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The Long Beach State Dirtbags improved to 2-0 and won their first series of the season thanks to a thrilling comeback win at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field on Saturday night. They trailed 2-1 for almost the entire game before Cole Santander’s bottom eighth inning double put them in the lead, one that stood up for a 3-2 victory over Washington.
“A late game score like that always sparks things, it’s like getting a shot of adrenaline,” said Dirtbags coach Bryan Peters. “It feels great. We honestly felt comfortable all game long, even though things might not have been going our way.”
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It was a special night for Millikan fans, as Rams alum Myles Patton got the start on the mound and fellow Millikan product Sam DeCarlo was on the field for the Huskies, tonight at third base after starting at second on Friday. There were plenty of navy blue and gold “M” hats in the stands to see the two Rams face off.
It was a shaky start for Patton as he issued a leadoff walk that later came home on a sacrifice fly to right field. DeCarlo was one of three batters Patton walked in the top of the first, including a walk with bases loaded to make it 2-0. Patton got a pair of strikeouts to get out of the first with three runners left on base, limiting the damage to a pair.
Patton locked in after that and struck out 10 on the kind of night he said he dreamed about growing up.
“This is what I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid, getting a nighttime start at Blair here, a great environment, I mean it’s just awesome,” said Patton. “It’s all I could hope for.”
Patton said it was unique to face off in an NCAA game against his high school teammate and friend DeCarlo.
“Going against one of my good friends, somebody I’ve known a long time and somebody I won a ring with on this same field,” he said. “That’s special.”
After falling behind 2-0, the Dirtbags got one of them back in the bottom of the frame, as Ty Borgogno stroked a leadoff single, then took second on a wild pitch and was sacrificed over and home by Santander to cut the lead in half.
Patton settled in in the top of the second and retired the Huskies in order, but the Dirtbags couldn’t do anything with Jack Collins’ two-out single up the middle and it was still 2-1 Washington after two innings. The Huskies got a leadoff single in the top of the third for their third of the game, but Patton recorded two strikeouts including a swinging K of DeCarlo on an inside pitch. The runner advanced to second on a missed throw to first, but Patton fanned DH Kyle Fossum on another inside pitch to get out of trouble.
In the bottom of the third, Alex Champagne drew a leadoff walk and was moved over on a sacrifice groundout, but a sharply-hit lineout to the first baseman by Kyle Ashworth saw Champagne doubled off at second to end the inning.
Patton struck out another pair in the top of the fourth as part of a 1-2-3 inning, bringing his K total to eight after four frames; but the Dirtbags went down in order in the bottom of the frame as well. Patton would depart in the top of the fifth just before facing DeCarlo again, having struck out 10 and allowed the two earned runs, along with four hits. Washington starter Calvin Kirchoff was locked in as well, allowing just two hits and one run through five innings of work.
The score remained fixed through six as both teams’ relief pitchers bore down, and a late winter malaise settled over the crowd of 2,030 at Blair. That was until Connor Charpiot’s smashed left field double with one out in the bottom of the seventh, which brought the crowd to life with the tying run in scoring position. Collins popped up for the second out of the inning, however, and then Adrian Lopez struck out swinging to end the seventh.
There was more action in the bottom of the eighth with two outs after Washington pitcher Sam Boyle plunked Borgogno and he took offense, a sentiment he expressed verbally towards Boyle. That prompted Huskies catcher Colton Bower to follow Borgogno down the line until the home plate ump grabbed him by the shoulder, an exchange that put another charge into the crowd.
Boyle then hit Kyle Ashworth right on the elbow protector to put two on with two outs and the DH Santander up. Washington pulled Boyle and brought in Josh Emanuels to face Santander, who waited out three balls, fouled one back, then smashed a two-out two-RBI double off the left center wall to put the Dirtbags up 3-2.
“Coach gave me the green light to hit 3-0, so I was just looking for something good to hit, something I could catch out front,” said Santander. “I tried to put a good swing on it.”
Santander said he felt like it was a wall shot off the bat, and enjoyed seeing the large crowd going crazy.
“It’s super special to look up and see the crowd like that, they energize us and keep us in the game,” he said.
Emanuels delivered a kidney shot to Jack Hammond to put a second runner on and the third of the inning via HBP. The Dirtbags successfully executed a double steal to put two into scoring position for Justin Roulston, who struck out on a slider to end the inning.
The Dirtbags brought in Mike Villani to close the game out on the mound. Villani struck out Colton Bower on three pitches, got Luke Rohleder to fly out to center, and then closed the game by getting Blake Wilson to ground out at the conclusion of a long battle.
Villani was a classic closer, working at a high tempo and throwing in the low to mid 90s.
“The speed and the tempo that he works, he’s aggressive, he’s like a hunter out there on the mound,” said Peters. “He’s got that closer’s bulldog mentality.”
Villani got the save and Nick Williams the win as part of a shutdown effort from the Dirtbags’ bullpen, with Nick Wallerstedt, Jonathan Largaespada, Williams, and Villani combining for 4.1 innings of scoreless work.
The Dirtbags (2-0) win their first series of the season and will look for the sweep tomorrow at 1 p.m. back at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.
