Box Scores:
Santa Ana | Mt. SAC | Palomar
Final Season Stats | CCCAA Baseball

May 18, 2009

Baseball:

Vikings’ postseason run comes to an end at Palomar Super Regional

The 2009 Long Beach City College baseball season came to a close following the Vikings’ 7-3 loss to Palomar College in an elimination game of the Super Regional tournament at Palomar on Saturday.

On Friday, the No. 6-seeded Vikings suffered a 6-0 opening-round loss to No. 5 Santa Ana College that sent them to the elimination bracket. Long Beach stayed alive in the tourney thanks to a narrow 2-1 win over No. 14 Mt. San Antonio in the morning at San Diego Mesa College before suffering the loss to No. 1 Palomar that ended its playoff run.

Santa Ana’s Brian Peacock fired a five-hit shutout to keep the Vikings’ bats silent in going the distance for the win on Friday morning. Santa Ana blew the game open with a four-run third-inning off LBCC starter Matt Johnson.

Johnson (5-2) allowed six runs (two earned) and 10 hits over 7 2/3 innings to earn the loss. Left fielder Matt Homstad went 3 for 3 with a double to lead LBCC at the plate.

Freshman Blake Golding turned out another impressive start to lead Long Beach to the 2-1 win over Mt. SAC on Saturday. Entering the contest, the Mounties had beaten LBCC in three straight South Coast Conference games this season.

Golding scattered four hits in the complete-game win (his fourth of the season) to improve to 7-5. His lone mistake was a solo homerun to David Carrillo in the top of the seventh inning.

The Vikings scored their lone runs in the bottom of the first. Center fielder Michael Schultz and shortstop Hector Iribe led off with singles. After Iribe stole second, second baseman Trevor Costin drove them both in with a single.

Costin (2 for 3, 2 RBI) and Iribe (3 for 4) led the Vikings’ offense.

Long Beach came up short in the season-ending loss to Palomar. Viking pitchers couldn’t contain the Comets’ bats as they pounded out 12 hits on the way to the 6-3 win.

Palomar got single runs off LBCC starter Jared Smith in the top of the second and third innings and broke the game open with two runs in the fourth to go up 4-0.

Long Beach cut the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a two-run homerun by designated hitter Brian Loard.

The Comets put the game away with two runs in the top of the seventh and another in the eighth off sophomore Scott Watson.

First baseman Cory Buchcheim’s fielder’s choice grounder drove in Iribe in the bottom of the eighth to account for LBCC’s final run.

Smith (4-2) picked up the loss after allowing four runs and six hits in just 3 2/3 innings. Loard continued his hot hitting, going 3 for 4 with a homerun and 2 RBI against Palomar.

Over five playoff games, Loard had a .400 batting average (8 for 20) with 8 RBI.