It was an impressive opening weekend for new head coach Megan Martinez and the Long Beach City College Softball team as the Vikings took three out of four games at the David "Hawk" Wilder Tournament at Glendale Community College. LBCC picked up victories over Chaffey College, Gateway Community College of Arizona, and Oxnard College, and was edged by Ventura College in their lone loss.
In the Vikings' season-opener on Friday, Long Beach used a four-run fifth-inning to pull out a 6-2 win in five innings over Chaffey. Sophomore Brianna Alvarez (Montebello HS) and freshman Daisy Velasquez (Bellflower HS) delivered big RBI doubles as part of the go-ahead rally.
Freshman Mitzy Moreno (Downey HS) scattered four hits over five innings and allowed two unearned runs for the victory in the circle. Sophomore Erika Balboa (Gahr HS) went 2 for 3 with a triple to lead LBCC at the plate.
Long Beach came back later that evening to defeat Gateway of Arizona 7-1. The Vikings once again put together another big inning, this time scoring seven runs in the bottom of the third in a 7-1 five-inning win.
Freshman Tristin Zazueta (Paramount HS) smashed a three-run homerun for the big blow of the game while sophomore Andrea Barba (Cypress HS) went 2 for 2 with 2 RBI and a triple to spark the Viking offense.
Freshman Anissa Hamilton (Downey HS) allowed just two hits and one unearned run in the five-inning, complete-game effort.
On a cold and windy Saturday evening, LBCC suffered its first loss, a 7-6 setback to Ventura. The Vikings nearly erased a 7-1 deficit, but a five-run fourth inning by Ventura was too much to overcome. Long Beach scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth and added two more in the fifth, but couldn't complete the comeback.
But the Vikings bounced back later that night to beat Oxnard 6-3. Long Beach jumped ahead early by scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. Alvarez set the table for LBCC by scoring a pair of runs and stealing two bases from the leadoff spot. Moreno allowed two runs over the first three innings for the win while Hamilton closed out the game giving up a lone run in the fifth.
Long Beach returns to action on Wednesday (Feb. 3) when the Vikings host Chaffey in their home opener at 2 p.m.
