Loren Hibbs scores 1st win as Shockers baseball coach, as Wichita State tops Long Beach

It wasn’t the series win desired, but the Wichita State baseball team didn’t leave California empty-handed in the opening weekend of the season.

The Shockers pounded out 11 runs in the first three innings of Sunday’s series finale, capturing an 11-6 victory over Long Beach State at Blair Field.

It was the first WSU win for interim head coach Loren Hibbs, who had 819 career victories under his belt in a 27-year career at Charlotte, but none before at his alma mater.

Hibbs was a star player for WSU from 1982-84, then served as an assistant coach under Gene Stephenson from 1985-92. After a nearly three-decade run at Charlotte, Hibbs returned to WSU in the summer of 2019 as the program’s director of operations under former head coach Eric Wedge. When Wedge and WSU parted ways this past fall, Hibbs was promoted to interim head coach for this season.

Here’s the recap from WSU baseball’s season-opening series on the 2023 schedule:

Game 1: Long Beach State wins 2-0

Wichita State’s offense was muted to just a pair of hits in a season-opening shutout loss on the road.

WSU starter Clark Candiotti, a junior college transfer, pitched well in his debut, allowing two runs in four-plus innings of work, but was dealt the loss. Caden Favors, a junior left-hander, closed out the game with four strikeouts in four scoreless innings of relief work.

The best scoring opportunity of the game for the Shockers arose in the eighth inning when Seth Stroh roped a pinch-hit double and moved to third base on a groundout. A walk by Kyte McDonald put the game-tying runner on base with two outs, but Brock Rodden popped out in foul territory to end the threat. WSU was set down in order in the ninth inning.

Game 2: Long Beach State wins 6-5

The Shockers appeared to be on the verge of a Saturday night win when Rodden laced a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the ninth inning. But the Dirtbags would walk it off just minutes later when Rocco Peppi blasted the game-winning, 2-run home run just over the left field fence off WSU reliever Robert Cranz.

Payton Tolle, WSU’s two-way star who also finished with a team-high four hits on the weekend, was superb in his debut on the mound, allowing just one hit over six-plus innings.

The Shockers rallied for a 4-2 lead in the top-half of the seventh inning when Rodden belted a 2-RBI triple to right center, then scored on a throwing error. But the lead would be short-lived, as Long Beach State equalized the score to set up the dramatic, back-and-forth ninth inning.

Game 3: Wichita State wins 11-6

WSU took out its frustrations the next day, as newcomer Garrett Pennington hit the team’s first home run of the season in the first inning: a 2-run shot to left-center.

Rodden came through with a 2-out RBI in the second inning for a 3-0 lead, although Long Beach State would rally to tie the game with three runs of its own in the bottom half of the second.

In the third inning, 10 of the Shockers’ first 11 batters reached base safely. Mauricio Millan, a junior-college transfer who has won the catching job, delivered a 2-run homer down the left-field line, then Sawyre Thornhill ripped a RBI single through the right side, followed by a bases-loaded walk by Rodden. A balk by Long Beach State brought in another run, Pennington delivered an RBI double and Tolle finished off the rally with a 2-RBI single for an 11-3 lead.

Derby native Grant Adler registered his first Division 1 win, with his debut outing lasting six innings. He allowed five runs, struck out five and walked two. Freshman Nate Snead logged two scoreless innings of relief, while Favors got the game’s final three outs.

What’s next for Wichita State baseball

The Shockers will be back in action with another road series, this time a 4-game series against Utah Tech starting with a 7 p.m. Thursday game, followed by a doubleheader on Friday with game times at 5 and 8 p.m. and the series finale at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Trailblazers lost three of our games in their season-opening series against Portland.