No. 15 Vikings Baseball Rides Rough Terrain in Split Twin Bill

The No. 15 Long Beach City College baseball team hit the road for a split doubleheader this past weekend to face off against the Southwestern College Jaguars and the Grossmont College Griffiths. Long Beach went without a win by losing to the Jaguars, 5-2, and tying with the Griffiths by the final score of 6-6 after the 10th inning due to darkness.

In game one against Southwestern, Long Beach was halted to six hits and two runs. Both runs came in the top of the sixth inning after sophomore first baseman Vincent Byrd II (Sacramento, CA) launched a two-run homerun with two outs in the inning. Freshman third baseman Reese Berberet (Fallbrook, CA) came around to score on the round tripper after reaching base via double.

Sophomore designated hitter Andrew Jaekel (Lakewood, CA) continued his hot hitting by going 2-for-3 at the dish. Prior to the contest against Grossmont, he was 5-for-11 with two doubles in the three-game span.

Freshman hurler Jacob Alcorn (0-1) was tagged with the loss in his inaugural start by allowing five runs off seven hits and punching out three batters. Freshman reliever Angel Delgadillo (Norwalk, CA) continued his dominance out of the bullpen by blanking the Jaguars in three frames while allowing just a pair of hits. He has not allowed a run in 10.1 innings pitched this season.

The Vikings looked to rebound in a contest against the Griffiths in the second game of a split twin bill with sophomore ace Schuyler Hill (Long Beach, CA) climbing the bump. Hill got off to a fantastic start by throwing up three straight zeros on the scoreboard through the opening three frames. He recorded two strikeouts in the span that ended the inning in the first and third.

The Vikings offense was in a groove early as well by scoring six runs through the first three frames.

Long Beach etched the first tally on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning when sophomore shortstop Antonio Monroy (Maywood, CA) touched home on a throwing error from Grossmont's shortstop. They continued to plug along in the top of the second inning when freshman left fielder Zach Martinez (Lakewood, CA) laid down a bunt to send freshman right fielder Val Stammler (Long Beach, CA) home after he lead off the frame with a double.

After snagging an early 2-0 lead, the Vikings continued to press down on the gas pedal to score four more runs in the top of the third inning. With the bases loaded and one out, sophomore catcher Jacob Gotta (San Diego, CA) lined a single up the middle, scoring Jaekel who reached via walk. Martinez followed with his second RBI knock of the day by poking a single to right field, scoring freshman second baseman Tyler Wilber (Los Alamitos, CA) who reach via single. Freshman center fielder Ian Konek (Long Beach, CA) displayed patience at the dish by working a walk to score Stammler, followed by a sacrifice fly off the bat of Monroy, scoring Gotta for the 6-0 advantage.

However, the flood gates opened for the Griffiths the following inning as they matched the Vikings third-inning output with a four spot. They continued on to score a run each in the fifth inning and eighth inning to tie up the score at 6-6. The game would be suspended due to darkness, thus ending in a tie.

The Vikings (6-6-1) will look to stop the bleeding on the road Tuesday, February 28th against the Barstow College Vikings at 2 p.m.