No. 15 Long Beach Baseball Stumbles to No. 8 Orange Coast

The No. 15 Long Beach City College baseball team traveled to Costa Mesa, CA to face off against the No. 8 Orange Coast College Pirates on Tuesday afternoon for the second time this season. The Vikings snagged an early one-run lead after the opening half inning, but Orange Coast was too strong in all aspects down the stretch by handing Long Beach a 9-1 loss.

The Vikings jumped out to an early lead by putting together a solid two-out rally that began with sophomore shortstop Antonio Monroy (Maywood, CA) leading off the frame with a base knock. He stole second a batter later to put him in scoring position. Sophomore first baseman Vincent Byrd II (Sacramento, CA) promptly singled to left field, sending Monroy home for the early advantage.

Freshman hurler Jacob Gregg (Lakewood, CA) climbed the hill for his second-career nod and got off to a rough start by allowing a leadoff round tripper. However, Gregg remained composed and rebounded to wiggle out of a second-inning jam.

Despite the early fight in the Vikings, the Pirates offense was too strong highlighted by a five-run bottom of the eighth inning en route to the 9-1 defeat.

Byrd II had the lone RBI while finishing the day going 2-for-4. Monroy scored the lone run while also recording a 2-for-4 day at the dish.

Gregg was tagged with the loss after tossing six innings and allowing four runs on just five hits. Freshman reliever Angel Delgadillo (Norwalk, CA) was the most effective by tossing one scoreless frame in the seventh inning.

The Vikings (4-3) will look to snap their two-game skid Thursday, February 16th by hosting the San Diego City College Knights at 2 p.m.