Ino Patron: Freshman growing up fast

With seventeen freshmen on the 2011 Long Beach State Dirtbags roster, Ino Patron should not feel alone, but his statistics 2/3 of the way through the season suggest the stocky ballplayer is a head above the rest.

           

Patron leads the Dirtbags with a .336 batting average, including three home runs and 19 runs batted in. All that goes without mentioning Patron’s demeanor on the field, which has brought back memories of the hard-nosed style of play that earned the Dirtbags their name.

           

“I think he epitomizes what we’re trying to do and what this program was built on,” Troy Buckley, Dirtbags head coach. “He plays hard and he’s really competitive.”

             

  

Courtesy of Long Beach State Athletics

As of late, the 5’11 freshman has been penciled in as the no. 3 hitter in coach Troy Buckley’s lineup due to his production. Before the season, Patron was in a position battle with fellow freshman Jeff Yamaguchi for the starting first base job that has brought the two closer. 

             

“I like a good challenge so if you want to be the best you have to compete against the best,” Patron said. “We grew really tight because of [the competition] and now we cheer each other on. Same thing when I was younger, I was always playing with older players so I’ve always been battling.”

           

Even though Patron leads the Dirtbags in nearly every offensive statistic, he was lightly recruited out of Granada High School in Livermore, California.

           

“If I [didn’t come here to play] I would have gone to a junior college,” said Patron. “This has been the school I’ve wanted to come since I was little. The second I got the call I wanted to come [to Long Beach].”

             

Buckley is being rewarded for taking a chance on the undersized Patron. It would be safe to assume that many other Division 1 college baseball programs did not seriously recruit Patron because of his size. He is listed at 5’11, but he is no more than 5’9, although he plays like a player much bigger.

             

“He may not always look the part, but he’s definitely someone you want to [play] with,” Buckley said.

             

Traditionally, first basemen are well above the 6’0 mark, but Patron breaks that trend. According to the roster, only junior Brent Tani and senior Matt Hibbert would be shorter than Patron.

           

Despite his size Patron doesn’t back down from anyone. Before the season began Buckley had the team play an intrasquad scrimmage. In Patron’s first at-bat against junior Andrew Gagnon, the best pitcher on the ‘niners roster and top draft prospect, he took a fastball to deep centerfield. Unfortunately, while that hit would have been a home run in just about every other baseball park, Blair Field’s vastness turned it into a long fly ball out. Nonetheless, that moment showcased Patron’s fearlessness against well-known talent.

             

As good as Patron has been for the Dirtbags they still sit three games behind conference leader no. 12 Cal State Fullerton. With 12 games down and another 12 to go in conference play, the Dirtbags still have a chance to surge up the standings.

             

Hopefully, for the Dirtbags, Patron can lead them to their first Big West title since 2008.

Season Review up to April 27

Sitting in fourth place in the Big West Conference standings through two-thirds of the way through the 56-game season has to have Long Beach State baseball head coach Troy Buckley in good spirits.

In just Buckley's first year at the helm, his goal was to be able to compete for a Big West Conference title, which is no easy task when you consider the plethora of new faces on the roster. Not to mention, the nationally-ranked programs in UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton standing in the Dirtbags' way of capturing the conference crown.

However, Buckley's team is turning what once seemed to be a rebuilding year into a respectable season with 22 new players.

According to Boyd's World, a website dedicated to college baseball ratings, analysis and occasional opinion, the Dirtbags' schedule was tabbed in the preseason to be the third most difficult in all of college baseball. The Dirtbags have registered an overall record of 19-18 to go with a 6-6 mark in conference play.

Sure, sitting one game above .500 isn't that impressive at first glance, but when you take into account what the Dirtbags have accomplished given their youth, there appears to be a promising future.

LBSU opened the season against the then-No.8-ranked CSUF and won one of three games. However, the Dirtbags lost the other two contests by a combined two runs.

Three weeks later, LBSU faced the University of Oregon and took two of three games — a worthy achievement considering the Ducks were the No.15 team in the nation at the time.

Despite their offensive struggles, the Dirtbags' current record can be seen as a welcoming sign when last year's squad, which finished in last place in the conference at 23-32, left something to be desired.
That was a distant place from where it should have finished with such a talent-rich roster. After all, eight players from last year's team were chosen in the 2010 Major League Baseball first-year player draft.
Standing out for the Dirtbags this season has been Friday night starter Andrew Gagnon, closer Eddie Magallon, center fielder Brennan Metzger and freshman designated hitter Ino Patron.

Gagnon has cemented himself as a potential top draft pick this upcoming June by facing some of the toughest pitchers on the west coast and compiling a solid stat sheet in the process.

The 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher has battled his way to a 4-5 record through 10 starts — six of which came against ranked opponents. But the most glaring statistic is his 1.93 earned run average, which leads all starting pitchers in the Big West.

Over 65 1/3 innings pitched, Gagnon has allowed just 14 earned runs to go with 63 strikeouts.
MLB scouts have become regulars behind the plate during Gagnon's outings, which is an indication that he has garnered the attention of many at the next level.

As for the bullpen, prior to the start of the season, Buckley was uncertain of who would close out games for the Dirtbags, but he may have found that answer for the next couple years in Eddie Magallon.

The sophomore has already compiled eight saves in 15 appearances — a year after failing to register any.
The Dirtbags pitching staff has combined for a 3.29 ERA, which ranks fourth in the Big West. Not bad for a staff that boasts seven freshmen and two junior college transfers, including Saturday starter Shawn Stuart.
As for the Dirtbags offense, Patron has spearheaded LBSU's offensive production with a batting average that has steadily risen to .331 over the course of the season.

Last weekend, Patron added to his resume with his first three home runs of his collegiate career, one on Friday and two on Sunday in a three-game series against UC Santa Barbara.

The freshman also leads the team in six major offensive categories, including batting average, hits (42) home runs (3), and ranks second in RBIs (18) and runs scored (18). His name is certainly one to watch for as he progresses and matures physically.

Another bright spot for the Dirtbags has been the relentless defensive attack of Metzger, who has taken on any ball hit within a 100 feet of him in the outfield.

Whether it's a diving catch after chasing down a shallow fly ball, or snagging a deep drive at the warning track, Metzger has given the fans at Blair Field a reason to stand on their feet.
Metzger has also set the tone at the top of the lineup as well, posting a .357 on base percentage, which ranks second team among starters.

For the Dirtbags to reach the postseason, they would have to step up their overall level of play. In the Big West, the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament is awarded to the regular-season conference champion. With CSUF, UCI and Cal Poly ahead of the Dirtbags in the conference standings, LBSU faces a daunting task.

Fortunately for the Dirtbags, though, they have yet to play all three teams in conference play and are just three games back of the first-place Titans in the Big West standings.

Given LBSU's potential for success, Buckley's goal to compete for a Big West title isn't out of the realm of possibility just yet.

Pitcher's duel against UC Riverside

Pitching was the strong suit Friday night at Blair Field as the Long Beach State Dirtbags took down the UC Riverside Highlanders for a 1-0 victory. Long Beach pitchers Andrew Gagnon, Eddie Magallon and Branden Pinder led the way throwing 12 shut out innings.

For the Highlanders, starting pitcher Matt Andriese was just as impressive holding a no-hit bid up until the seventh inning. He went on throw ten shut-out innings allowing three hits. 

"[There was] good pitching on both sides," Dirtbags head coach Troy Buckley said. "Our goal was to get as many ground ball outs as possible. [Gagnon] was able to get a couple of secondary pitches over for strikes. When he's able to do that he can pitch backwards at times."

The Dirtbags produced their game-clinching run in the bottom of the 12th inning when infielder Ino Patron singled off Highlanders relief pitcher Dylan Stuart. Mike Marjama then put down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Patron over to second. The next batter up, Matt Duffy, then took a Stuart pitch up the middle for a single. UCR center fielder Tony Nix came up throwing, but it was too late as Patron had scored the game's lone run.

Courtesy of Capes homepage

Tuesday game with San Diego State

Returning home after their three game series with the Pacific Tigers the Long Beach State Dirtbags were looking for an easy mid-week win against the visiting San Diego State Aztecs.

The Aztecs came into Blair Field with a 9-20 record, a record that warranted suspicious looks. When you consider their head coach is none other than San Diego Padres legend Tony Gwynn, you'd expect something better. However, it has been a rebuilding year for the Aztecs.

With a win expected the Dirtbags went to work against Aztecs starter Craig Rasmussen. While Rasmussen didn't last long he did keep the LBSU bats quiet, giving up only one hit. Little did both teams know there would he a combined 13 pitchers used throughout the Tuesday contest. Freshman Jake Stassi started for the 'Niners, but he to had a short leash, lasting only three innings.

Rightfielder Juan Avila provided the Dirtbags offense with two runs batted in.

"My [approach] was off so [me and LBSU hitting coach Sean Gilbert] worked on it and it clicked," Avila said. "I'm seeing the ball a lot better now."

Overall, the pitching was above average the entire night, for both teams. Fortunately, for the home team they came out on top, 3-1.

The Dirtbags first got on the board in the fifth inning, putting two runs on the board against Aztecs relief pitcher Mike Hatchedorian. They would later add another run in the seventh inning.

SDSU would score a run of their own in the eighth inning off of pitcher Nate Underwood, but the game had already been decided.

Anderson keeps the Dirtbags at bay

Just one week after being named Big West Pitcher of the Week, Long Beach State pitcher Andrew Gagnon was bested by pitcher Tyler Anderson and the Oregon Ducks, 5-0.

 Courtesy of Mark Ylen/Democrat-Herald

Anderson, who is expected to be a first-round pick this coming MLB draft, went eight shutout innings, striking out 14 and walking three.

Gagnon, meanwhile, gave up only one earned run in five innings yet continuously found himself in trouble, giving up five walks. The Dirtbags’ right-hander allowed two or more runners on base in every inning, but the first inning.

"They got [Andrew’s] pitch count up and he didn’t do a very good job of keeping the ball down”, said Troy Buckley, LBSU head coach. “[Andrew] made some pitches when he needed to, but [Oregon] made him work.

Anderson mowed down the Dirtbags, allowing only six hits while giving up no runs.

“[Anderson] pitched good”, said Buckley. “I thought [Anderson’s] change up allowed him to do some things.
He got ahead with the fastball and we chased a lot of pitches.”

The closest the dirtbags came to scoring was in the fifth inning when LBSU utility player Ino Patron singled to start off the inning. Shortstop Kirk Singer followed with a single to left field where both Patron and Singer advanced one base due to a bad throw. The Ducks’ Anderson followed that up by striking out three out of the four next Dirtbags batters. The only non-strikeout was the intentional walk to LBSU centerfielder Brennan Metzger. 

The Ducks scored four of their five runs in the eighth inning when the Dirtbags committed two errors. Utility player Johnny Bekakis misplayed a ball in right field hit by Ducks’ outfielder Aaron Jones with the bases loaded that allowed all runners to score. Dirtbags infielder Matt Duffy then fumbled the next hit ball to allow Jones to trot across the plate to push the score 5-0 in favor of the Oregon Ducks.

Overall, the Dirtbags committed three errors with the other coming in the fourth inning on a Jeff McNeil miscue. Ducks second baseman Danny Pulfer hit a ground ball right to McNeil who couldn’t handle it and it went into right field.

“The miscues you have to stop so you can give yourself a chance to win [the ballgame] we didn’t stop”, Buckley said.

Patron led the Dirtbags’ offense going 2 for 2 and one walk.

Series with Pacific

Continuing their road trip, the Long Beach State Dirtbags took two of three from the University of Pacific Tigers this past weekend.

In the first game of the series the 'niners absolutely demolished the Tigers by the score of 20-0. This offensive outburst is something you don't see ever from this line-up. Second baseman Matt Duffy led the Dirtbags offense by driving in seven runs. Third baseman Mike Marjama had four runs batted in as well.

As for the pitching end, Andrew Gagnon held down the Pacific line-up, shutting them out over seven innings. The tall righty struck out eight batters, while only giving up three hits.

The Dirtbags split the next two games with the Pacific Tigers. Branden Pinder followed up Gagnon's strong pitching performance the day before with one of his own. Pinder went six innings, yielding only two earned runs. Pitchers Matt Johnson, Ryan Strufing, and Eddie Magallon came in in the later innings for the 'niners to keep the Tigers at bay.

Photo by Pacific Alumni Association

With the success of the first two games Long Beach looked to come away with a series sweep of the Tigers, yet left one game short. Closer Eddie Magallon gave up three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lose it for the Dirtbags. This was rather uncharacterisitic as he has been nothing but solid for Long Beach all season.

One highlight of the dayt was when little-used utility player Brent Tani contributed to the score with his first home run for the black and yellow.