It was a battle of the Vikings on Tuesday evening as the No. 15 Long Beach City College baseball team traveled to Barstow, CA to face off against the Barstow College Vikings. Long Beach had everything working in their favor after barreling 18 hits backed by solid pitching en route to a 10-1 victory over Barstow.
LBCC did not waste any time jumping on Barstow by combining for seven runs in the opening two frames.
In the top of the first inning, sophomore shortstop Antonio Monroy (Maywood, CA) led off the inning with a single and later came around to score on an RBI-double off the bat of freshman third baseman Reese Berberet (Fallbrook, CA). Berberet came around to score shortly after on a throwing error by the pitcher. Sophomore designated hitter Jared Mayeda (Cypress, CA) took advantage of the runners in scoring position by notching an RBI-single. Freshman right fielder Val Stammler (Long Beach, CA) capped off the inning with a sacrifice fly, plating Mayeda to grab a 4-0 advantage.
The bats remained scorching hot in the top of the second inning for Long Beach as they tacked on three more runs. Sophomore first baseman Vincent Byrd II (Sacramento, CA) recorded his second single of the contest, this time scoring Monroy who also reach via single. Mayeda squared up his second RBI-knock of the game after poking a single through the infield, scoring freshman second baseman Tyler Wilber (Los Alamitos, CA). Sophomore backstop Jacob Gotta (San Diego, CA) continued his hot hitting by recording the third RBI-single of the inning, plating Byrd II for the 7-0 lead.
Normally a reliable reliever, freshman hurler Angel Delgadillo (Norwalk, CA) earned the nod on the bump and was downright masterful. The rookie arm was filthy on the bump by allowing a mere run in the fourth inning while cruising the rest of the way. He retired the side in order on three separate occasions while recording a trio of punch outs en route to a 10-1 victory.
Delgadillo (1-0) allowed his first run on the season, but still posts an overall ERA of 0.52 in 17.2 innings of work. He currently ranks tops in ERA in the South Coast Conference (SCC) – South division and sixth overall in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA).
Byrd II went a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Monroy and Gotta barreled three hits each. In the last four games, Gotta is 7-for-14 at the dish.
Freshman reliever Lorenzo Haycox (Long Beach, CA) chucked the final two frames and allowed just two hits and struck out one batter.
The Vikings (7-6-1) will begin conference action on Thursday, March 2nd by facing off against the Mt. San Antonio College Mounties at 2 p.m.