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.
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