The Vikings suffered a tough loss against Mt. San Antonio College 18-1 with only scoring one run in the bottom of the eighth inning on Tuesday.
Many players from LBCC were able to reach bases in multiple different innings but couldn’t bring any runs in to get them on the board early on.
The only run that was scored to put the Vikings on the board was an RBI which outfielder Ryan Lopetugi singled to left field bringing in left fielder Myles Fendrick to give the team the only run of the game.
Mt. San Antonio scored their first run in the top of the second inning and continued to score a total of nine runs in the seventh inning alone.
Closing pitcher Sean Lovett gave up five hits and had some close calls like having the bases loaded but was able to keep Mt. San Antonio from scoring more runs.
“Just going pitch by pitch trying to get everyone out, doesn’t have to be a strikeout every time,” Lovett said.
Closing pitcher Sean Lovett high fives his teammates after getting out of an inning. (Brianna Apodaca)
This is the sixth consecutive game that the Vikings have lost, putting them on an end of season losing streak.
Despite the tough losses the team has faced, they still have a fighting chance for a spot in the playoffs, and head coach Casey Crook is hopeful that this is motivation for the team as they try and rally out these last games.
“We’re just gonna have to talk about pulling it together and playing a couple more good baseball games before the season’s over,” Crook said.
The Vikings are searching for a win to hopefully keep their season alive as they have a chance to secure a playoff spot.
“We got playoffs on the line right we’re coming through. We have two more games playing one of the top teams in the state, I think if we can get them rallied behind and get some motivation going into playoffs,” pitching coach Josh Frye said.
The Vikings will face Mt. San Antonio College for their final game of the regular season on April 25.