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A new era of Long Beach State baseball begins this weekend as the Dirtbags host Washington for the first three games of the 2024 season under interim coach Bryan Peters.
Peters has been the hitting coach for the last four years under former coach Eric Valenzuela while the Dirtbags broke multiple program records for offensive output. While he still wants to build on that momentum, Peters wants to emphasize Dirtbags history and camaraderie.
“I want to bombard them with Dirtbag-ness,” said Peters. “We’ve had a lot of former players come back and talk to them about that very thing. We want to carry the Dirtbag mentality. We want to honor the tradition here to make our alums and fan base proud.”
There are plenty of new faces around Bohl Diamond at Blair Field, so Peters has also made an effort to connect with the players beyond the baseball field and it’s been noticed by the returning Dirtbags.
“He’s done a lot for me,” said third baseman Ty Borgogno. “Yeah he’s helped me offensively, but more so he’s done a great job bringing the guys together as a team, which I think we lacked last year. That’s going to mean more wins. It’s the vibe. It’s a winning culture and I’m excited for this year.”
“I really enjoy talking to them about leadership and manhood and life after the sport,” said Peters. “It’s about being a winner on and off the field.”
On the mound, the Dirtbags will need to improve after posting a 4.41 ERA last season and they’ll try to do it with a four-man rotation for the first time in years. Nebraska transfer CJ Hood is tabbed as the Friday night starter, local product Myles Patton will take the ball on Saturday, returning sophomore Kellan Montgomery will go Sunday and freshman Josh Donegan is the likely weekday starter.
Hood was injured last year after making 18 appearances with a 4.26 ERA as a freshman at Nebraska. Peters said that Hood has the physical makings with a solid four pitch mix, and they agree the key to success this season is Hood having a confident mentality on the mound.
Patton, who came from Millikan High to record 37 strikeouts and only six walks in 39.1 innings as a Dirtbags freshman, also said his approach to pitching is as important as improving his pitches.
“You’ve got to just charge, you can’t be scared out there,” said Patton. “You’ve got to attack every single hitter.”
Returners like Nathen Morris and newcomers like Mike Villani will be keys in the Dirtbags bullpen that has a lot of versatility and is improving under new pitching coach Jeff Opalewski.
“He really knows how to call a game,” said Donegan of Opalewski. “He’s super new school but mixes in old ways of pitching. He’s really good at creating a strategy to attack every single hitter to use our strengths.”
Senior catcher John Newman, a Los Alamitos native, is a UC Santa Barbara transfer who led the Big West Conference in on-base percentage last season.
“I just think that we have a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things,” Newman said of the pitching staff. “We kind of pitch unconventional, or different than what I’m used to. We have a lot of guys throwing cutters. I just think that’s going to get a lot of ground ball outs.”
“His character just fits with us,” Peters said of Newman. “He’s a ball of energy and people love to be around him. He makes us better.”
The projected starting infield has three familiar faces with Jack Hammond at first base, Nick Marinconz at second base and Ty Borgogno at third base. Marinconz has moved over from shortstop after hitting .268 last season, and that makes a spot for 6’3” freshman shortstop Adrian Lopez. The 6’3” Ganesha High alum was CIF Southern Section Division 7 Player of the Year after hitting .566 as a senior.
Junior Connor Charpiot and sophomore Justin Roulston will both see time in left field and junior Alex Champagne is taking over center field duties while junior Kyle Ashworth moves to right field after playing center last season. Ashworth hit .306 as a sophomore with 33 runs scored and 25 RBI. Champagne was 6-for-6 on stolen bases last season.
“We want to be the most passionate team that plays with ambition and be competitive,” said Peters. “We have a lot of personality and freedom to be ourselves, but I want it to be Dirtbag based. That’s been really important to me.”
Peters added that the city has only helped him feel comfortable for the last four years and now in the interim position.
“There’s something really special and something that tugs at you about Long Beach, the community, the people and the vibe,” said Peters. “Weather takes seventh place and we have flawless weather because there are so many other great things and such great people here.”
The Dirtbags games against Washington this weekend will be at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday before a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.
