A grand slam during the 9th inning caused the LBCC Vikings to take defeat against the Orange Coast College Pirates with a final score of 13-9 at a home game on Thursday.
OCC ended the game riding an offensive wave as the LBCC relievers, shorthanded due to covid, were not able to fend off the riptide of adrenaline injected by the OCC head coach Nate Johnson.
OCC’s leadoff man was up in the second inning with one out, starting pitcher Moises Guzman didn’t flinch, took care of the side, and proceeded to cause problems with his bat.
Spirits were up, balls were flying high for the home team. Leading 8-4, the Vikings were almost sure they had secured the game.
Then the 7th inning changed the trajectory of the game.
The play was an attempted bunt for the visitors. The batter was hit by-the-pitch. The call was a strike. Coach Nate Johnson was tossed. His dugout came to life.
“Figure it out!” was the final message given by OCC coach Johnson upon his early exit Thursday.
LBCC’s coach, Casey Crook, sided with Johnson on the controversial play.
“The other coach has an argument,” Crook said. “Probably should not have been called a strike, but I could see why it was.”
Although they didn’t put up a run immediately after Coach expressed his feelings, his team was fuming. It came to fruition in the ninth inning, where they took advantage of LBCC’s depleted bullpen.
A grand slam gave the Pirates a 13-9 lead and the Vikings weren’t able to rebound from the onslaught.
Starting pitcher Moises Guzman, a Millikan High School graduate, was the standout for LBCC in the loss. Guzman contributed 2 home runs, one being a grand slam to center field, and 5 solid innings on the bump. He left the game with the lead.
But to Guzman, winning the game is more important than individual stats.
“I don’t care how good I do, we lost the game.”
For the full Vikings baseball schedule, click here.