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A players only meeting on Monday was supposed to set the Long Beach State Dirtbags offense straight.
Over the weekend, they were limited to just six hits and three total runs in the last two games against UC San Diego while getting swept in their Big West Conference opening series.
Simply put, the meeting worked.
On Wednesday, the Dirtbags bounced back and scored a big 10-6 win over visiting Fresno State on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field. LBSU had four doubles and 12 hits.
“We were hungry all week and (the sweep at UCSD) was tough for us and we just wanted to come out strong and score a bunch of runs,” Dirtbags right fielder Joey Walls said. “We just had to regroup and get back to our groove. It’s more physical than mental. It’s being more aggressive in hitters counts and not chasing stuff. We were better with two strikes today.”
Walls drilled a 3-run home run in the third inning to put the Dirtbags up 8-1, and they never led by less than three runs.
“We’re back and we’re going to roll,” Walls added.
Dirtbags first baseman Jonathan Long went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI.
“It’s staying together,” Long said of the message coming out of Monday’s meeting. “When times get bad it’s easy to point the figure. It’s striking together as a group and staying as one. We knew if we just played our game we’d come out on top.”
Rocco Peppi, Nick Marinconz and Kyle Ashworth also posted two-hit nights with Peppi adding two runs scored and two RBI. Ashworth scored three runs.
Unfortunately, the Dirtbags pitching staff didn’t get back on track after giving up 30 runs in three losses at UC San Diego. LBSU sent seven different pitchers to the mound on Wednesday.
LBSU’s Josh Hailey picked up his first win after getting out of a jam in the fifth inning. Kellan Montgomery pitched 1.1 innings to get his second save of the season. Both Hailey and Montgomery had two strikeouts.
“We’ve got to do our part on the mound and get back to playing good baseball,” LBSU coach Eric Valenzuela said. “It’s all hands on deck every night. I told the pitchers (after the game) that if guys don’t establish roles then we’re going to have to piece it together every single game like we did tonight.”
The Dirtbags visit UC Riverside this weekend for a conference series.
