Rainbows welcome reeling Dirtbags for home series

Two Big West baseball teams in different modes and moods — Hawaii and Long Beach State — meet in a three-game series beginning tonight at Les Murakami Stadium.

UH is seeking to continue a self-described “rhythm” in which it has scored nine or more runs in five consecutive games (for the first time since 1987), pitched to a 3.54 ERA against Division I opponents, and turned a nation’s best 31 double plays. The Rainbow Warriors’ 21-6 overall record is their best 27-game start since 1992. Noting D1baseball.com projected the ’Bows as a Regional qualifier, coach Rich Hill mused, “OK, let’s end the (regular) season today.”

But Hill acknowledged a daunting schedule ahead in which the ’Bows will follow this series with an eight-game, two-week road trip.

While the ’Bows are enjoying the good times, LBSU (10-16, 4-8 in Big West) is seeking a return to the good ol’ days when the Dirtbags qualified for the NCAA Tournament 20 times between 1989 and 2017. They appeared in the College World Series four times during that span.

“As we know, Long Beach State has really fallen in conference,” LBSU coach TJ Bruce said. “That’s no secret.”

Bruce said he is trying to mesh the foundation that former LBSU coach Dave Snow created in 1989 with adjustments to college baseball’s evolving style and rules.

“Getting that Dirtbag mentality back,” Bruce said. “The culture is, first and foremost, how we do that. Part of how we do it is elite preparation. And that’s really how Dave Snow started this in 1989, and something we pride ourselves on. We feel that’s part of the process, as well. The other part is playing the game the right way.”

Bruce has assembled a pitching plan of innings-eater Kellan Montgomery tonight, the tandem of Jake Fields and Ka‘imi Kahalekai on Saturday, and Owen Geiss on Sunday.

“I think he’s been on the wrong side of some lack of offensive production at times,” Bruce said of Montgomery. “What he’s done is given us a chance to win games. We have 10 wins, and he has five of them on Fridays.”

Pitching coach Rolando Garza was the Tampa Bay Rays’ minor league pitching coordinator for four years through 2023.

Outfielders Alex Champagne, who began his career at Arizona State, and Kyle Ashworth are the Dirtbags’ most productive hitters. Shortstop Armando Briseno is the infield leader. But Bruce, who was hired last June, is Champagne’s fourth head coach and Ashworth’s third.

“As we all know in life, change is really hard,” Bruce said. “When you’re somebody’s fourth head coach and he has to get used to another system, that’s a big deal. … (Champagne is) such a professional player in terms of his approach to the game, his approach to the day, his approach at the plate, and his approach in (batting practice).”

LBSU has won three of four and averages more than 2,000 fans a night. “Dirtbag baseball is a national brand,” Bruce said. “Everybody knows what a Dirtbag is. Everybody knows what the logo means.”

Hill, who has faced the Dirtbags several times through the years, said: “Coach Snow really invented (a successful culture). He had this great mentality. It was a real thing. I’m sure they’d like to get back to that mind-set, that culture. And I think they’re on their way. … I thought this would happen, (that) they would really start to improve as the season goes. Good coaches do that with their teams.”

The ’Bows have been on a roll, winning nine of 10 overall and 11 in a row at home. They are hitting .350 with two outs and .366 with runners in scoring position. First baseman Ben Zeigler-Namoa is batting .340 in 12 Big West games. Center fielder Matthew Miura is hitting .600 (15-for-25) with nine walks in the past seven games. Kamana Nahaku is 11-for-18, scoring 11 runs and driving in 14, in the past five games.

Nahaku, who grew up in Auburn. Wash., hit two home runs in two seasons at Tacoma Community College. Used mostly for his defense and pinch running, Nahaku batted .176 with no extra-base hits in 19 plate appearances last year.

As part of the offseason development plan, Nahaku was put on a strength-building regimen — he gained 10 pounds — and assigned to play summer ball for the Victoria HarbourCats of the West Coast League. The intent was twofold: Victoria is 144 miles from Nahaku’s family home, and most collegiate summer leagues use wooden bats.

“You can’t make a mistake,” Hill said of using a wooden bat. “It really helps you learn the strike zone. You can’t break bats and get (jammed) and hit off the end of the bat. It’s just a lot fewer mistakes. They’re heavier. It exposes what you need to work on.”

On his summer ball experience, Nahaku said: “It think it just gave me a little more confidence. I found success there and was able to bring it back here to the ’Bows and find success on this field.”