Jarren Duran elevates his game to help Long Beach reach NCAA Regional

Jarren “JD” Duran wasn’t worried.
Never mind a fastball from Cal State Fullerton’s John Gavin struck the right side of his face, rattling the bones in his cheek, during the third inning of a game in March. Never mind Duran lost vision for a minute, or that he couldn’t feel much of anything – the pain too acute to acknowledge.
Long Beach State coach Troy Buckley took one look at his sophomore second baseman, his lead-off hitter, and said, “You’