The Long Beach Vikings struggled both defensively and offensively to put up runs against El Camino College on Tuesday, with right fielder Ryan Lopetegui scoring the only run to put the Vikings on the board.
Starting Pitcher Aaron Mingo was able to strike some batters out looking but it wasn’t enough to get out the innings unscathed.
Mingo was not only the starting pitcher for the game, he also was the designated hitter batting fifth in the lineup.
“For me probably just getting on base more, I usually do a good job getting on base but today I struggled a little bit,” Mingo said.
Starting Pitcher Aaron Mingo throws a pitch to the opposing teams batter on Tuesday. (Brianna Apodaca)
El Camino put their runs on the board early with getting runs in the top of the first, top of the third, and ending off with a final run in the top of the ninth inning.
Many players for the Vikings were able to reach base, in the bottom of the third inning catcher Eduardo Diaz was able to reach first base with an error made by El Camino.
To follow in the same inning, left fielder Erick Espinoza singled to shortstop advancing Diaz to second base but the Vikings weren’t able to score a run
This continued in the game until finally the Vikings were able to put one run on the board in the bottom of the eighth inning with an RBI from a sacrifice fly hit by Lopetegui.
Pitcher Myles Dismute discusses how losing their shortstop Jackson Pohl due to injury affected the game and the team’s chemistry as a whole.
“We lost our shortstop. He’s kinda hurt right now and I think that just messes up the whole team chemistry,” Dismute said.
As the season begins to wind down, players and coaches express concerns along with mindset moving forward with how the team will continue to push through to keep a spot in the playoffs.
“I think a lot of it came down to making some mental mistakes on the field not only on the pitching side but also defensively,” pitching coach Josh Frye said.
The Vikings continue to fight to keep their playoff spot and they will be back in action against El Camino College with the last game of the series against El Camino College on April 19.