Long Beach City College wrapped up its second consecutive South Coast Conference championship thanks to an 8-6 victory at El Camino College-Compton Center on Friday at the MLB Urban Youth Academy.
Long Beach had already secured at least a share of the conference title on Saturday but needed to win one of three games during the final series against Compton this week to earn the SCC championship outright and the conference's top seed for the playoffs.
The Vikings used a five-run third inning to jump out to a 7-1 lead. But Compton rallied late, getting as close as 7-5 in the sixth inning. In the seventh, freshman Aaron Fawcett (Los Alamitos HS) launched a solo home run to extend the Vikings' lead to 8-5.
"That was a big home run for us," said LBCC head coach Casey Crook. "Compton had just scored and were gaining momentum. But he gave us the momentum back."
Sophomore starter Julian Griego (Poly HS) pitched into the eighth inning, but was chased from the game when Compton opened up the frame by putting runners on first and second with no outs. Freshman Schuyler Hill (Wilson HS) inherited the jam, but got a ground out and struck out the next two batters to end the threat. Hill retired Compton in order in the ninth to close out the victory and set off the Vikings' celebration.
Griego picked up the win to improve to 8-2. He allowed all six runs, but only two earned over the 7+ innings pitched. Hill notched his first save of the season, tossing two innings of scoreless relief.
The Vikings are back-to-back conference champions for the first time during the 22-year coaching career of Crook. LBCC closed the SCC schedule at 15-6 and will take a 20-16 overall record into the postseason.
Southern California Regional playoff pairings will be announced on Sunday (Apr. 26) at the SoCal postseason coaches meeting. As the SCC's top seed, the Vikings will host a Regional playoff series at home on May 1-2.