Softball: No. 14 Long Beach rally falls short, drop SCC opener to No. 7 Mt. SAC

The No. 14 state-ranked Long Beach City College softball team fell in its South Coast Conference opener to No. 7 Mt. San Antonio College by a final score of 7-5 on Tuesday at LBCC.

Long Beach (7-3-1, 0-1 SCC) rallied for three runs after trailing 7-2 in the bottom of the seventh but it wasn't enough.

Mt. SAC (3-1, 1-0 SCC) slugged its way to the victory, as third baseman Vanessa Bracamonte (2 for 4, 4 RBI) and first baseman Ashlynn Booker (3 for 4, 2 RBI) both smashed two homeruns each.

The Mounties led 5-0 in the third inning before sophomore first baseman Michelle Contreras (Norwalk HS) broke up the shutout with a two-run homerun of her own over the right-center field fence to get the Vikings back in the game at 5-2.

Mt. SAC added crucial insurance runs in the top of the fifth and seventh, before the Vikings took advantage of three Mounties' errors in the bottom of the seventh. Contreras had another big blow, launching a one-out, two-run double. But she was stranded at second after sophomore shortstop Melissa Schaefer (El Segundo HS) and sophomore second baseman Desiree Villegas (El Rancho HS) both popped up to end the game.

Freshman Angela Arias (Western HS) picked up the loss for Long Beach to drop to 3-3. She allowed five runs and eight hits over 3 2/3 innings. Freshman Justine Meddings (Kennedy HS) closed out the game, pitching the final 3 1/3 innings and gave up two runs and six hits.

Contreras went 2 for 3 with 4 RBI to lead LBCC at the plate. Sophomore left fielder Karina Veit (Newport Harbor HS) was 3 for 4 with 2 runs.

Alexa Limon (1-1) earned the win for Mt. SAC. She tossed four innings, allowing two runs and three hits.

Weather permitting, Long Beach is scheduled to return to action on Wednesday (Feb. 16) with a 3 p.m. non-conference game against San Diego Mesa College.