Baseball: Vikings drop opening game of SoCal Regionals 5-2 to Bakersfield

The Long Beach City College Vikings will need to have a short memory after they suffered a 5-2 loss to the No. 9-seeded Bakersfield College Renegades in Game 1 of the Southern California Regional playoffs. The No. 8-seeded Vikings will need to turn it around and win a pair of games on Saturday to keep their postseason hopes alive.

Game 2 of the Regionals series is set for 11 a.m. on Saturday with Game 3, if necessary, to follow at 3 p.m. at Joe Hicks Memorial Field.

 Long Beach totaled just four hits in the playoff loss on Friday and couldn't overcome a 5-0 second-inning deficit.

Bakersfield (27-10) opened the contest with three runs in the top of the first to take an early lead. After a lead-off walk to Brooks Douglas, the Renegades knocked out four hits, including a two-run single by Luis Martinez to greet LBCC starting pitcher Daniel Rocha (Narbonne HS).

The Renegades appeared to be on their way to another big inning in the second, loading the bases with just one out. But Rocha got Martinez to strike out and was on his way to getting out of the inning before a two-out error at third base allowed two more runs to score.

Bakersfield starting pitcher Hudson Hartley held the Vikings to just two hits over the first seven innings until LBCC finally got on the board in the eighth. Sophomore Jackson Foss (Wilson HS) launched a lead-off home run, his team-leading fifth of the season, over the fence in left field to break up Hartley's bid at a shutout.

LBCC attempted one final come back in the ninth, landing runners on first and third with no outs to open the frame. Freshman Tristan Chamberlain (Millikan HS) came in to score on a wild pitch but the Vikings couldn't get the tying run up to the plate. Hartley got freshman Gavin Windes (St. John Bosc HS) to fly out to center to end the ball game.

Hartley went the distance, allowing one earned run while striking out five. He improved to 7-5 overall. Kyle James (2 for 4) and Jassen Oliver (2 for 4) both had two hits to lead Bakersfield at the plate.

Rocha pitched well after the first two innings, but took the loss to fall to 7-3. He allowed three earned runs and nine hits over seven innings. He struck out seven and walked three. Freshman Erikson Fish (Sitka, AK/Sitka HS) tossed a pair of hitless innings for the Vikings to close out the game.

Long Beach is still in search of its first playoff win after being swept out of the postseason the past two seasons. The Vikings will likely turn to sophomore Tai Tiedemann (Poly HS) to take the hill in Saturday's contest.