstoppable again as they posted 13.0 total team blocks and forced the Highlanders into a negative attack percentage (-.014).
The Beach hosts No. 11 Ball State on Friday.
