Baseball: Gosano walk-off double caps two-run ninth-inning comeback win

Sophomore first baseman Jimmy Gosano delivered a walk-off double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Long Beach City College baseball team to a 4-3 come-from-behind win over visiting Oxnard College on Saturday at LBCC's Joe Hicks Memorial Field.

Long Beach and Oxnard split the two-game non-conference series. Today's victory improved the Vikings to 7-6 overall while Oxnard moved to 6-6.

The Vikings couldn't really get its offense going until the ninth. Prior to the final frame, LBCC had managed just two hits and left 11 runners on base.

But trailing 3-2, Long Beach opened the bottom of the ninth with a lead-off walk by Jaime Valle and a bunt single by Derrick Garcia off Oxnard relief pitcher Austin Kamel.

Griffin Paul quickly replaced Kamel on the mound for the Condors before tossing a wild pitch that allowed pinch runner Caulin Anderson and Garcia to advance.

Daniel Pitts followed with a grounder to second base. On the play, Anderson got caught in a run down between third and home before being tagged out. Garcia was able to move to third and Pitts ended up on second base.

With one out, Yamel Delgado lifted a shallow fly ball that was just deep enough to score Garcia with the tying run. Now with two outs, Henry Severson walked to bring up Gosano. He then lined a double to the gap in left-center field just past the glove of diving left fielder Grant Gallegos to bring in Pitts with the game-winning run.

Long Beach was able to score two runs in the bottom of the fourth without recording a hit. A pair of walks and two hit batters by Oxnard starter Daniel Lerma led the runs. Pitts and Nolan Flashman also pulled off a double steal of home and second base in the inning.

Oxnard scored its lone runs in the top of the first inning off LBCC starter Edgar Navar. Oxnard banged out four hits in the frame to take an early 3-0 lead.

But Navar settled down after the shaky first and retired eight of the final nine batters he faced. Michael Valenzuela tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and Michael Ostrea (1-1) earned the win by closing out the final 3 1/3 innings allowing just one hit.

Kamel picked up the loss for Oxnard to fall to 0-1. Lerma picked up a no decision after allowing two runs and two hits over five innings. He was wild, walking two and hitting four batters.

Long Beach returns to action on Tuesday (Mar. 5) at 2 p.m. when it opens South Coast Conference play at home against El Camino College.

Photo by Chris Ruiz