Softball: No. 13 Long Beach rolls to 3-1 win over Santa Barbara

The No. 13 state-ranked Long Beach City College softball team cruised to a 3-1 non-conference win over visiting Santa Barbara City College on Tuesday. The win improved the Vikings to 5-1-1 overall while Santa Barbara dropped to 1-1 this season.

Freshman Angela Arias (Western HS) scattered five hits and allowed a run in the complete-game effort. She struck out six and walked just one to improve to 2-1 this season in the circle for the Vikings.

Arias allowed a leadoff single before settling down to retire 10 straight SBCC batters. Her lone mistake was a solo homerun to pinch hitter Carly Smith in the top of the sixth inning.

Long Beach got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the third inning.

Sophomore catcher Brittney Holden (Big Bear HS) smashed a line-drive double off the fence in left to get things going. Freshman right fielder Danelle Zapien (Whittier Christian HS) then advanced Holden to third base with a sacrifice bunt before sophomore left fielder Karin Veit (Newport Harbor HS) chopped a single up the middle to drive in the first run of the ball game.

LBCC rallied for two more runs in the fifth. Zapien found the gap in left for a double. Two batters later, freshman center fielder Danni Hannan (El Segundo HS) hit a double down the left field line. Zapien was held at third base to put runners at second and third with two outs for sophomore first baseman Michelle Contreras (Norwalk HS).

The decision paid off, as Contreras delivered with a towering double off the left field fence to plate both runs.

Hannan led LBCC at the place, going 2 for 3 with a run. She also stole her team-leading fourth base of the season.

Kailey Snyder (1-1) picked up the loss for Santa Barbara. She allowed three runs and six hits over six innings. She struck out eight and walked none.

Long Beach returns to action on Thursday (Feb. 10) when it hosts Ventura College in a 2:30 p.m. non-conference game.