Former Coach Blanks Loyola Nine by 9-0

Winning seems to follow Dave Snow.

Snow returned Wednesday to Loyola Marymount, where he was head baseball coach for the last four years, with an improved Long Beach State team and, in classic Snow style, routed his old school, 9-0.

Left-hander Kyle Abbott shut out Loyola on four hits--two infield singles by Miah Bradbury--and struck out 10. Brian Turang, Loyola’s RBI leader last year, fanned four times against Abbott.

Abbott is a prime example of how winning follows Snow. Unhappy after two years at Division III UC San Diego, the slender southpaw transferred to Long Beach this season to play for Snow.

After going 14-45 last season, Long Beach is off to an 8-0 start under Snow, and Abbott has notched three of those wins.

The 49ers crept into the 26th spot in the ESPN collegiate baseball poll last week after a 4-3 upset of Pepperdine. And though Snow remained typically low-key about his team’s hot start, Abbott said the 49ers are showing the marks of Snow’s magic.

“We’re out to shock the world,” Abbott said. “That’s our motto. We’re kind of like Rodney Dangerfield. I still don’t think anybody out there expects us to win.”

The 49ers made believers of Loyola. Long Beach pounded out 15 hits, including a seventh-inning home run by Chris Gill, and sent the punchless Lions (1-5-1) to their fifth straight defeat. It was an impressive homecoming for Snow.

“I had butterflies,” said Snow, who guided Loyola to the 1986 College World Series in his second year at the school. “I was the most nervous guy here. I’m kinda not used to being in this place in the visitors’ dugout.”

First-year Loyola Coach Chris Smith, Snow’s assistant for three years, wondered what was wrong with his team’s bats.

“I don’t have any answers to why we’re not playing well,” Smith said. “We had a great makeup as a team; just things aren’t going our way right now.”

Loyola went 48-18 last year under Snow. Before meeting Long Beach this year, the Lions had tied UC Irvine, then lost four straight to Stanford and USC.

It was the third straight impressive outing for Abbott, who was only a No. 3 starter at Mission Viejo High School.

“Abbott was a real late bloomer,” Snow said. “I didn’t know we were getting such a nugget. I’m glad I have him when he’s turned into a man.”