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Opening night on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field was a roaring success for the Long Beach State Dirtbags because it felt like Dirtbags baseball.
A boisterous crowd of 2,376 saw the home team use a two-out rally in a five-run seventh inning and some great stuff out of the bullpen to beat Washington 10-5.
“We just play like true Dirtbags,” said LBSU freshman Josh Donegan, who pitched three scoreless innings in relief. “That culture is starting to really come back and we just never give up and just keep fighting and play really hard.”
Dirtbags pitchers CJ Hood, Donegan, Nick Williams and Grant Cherry combined for 15 strikeouts while all but one LBSU position player came around to score.
“I’m really proud of the guys, that was a great crowd and great atmosphere, we’re so happy to get this type of support,” said LBSU coach Brian Peters. “It’s beautiful. It’s a great place to come to work. It was a really fun game for the fans and for the boys, I’m really happy for them.”
Senior second baseman Nick Marinconz got a huge hit as part of the two-out rally in the seventh inning and finished the night with three hits, two RBI and a run scored.
“Our whole offense saw the ball well and that’s a good team win overall,” said Marinconz. “We’re all about team and we work our butts off.”
Marinconz is a returning starter who has been swinging a hot back in practice, but Peters moved him to the eighth spot to help turn the lineup over.
“We moved him to the eight hole, which might seem like a slight to a senior who is hitting so well, but he is so effective down there,” said Peters. “He and (fellow returning outfielder Alex Champagne) down there are electric because it’s like having leadoff guys in the eight and nine hole. I love that they’re humble enough to buy in.”
Champagne and shortstop Adrian Lopez also had a pair of RBIs while designated hitter Cole Santander and new catcher John Newman Jr. each had two hits, an RBI and a run scored. First baseman Jack Hammond was the only Dirtbag to score twice. Most of that came in the decisive seventh inning with two outs.
“That tenacious and relentless style of offense is really big for us,” said Peters. “We’re embodying our brand and our style of play.”
Nebraska transfer CJ Hood got the start and had a very eventful three innings while striking out eight and walking six. In the top of the first inning after a pair of strikeouts looking, Washington used 12 straight balls and a bases loaded single from Michael Brown to take a 2-0 lead.
The Dirtbags responded with three runs in the bottom of the first. Kyle Ashworth led off with a walk and Santander singled before an error got the Dirtbags on the scoreboard. An RBI from Newman Jr. and a slick steal from Jack Hammond gave LBSU a 3-2 lead.
Washington tied it in the top of the third, but again the Dirtbags responded with a run of their own in the bottom half thanks to a leadoff double from Ty Borgogno and RBI from Santander to make it 4-3.
That’s when Donegan came out of the bullpen in relief of Hood (3 IP, 2 H, 3 R) and only gave up one hit in three scoreless innings with three strikeouts. The freshman out of Los Alamitos High School was tabbed as the midweek starter, but Peters called on him to stop the bleeding.
“It’s big league poise from a freshman,” said Peters of Donegan. “We knew that when we recruited him, he was a big game pitcher (at Los Alamitos HS) and he had complete command of his stuff and had command of the game. He knows how to control everything. It was great to see a freshman come into a pretty tight spot and he showed us exactly who he is. We’re really proud of him.”
“In the first college game the nerves are high but I kind of had to get ready as quickly as possible in the bullpen so I didn’t really have time to think about going out there for my college debut,” said Donegan.
The Dirtbags led 5-3 headed to the bottom of the seventh when Hammond sparked the rally with a two-out walk. After Newman Jr. was hit by a pitch and left fielder Connor Charpiot walked to load the bases, Lopez singled up the middle to score two. Marinconz followed that up with an RBI single of his own and then Champagne doubled in a pair for a 10-4 lead.
“The crowd was going wild and it definitely pumped us up,” said Marinconz of the rally.
Pitchers Nick Williams (1 IP, H, 0 R) and Grant Cherry (2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 4 K) closed the game out.
“We had one game, and we pride ourselves on our preparation, so I want to make sure the preparation starts tonight,” said Peters of his postgame talk with his team. “This feeling has to turn into pride to prepare to win again tomorrow.”
The season opening series continues Saturday when Millikan High grad Myles Patton takes the ball for the Dirtbags. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
