Softball- Softball Suffers Tough 6-5 Loss to Citrus
The Long Beach City College softball team rallied in the final inning to Citrus College, but ended up falling 6-5. With the loss, the Vikings fall to 18-15 overall.
Freshman pitcher Brittney Runyon (2-3) took the loss in the circle as she held the Owls to four runs, three earned, while striking out three.
The Owls opened the game with two runs off a single to center field. The Vikings bounced back in the bottom of the first to tie the game 2-2 with an RBI double from freshman short stop Jade Wittman to score in freshman second baseman Yazmin Zendejas and then Wittman scored off a walk.
The Owls scored held the Vikings as they scored four more runs. Long Beach wasn't ready to give up yet as they rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning with a two RBI double from Illeana Rivera to score in Zendejas and Wittman to start closing in on the the gap 6-4. Freshman center fielder Maria Aguilar was up next at the dish and reached on an Owl error to score in sophomore pinch runner Sabrina Rodriguez to only trail the Owls by one.
The Vikings weren't able to close the gap and ultimately fell to Citrus College 6-5. The Vikings will return to the field today against Golden West College at 3 p.m. To see the remainder of the softball schedule, click here.
Baseball- Baseball Defeats Cerritos With 11-2 Victory
The No. 8 Long Beach City College baseball team defeated Cerritos College 11-2 on Saturday afternoon for their third-straight conference victory. With the win, the Vikings improve to 22-12 overall and 15-4 in the South Coast Conference.
Freshman pitcher Julio Lopez (4-1) earned the win on the hill for only allowing the Falcons to one run on four hits, while striking out four. Freshman pitcher Dennis Stevenson closed out game with his first save on the mound.
The Vikings brought the bats in bottom of the second inning with sophomore left fielder Andrew Schmitt hitting a double to center field to score in sophomore third baseman Chris Rubottom for the Vikings' first run.
In the third inning, sophomore short stop Travis Aversa got on base with a single and proceeded to steal second base, and then advanced to home on a Falcon error. The Vikings continued the rally with two more runs from sophomore designated hitter David Balboa and sophomore third baseman Robert Barham to lead Cerritos 4-0.
The Falcons came back in the top of the fourth with a home run to put themselves on the board, but then Barham doubled for three RBI in the bottom of the fifth to extend the Vikings' lead to 7-1. Rubottom then smashed an RBI single to bring in Barham to close out the inning with the 8-1 lead.
Freshman right fielder Zach Rivas wasn't finished yet as he homered to left field for three RBI in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Falcons retaliated in the top of the eighth with a sacrifice fly, but it wasn't enough and the Vikings took home the 11-2 conference win.
The Long Beach City College baseball team will be back in action on Monday, Apr. 15 at Pierce College at 2:30 p.m. To view the remainder of the schedule, click here.
Men's Volleyball- No. 3 Men's Volleyball Brings in Fourth-Consecutive Western State Southern Division Conference Title
The No. 3 Long Beach City College men's volleyball team hauled in their fourth-consecutive Western State Southern Division Conference Championship on Friday evening after defeating Santa Barbara City College 3-2. The Vikings share a piece of the Championship with El Camino College, who also went 11-1 in conference action.
The Vikings look to reclaim the state title as they won the 2016 State Championship by defeating Orange Coast College. Last season, the Vikings suffered a tough loss to LA Pierce in the CCCAA semifinals after going undefeated all season.
On Friday, Apr. 19, the No. 3 Vikings will host the No. 6 Santiago Canyon College Hawks in the CCCAA Quarterfinals at 6 p.m. in the Building Q Gym. Live stats for the game can be viewed here.
Cost of admission to the contest is $12 for general admission and $8 for students, faculty, staff, seniors, and children. There will be $2 metered parking permits for all visitors available outside of the Hall of Champions. To view the remaining schedule for men's volleyball, please click here.
Beach Volleyball- No. 1 Beach Volleyball Crowned Back-to-Back Conference Champions
The No. 1 Long Beach City College beach volleyball team was crowned the South Coast Conference Champions for the second-consecutive year. With the 3-2 win over El Camino, the Vikings improve to 12-6 overall and remained undefeated in conference with a 6-0 record.
Last season, the Vikings took home the first place trophy with a 15-4 overall record that included a perfect conference mark of 6-0.
In today's match, the Vikings earned their second-conference championship after defeating the El Camino Warriors 3-2. Sophomores Sierra Davis and Brooklin Mize swept the Warriors in two sets as the No. 1 pairs' match. The No. 3 pairs, sophomores Doris Woods and Isabella Alvarez took down the Warriors' pairs in straight-sets as well. Freshman Calissa Candalot and sophomore Emma Harris finalized the win over El Camino as the No. 5 pairs with a 2-1 win.
The top-ranked Vikings will return to the sand in the Pairs Conference Tournament at El Camino on Friday, Apr. 19th.
LONG BEACH 3, EL CAMINO COLLEGE 2
Sierra Davis/Brooklin Mize (LBCC) def. Sophia Loiola/Caitlin Donatucci (ECC) 22-20, 22-20
Phina Leilua/Kylee Glickman (ECC) def. Kylee Irwin-Paz/Jessica Blakeman (LBCC) 21-15, 21-14
Doris Woods/Isabella Alvarez (LBCC) def. Mikayla Clark/Renee Brydon (ECC) 21-9, 21-11
Jessica Villasenor/Kelly Donatucci (ECC) def. Kaitlyn Peterson/Elsa Woods (LBCC) 21-17, 17-21, 16-14
Calissa Candalot/Emma Harris (LBCC) def. Jordyn Bonitz/Jocelyn Lacroix (ECC) 21-19, 13-21, 15-8
For the rest of the beach volleyball schedule, click here.
Track & Field
The track & field team competed at the Cerritos Invitational last Friday afternoon.
The women's 4 x 100 relay team (Aazalet Danage, Cicely Arana, Destinee Augustus, Destiny Bradley) took home second place with a 48.09 time. Freshman Calissa Candalot also placed fifth in the shot put finals with a 10.28 meter mark.
On the men's team, freshman Emari Bennett placed fifth in the 400 hurdles with a time of 56.17. The men's 4 x 100 relay (James Martin, Emari Bennett, Darnelle Harris, Rickie Taylor) took home second place with a 42.34 time.
The track & field team will return to the track on Tuesday, Apr. 23 in the South Coast Conference Prelims. To view the rest of schedule, click here.