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In hopes of getting Long Beach State (7-13) out of their recent skid, and snap the Dirtbags’ six-game losing streak, senior center fielder Alex Champagne channeled words of wisdom from an unlikely source.
After reaching base four times and scoring three runs in Long Beach State’s 9-6 comeback win over LMU (12-9) on Tuesday night, Champagne quoted “Kung Fu Panda” to describe the team’s mindset coming into the midweek contest.
“The past is history, the future is a mystery, but today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present,” said Champagne, quoting a wise turtle, Master Oogway. “That’s how we need to approach each and every single day. Forget the past, all we need to focus on is right now. We can’t be looking ahead, it’s just where our feet are.”
Dirtbags head coach TJ Bruce was certainly relieved to be back in the win column, and finally saw his offense bust out of its recent slump. Long Beach scored just twice in their most recent weekend series against Cal Poly, and had gone 20 consecutive innings without scoring before finally breaking through on Tuesday night.
“It’s a little bit of a sigh of relief, in all honesty,” said Bruce. “You’re on this losing streak, and you feel the weight. These guys have the weight, and of course the coaches have the weight. And I thought they took a little bit of a deep breath tonight, and I thought they got back to Dirtbag Baseball, so to speak, playing one pitch at a time. That’s what I thought they did a really good job of today.”
LMU put the Dirtbags on their heels, taking a 4-0 lead in the 4th inning, all while Long Beach was still searching for its first hit. But that’s when Champagne helped turn the tide, leading off the bottom half of the 4th with a drag bunt for a base hit.
That led to a two-run rally, with Luke Taylor delivering an RBI single and later scoring on a throwing error by the Lions. LMU pushed the lead back to 5-2 in the 7th, but the Dirtbags were able to get up off the mat in the bottom half of the inning.
With two outs and the bases clear, Nathan Cadena drilled a solo home run to dead center, cutting the deficit back to two. Champagne immediately followed with a single, one of his three hits on the night, to keep the line moving. After an Armando Briseno single, Dylan Lina hit an RBI double off the LMU third baseman and down the left field line.
The Lions appeared poised to escape the inning with a lead, but a throwing error on a grounder to shortstop allowed a pair of unearned runs to score, giving Long Beach State the 6-5 lead heading to the 8th.
After a 1-2-3 inning from reliever Tyler Gebb, the Dirtbags put together another two-out rally in their half of the 8th. Briseno hit a two-run single through the right side, with Champagne bringing in the third run on an errant throw. LBSU took advantage of four LMU errors on Tuesday, scoring four unearned runs.
The Lions also had six runners thrown out on the bases, including a pair of pickoffs and three runners caught stealing by freshman catcher Efren Ortega. Bruce praised Ortega’s work behind the plate, as well as his bullpen for helping limit the running game.
“I thought our bullpen did a really good job,” Bruce said. “If they can take that presence and that focus and that commitment and conviction, they can pitch in any situation.”
The Dirtbags used a handful of pitchers in the game, and turned to Gebb to get the final six outs, which resulted in his first save of the season.
The visiting Lions smacked four home runs on Tuesday, but they were all solo shots as the Dirtbags were able to limit the damage. Beau Ankeney went 3/4 and had one of those home runs, while JD Dunn had three hits and was a homer shy of the cycle.
While Tuesday’s comeback represents just one win, it can hopefully spark the Dirtbags as they head out on the road to UC San Diego this weekend. Prior to first pitch, it was actually Champagne who delivered the pregame talk to the team instead of Bruce. His message was simple, and revolved around a three-letter mantra: PYG.
“Play your game,” Champagne explained. “With the Dirtbags, it’s a different style of play, and we have to do things a little bit different than some other teams–bunting, hit and run, moving guys over, doing stuff like that. If we can play our game and play to our full potential, good things can happen.”
