Baseball: Long Beach bats, pitching come together in 4-3 season-opening win at Barstow

The Long Beach City College baseball team pounded out 12 hits in its season opener on its way to a 4-3 non-conference win at Barstow College on Saturday. And the LBCC pitching was just as good as three Vikings held Barstow batters to just three hits and one earned run.

Sophomore third baseman/pitcher Andy Hernandez (Paramount HS) led the Vikings at the plate, going 3 for 5 with a double and RBI. He also nailed down the save with a scoreless ninth inning.

Sophomore centerfielder Joe Lent (Los Alamitos HS), a 2011 preseason All-American selection, drove in a pair of runs and was 2 for 5.

Freshman Steven Gallardo (Hamilton HS) picked up the win for LBCC to move to 1-0. He scattered three hits over 6 2/3 innings while allowing two runs (one earned). He struck out six and walked two.

Kris Soto (0-1) earned the loss for Barstow (0-1). He allowed nine hits and three runs over 6 1/3 innings.

Long Beach (1-0) returns to action on Tuesday (Feb. 8) when it begins a three-game series against Orange Coast College. LBCC is at OCC on Tuesday, followed by the Vikings' home opener at Joe Hicks Memorial Field on Thursday (Feb. 10). The two squads close the series on Friday (Feb. 11) at Orange Coast. All games are set to begin at 2 p.m.