The562’s baseball coverage in 2025 is sponsored by the Millikan, Long Beach Poly, and Lakewood baseball boosters.
The562’s coverage of St. Anthony athletics is sponsored by Jane & B.I. Mais, Class of 1949.
It’s so easy to root for Benny Lane.
The St. Anthony senior is the type of kid any coach or player would want in the lineup. He’s one of the most talented clean up hitter/pitchers in Long Beach, and he leads with the confident communication he learned as an ambassador for the school.
Lane also plays for unfeigned purposes.
“My mom was the number one reason why I started to play baseball,” Lane said of joining a baseball team when he was 8-years old. “I never told her that, but she said that baseball was her favorite sports, and I was like, ‘Let’s do it.’”
Growing on the diamond afforded Lane more opportunities to grow as a person.
“Growing up, I wasn’t really the most social person,” Lane said. “Going to St. Anthony (and playing four years of Varsity baseball) forced me to go out of my comfort zone. I just needed that change. It was just being able to be able to go up to talk to random people that I’d never met before and say, ‘Hi, I’m Benny Lane.’”
In four years and 106 games with the Saints, Lane has a .343 batting average with 78 RBI, 86 runs scored and 27 extra base hits. On the mound, the hard-throwing righty has posted a 2.44 ERA with 203 strikeouts across 192.1 innings.
This season, Lane has an impressive 1.507 OPS with eight home runs at the plate, and has made the most of clutch moments in the CIF Southern Section Division 5 playoffs. He hit two home runs in the first round, a walk-off home run in the second round after pitching six stellar innings, and scored twice in the quarterfinal victory at Hillcrest. The Saints host Northwood at Clark Field for the semifinals on Tuesday.
“Benny saved the day, he’s been wearing a cape lately,” St. Anthony coach Kris Jondle said. “He’s really coming up big here in the playoffs for us.”
We caught up with Lane recently to talk about a little bit of everything.
QUESTION: Did you grow up as an athlete in Long Beach?
ANSWER: Yeah I went to Minnie Gant Elementary, Stanford Middle School and then St. Anthony. My dad played tennis in high school, he was pretty good, and my brother Gavin is trying to get on the Long Beach State golf team.
Q: Kind of hard not to have a great name with Lane, huh? I mean, Benny Lane is a great name.
A: Yeah, but I mess with Gavin’s name too.
Q: What were your interests before you started playing baseball?
A: Legos and Wi. Obviously academics are important in my family. I feel like (a dedication to academics) just created a sense of discipline for me.
Q: After growing up in public school, was it hard to be a freshman at St. Anthony?
A: I think I probably knew two people, and I didn’t realize I knew them until halfway through my freshman year, and I feel like that change for me really helped me grow as a person. It’s about really getting to know people.
Q: When you’re getting to know somebody, what’s most important?
A:First of all, gotta know their name. That’s one thing I struggle with,so I figured out the tactic (to remember). You gotta say their name back to them in a sentence. And I try my best to talk about what they like. I feel like people are more open and receptive to talking to you when they feel like they can be comfortable around you by talking about what they like. I try my best to listen to people before I chew their ear off about the most random stuff.
Q: So you worked at that and were successful?
A: It really paved a new path for me, because now people see me as a very energetic person who likes talking to everyone to the point where they can’t even get me to shut up anymore. I just want people to feel the good vibes off of me. If they’re not having a good day, they come to me, they get better vibes. They can go give that off to other people to just make the world a lot happier.
Q: Does all of that make you a better baseball player?
A: It kind of keeps my mind off of the stressful parts of the game. If I can uplift someone else, then when I get stressed, I know that they got my back too. Between innings I talk with the center fielder and talk to the second baseman, and even talk to the umpire… Sometimes it’s just like trying to get my mind off of what just happened, and more or less just living in the moment rather than dwelling on the past.
Q: You’re committed to attend Cal State Monterey Bay, but if a school had a better offer after your recent performances, would you take it?
A: No. I’ve already made that commitment.
Q: Do you want to say anything else for this story?
A: You probably can’t put it in because of politics and stuff like that, but to be honest, I can only give all thanks and glory to God. It means a lot more than just a game to me at this point, We do our team prayer before the game. I just feel like we get closer as like boys and more like a family, and it almost makes you want to play harder so that you can get another practice with them, another game with them, another prayer with them. Like 90 percent of the team (honors) Catholic tradition because we come from a Catholic school. The rest of them that aren’t really as devoted as all of us, they’re still there for the prayer. It’s bigger than a game for us now, we’re praying for everyone. It’s for the players, the coaches, the umpires, the other team, our fans or anyone who needs a prayer. We want to pray for them, because this is what we believe in, and we feel like we’re supposed to do that for other people.
