It was a battle of top-20 competitors on Joe Hicks Memorial Field on Tuesday evening as the No. 13 Long Beach City College baseball team hosted the No. 14 Rio Hondo College Roadrunners in South Coast Conference (SCC) action. Despite a solid pitching performance from freshman starter Jacob Gregg (Lakewood, CA) and freshman reliever Angel Delgadillo (Norwalk, CA), the Vikings faltered by the final score of 3-1 thus leading to a series sweep.
Gregg pitched very well through the majority of his start by blanking the Roadrunners through the first five frames. The freshman had everything working in his arsenal of pitches leading to four strikeouts and one ground ball double play within that span. Additionally, he wiggled out of a significant jam that stranded a pair of Rio Hondo base runners in the top of the second inning.
However, Gregg was tagged for two runs in the top of the sixth inning, one being unearned, to hand Rio Hondo a 2-0 advantage. Delgadillo then entered into the contest and got two-consecutive outs to end the frame.
The Vikings only tacked on one run in the bottom of the seventh inning as sophomore Vince Byrd II (Sacramento, CA) touched home after freshman catcher Zach Martinez (Lakewood, CA) grounded into a bases-loaded double play.
Byrd II finished the day going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored to pace the Vikings.
Gregg (0-3) was labeled with the loss, while Delgadillo tossed 3.2 innings in relief after allowing a run off three hits.
The Vikings (10-9-1, 3-3 SCC) will travel to Pasadena, CA on Thursday, March 16th to face off against the Pasadena City College Lancers at 2:30 p.m.
