The No. 13 Long Beach City College baseball team returned home Saturday afternoon to finish off a two-game conference series against the Mt. San Antonio College Mounties at Joe Hicks Memorial Field. The Vikings were a well-oiled machine in all aspects of the contest en route to an 11-3 rout over the Mounties for the series sweep.
The contest was tight through the first three and one half innings until the Vikings exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. After freshman left fielder Collin Perez (Long Beach, CA) put the Vikings on the board in the bottom of the second inning with a two-out RBI-knock up the middle, Long Beach poured it on two frames later.
Perez struck again at the dish to record his second and third RBI of the game by sending freshman catcher Zach Martinez (Lakewood, CA) and sophomore designated hitter Jared Mayeda (Cypress, CA) home on a single through the right side. He came around to score on a passed ball two batters later. Sophomore shortstop Antonio Monroy (Maywood, CA) followed by lacing a double to left field, scoring freshman center fielder Ian Konek (Long Beach, CA) who reached on a bunt single to third base. Monroy touched home on a wild pitch two batters later, handing the Vikings a 7-2 advantage after four innings.
Sophomore hurler Schuyler Hill (Long Beach, CA) worked off the offensive burst and shoved it for the remainder of his start. Despite allowing two early runs, Hill blanked the Mounties through the following four frames leading to seven punch outs.
The Vikings tossed three insurance runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth inning after freshman right fielder Val Stammler (Long Beach, CA) lead off with a triple and later scored on a single to left field off the bat of Konek. Freshman second baseman Josh Agnew (Long Beach, CA) scored Konek with a sacrifice groundout to second base, backed by a RBI two-bagger from sophomore first baseman Vincent Byrd II (Sacramento, CA) leading to an 11-3 victory.
The bullpen for the Vikings was money as well. Freshman Jacob Gregg tossed a scoreless seventh inning while allowing a mere hit. Sophomores Cesar Gomez (Long Beach, CA) and Chase Ambrose (Long Beach, CA) slammed the door in the eighth and ninth innings, respectfully, while they each retired the side in order.
Hill (2-0) remains undefeated on the year after tossing six frames and fanning seven batters.
The Vikings uncorked 12 hits, with Perez, Stammler, and Konek (seven, eight, and nine hitters) going a combined 6-for-12 at the dish with four RBI and five runs scored. Monroy had a great day in the batter's box by producing a 2-for-4 day with an RBI, a double, and a triple.
"I am feeling really good about our team right now," said Head Coach Casey Crook who is entering into his 24th season at the helm of the Viking's program. "Our bullpen is solid and the bottom of our order today did well."
Long Beach has been riding rock waves early in the season with a tough schedule and Crook looks to numerous guys to contribute the rest of the way.
"The lineup is not one-hundred percent set. We expect everybody to cheer for each other and guys to execute once they get into the lineup."
LBCC (9-6-1, 2-0) will face off against East Los Angeles on Tuesday, March 7th on the road for a conference contest at 2 p.m.
