The Vikings lose to L.A. Harbor on their Sophomore Night 6-4
L.A. Harbor’s third baseman, Aiden Brasher, hit a sacrifice fly to center to score one, breaking the 4-4 tie in the top of the ninth, which eventually became the game-winning run in the Vikings’ loss 6-4, in the last home game of the season.
Despite the result, head coach Phillip Visico said he was proud of the group.
“I’m really proud of those guys, they’ve worked hard all year long,” Visico said.
Long Beach took a 2-0 lead early in the second inning after a throwing error scored left fielder Erick Espinoza and then designated hitter Cross Stephens hit a single that scored shortstop Ben Howard.
In the fourth, Stephens hit another single, scoring Espinoza.
Long Beach stayed in the lead until the seventh inning, where seahawks would get two singles to score two, taking a 4-3 lead.
In the eighth inning, second baseman Garret Rodriguez would single to score Howard tying the game at 4.
L.A Harbor would go on to score two in the top of the ninth and keep the Vikings off the score sheet in the bottom of the ninth.
First baseman Aaron Mingo said the team’s biggest takeaway is slowing the game down at the plate.
“The biggest takeaway is just kind of slowing down and working the count,” Mingo said.
Mingo added that forcing at-bats led to missed opportunities for the offense and said the team needs to make pitchers work rather than giving away outs.
Howard pointed to defense as a major difference in the game.
“We started out strong but didn’t finish that way, definitely our defense,” Howard said.
Howard said he takes accountability and believes the team can improve in that area.
Mingo also emphasized that the team is mentally prepared but needs to execute physically.
“I think we just need to work deeper in counts and play cleaner on defense,” Mingo said.
Despite the loss, Howard highlighted pitching as a positive takeaway from the game.
The Vikings ended the season with a 12-6 win over L.A. Harbor on April 24.
The team also ended with an overall record of 18-21, but a winning 13-11 conference record.
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