Baseball: Vikings sweep three-game SCC series from El Camino

Sophomore Andy Hernandez (Paramount HS) struck out seven and allowed one unearned run in a complete-game effort to help lead the Long Beach City College baseball team to a 4-1 South Coast Conference win over visiting El Camino College on Saturday at Joe Hicks Memorial Field.

The Vikings swept the three-game conference series from the Warriors and have won four in a row to improve to 8-8 overall and 3-0 in the SCC.

Hernandez (1-1) scattered seven hits over nine innings but had to pitch his way out of a pair of jams early.

El Camino loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second inning after Peter Ives and Garrett Cooper hit consecutive singles and Atlee Schwab walked. But Hernandez got ECC's Anthony Graham to ground into a 6-3 double play to end the threat.

In the fourth, the Warriors had runners and first and second base with one out before Hernandez struck out Schwab and got Graham to ground out to close the inning.

Long Beach broke the game open with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, right fielder Phil Visico (Wilson HS) and first baseman Cory Noss (Garden Grove HS) hit back-to-back singles and catcher Robert Ponce (Banning HS) walked to load the bases.

Third baseman Gene Gonzalez (Warren HS) forced in Visico with a run with his ground out to third. With two outs, shortstop Anthony Salas (Banning HS) smoked a two-run double down the left-field line to drive in Noss and Ponce to put Long Beach up 3-0.

Ponce added a RBI single in the eighth inning to bring home Visico for LBCC's final run.

El Camino (7-8, 0-3 SCC) scored its lone run in the top of the eighth inning. Chris Vopinek reached first on a throwing error and eventually came in to score on a two-out double by Cooper.

Vopinek took the loss for El Camino to drop to 0-3. He allowed three runs and six hits over 4 1/3 innings. Alex Mistuloff tossed the final 3 2/3 innings, giving up a run and one hit. Cooper was 3 for 4 to lead the Warriors at the plate.

Visico led the Long Beach offense, going 2 for 3 with a pair of runs scored.

Long Beach returns to action on Tuesday (Mar 15) at 2:30 p.m. when it begins a three-game SCC series against East Los Angeles College. Game 2 is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday (Mar 17) at Cal State L.A., with the series finale schedule for next Saturday (Mar 19) at 12 p.m. back at LBCC.