Preview: LBCC Baseball Earns Top Seed in SCC-South, Hosts Saddleback in CCCAA Regional Playoffs

The No. 19 Long Beach City College baseball team completed their season on Friday evening by earning a series sweep of the top-ranked El Camino College Warriors thus hauling in a South Coast Conference (SCC) – South Co-Conference Championship. By doing so, the Vikings hold the higher seed and will host the first round of California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) playoffs in a three-game series against the 13-seeded Saddleback College Gauchos of the Orange Empire Conference (OEC).

The three-game series will begin on Friday, May 5th at 2 p.m. at Joe Hicks Memorial Stadium. All games will be live stated through lbccvikings.com. Ticket prices are $12 for general admission and $8 for all students, staff, and faculty with a valid ID.

Long Beach capped off their season on a six-game conference winning streak highlighted by a series sweep of top-ranked El Camino College. Through the series, the Vikings plated 39 runs in three games that included a 20-run outburst in the third game of the series.

Sophomore shortstop Antonio Monroy (Maywood, CA) is the Vikings most potent and well-rounded menace as he paces the team in batting average (.385), hits (57), runs scored (44), and stolen bases (9). He has recorded a base hit in 18 of his last 20 games as the leadoff hitter. Throughout the El Camino series, he was a combined 6-for-15 with six runs scored and three RBI.

Sophomore first baseman Vincent Byrd II (Sacramento, CA) poses a massive power threat in the heart of the order as he has been consistently swinging the stick all season. Byrd II boasts a strong .651 slugging percentage to go along with 10 round-trippers and 46 RBI. Both marks lead the team. Freshman utility player Zach Martinez (Long Beach, CA) backs him with a plethora of versatility as he has earned a batting average of .348 with an on-base percentage of .403. Martinez has seen time in the outfield and behind the plate this season and holds a .980 fielding percentage.

Freshman arm Josh Agnew (Long Beach, CA) helms the pitching staff as he acts as the ace of the squad. In 14 games started, the freshman phenome earned an overall record of 8-3 with a lowly ERA of 2.39. He has tossed four complete games in 98 innings pitched. Additionally, he has amassed 51 strikeouts for a 4.68 punch outs per inning mark.

Sophomore starter Schuyler Hill (Long Beach, CA) has recovered nicely from a year off due to injury by utilizing a power arm that has fanned 66 batters so far this season. He boast a record of 6-3 and has tossed one complete game. Sophomore Chase Ambrose (Long Beach, CA) handles the closing duties by earning five total saves and 26 punch outs in 29 innings pitched.

Saddleback placed tied for third place in the OEC with an overall record of 25-15 that included an 11-10 conference mark. Offensively, sophomore Tyler Clark paces the team in batting average with .361 to go along with 44 hits and four triples. Nine Gauchos have earned double digits in RBI with freshman Brett Auerbach pacing the squad with 23.

Sophomore Michael Carr owns the best record on the pitching staff reading at 7-0 in 41.1 innings pitched. Sophomore Chase Lyford and freshman Daniel Harris have each recorded 44 strikeouts and combined for 10 wins on the hill. Freshman Bradley Spooner has recorded eight saves on the season.