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End of season wrap-up: Softball

Mari Kebede
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End of season wrap-up: Softball

LBCC softball was eliminated by Palomar College in super regionals after a two-game series sweep on April 11, but its team chemistry paved the way for an outstanding season. 

The Vikings end their year with a 32-12 season record, a 17-4 conference record, and a first round regionals victory against Citrus College.

“We  haven’t had 30 wins here at Long Beach City since 2005 I believe. Our main mantra the entire year is to be a good teammate and I feel like that could be interpreted in so many ways…  It’s really been true to us and who we are as an identity,” Director of Softball Operations Megan Martinez said.

LBCC softball team practices at the softball field at LAC in preparation for the playoffs, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Sophomore Breanna Lucero getting a catch while being watched by Assistant Coach Mike Rogers. (Mario Saucedo)

A person on the team who represented that and left everything on the field was South Coast Conference most valuable player Anaya Togia, who crushed the ball all season long with eight home runs, had a state batting champion average of .511, a state-high 59 RBI’s in 40 games, and led the state with 67 hits and 22 doubles, with an SCC-best .863 slugging percentage.

LBCC softball team practices at the softball field at LAC in preparation for the playoffs, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Sophomore Jaiden Lopez getting a catch during practice drills. (Mario Saucedo)

In a post on the LBCC softball instagram account about Togia’s MVP award, she credits her team for all of these accomplishments, stating “couldn’t have done it without my vikes”.

Her comment shows that the “be a good teammate” mindset that Martinez described has stuck with Togia and her teammates throughout the season.

“We’re all a bunch of girls loving the sport, and we love our team so much that we come together and put everything together that we’ve been practicing all throughout the season, and it looks great in the end,” Togia said.

LBCC’s hitting was on point this season, with a .398 team batting average, .479 on base percentage, .564 slugging percentage, and a massive 318 runs scored in 40 games.

Not only were the Vikings clutch with the bats, but the pitching was incredible too, and star pitcher Bayleigh Frye was one of the reasons for that.

LBCC softball team practices at the softball field at LAC in preparation for the playoffs, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Mario Saucedo)

Frye put together a phenomenal statline with a 17-8 win-loss record, 2.12 ERA, 134 strikeouts, and 1.12 WHIP through 155 innings pitched.

“I worked my butt off to become that star pitcher and to get all those wins. Yeah, I took a couple of hard losses, but those losses were only by one run. The sisterhood here to get to regionals is probably the best I’ve ever had,” Frye said.

LBCC softball team practices at the softball field at LAC in preparation for the playoffs, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Sophomore Breanna Lucero getting a catch during practice drills. (Mario Saucedo)

Frye ws a force to be reckoned with on the mound, but the same can be said for the rest of Vikings’ pitching staff.

As a whole, the pitchers accumulated a 2.48 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 189 strikeouts, 13 shutouts, and allowed only two home runs through 242.1 innings pitched.

The Vikings will look to build on what they did as a team this season in hopes of an even better season next year.

Baseball secures victory in Super Regionals against Riverside

Ian Salazar
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Baseball secures victory in Super Regionals against Riverside

Vikings baseball bulldoze through the playoffs, sealing their third consecutive victory with a commanding 9-2 triumph and a strong performance by Caleb Brandon over the Riverside Tigers on Thursday.

Pitcher Dylan Proost started the game on the mound pitching six innings, allowing a total of six hits and two runs.

In a display of offensive strength, the Vikings orchestrated a six-run fourth inning, propelling them toward their win on Cerritos College’s field . 

The Vikings started the game, scoring the first run with Olin Snakenborg singling to left field, resulting in a run by Brandon. 

Riverside retaliated in the second inning, scoring a single run.

“We are feeling great, we put ourselves in a great position getting that first win, so we just need to come back tomorrow and keep playing hard,” said centerfielder Xander McLaurin. 

Shortstop Snakenborg unleashed a double to center field in the bottom of the fourth, allowing Brandon and McLaurin into score, putting up two more on the board, earning Snakenborg two of his four total RBIs.

Two more pivotal runs in the fourth inning set the stage for an exciting game, as Snakenborg and Luke Davis raced home on a blistering single through the left side by first baseman Ryan Geck, driving the score to 8-1. 

“We definitely hit the ball well today and had a really good approach, we knew that in the scouting report that came in they were going to throw a lot of fastballs so we just sat back and took it for a ride,” said McLaurin.

Despite changing pitchers from Proost to Thomas Adair in the seventh inning, the Vikings continued their fight throughout the remainder of the game.  

Snakenborg’s sacrifice fly to center field in the eighth inning secured the Vikings’ win, as Brandon crossed home plate finalizing the 9-2 score. 

Second baseman James Provencio also had a stand-out game scoring two of the nine runs. 

James Provencio slides to steal second base putting him in scoring position. Vikings won over Riverside 9-2 on May 9 as they continue to stay alive in the playoffs. (Brianna Apodaca)

“It feels really good to be in the playoffs, I knew since day one we’d be a playoff team and that we’d do well, and hopefully we’ll push for the final four,” said Provencio. 

With their spirits high, the Vikings look ahead with hope as they gear up for their next playoff game on May 10 at Cerritos College. 

Vikings dominate first game of regionals 7-2

Neil Gagna
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Vikings dominate first game of regionals 7-2

Freshman Bayleigh Frye pitched all seven innings as the Vikings defeated Citrus College 7-2 in game one of regionals on May 3. 

“Pitching all seven innings isn’t a problem for me because I feel like I get stronger as the inning goes and I feel like I just have to keep working hard,” Frye said. 

Frye put up four strikeouts, two walks, two runs, and four hits one of which came from Citrus’s pitcher in the third inning.

“Bayleigh trusted her defense when some of her pitches weren’t working and I am proud of her for continuing to be stoic on the mound,“ Director of Softball Operations Megan Martinez said.

The Vikings started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning as Freshman Robin Graia scored on a groundout by Jordan Vilaneva making the score 1-0. 

The second inning is where the Vikings scored most of the their runs as the team scored off a single from freshman Xiomei Geluz, a double from freshman Robin Garcia, and a single from freshman Anaya Togia making the score 5-0

Freshman Xiomei Geluz sliding into third trying to beat the throw from Citrus. The Vikings beat the Citrus Owls 7-2 in the first game of their playoff series in which LBCC won 2-0. (Neil Gagna)

Citrus was able to gain to runs in the top of third inning off a single and groundout in which the runner on third base was able to make the score 5-2

In the third inning sophomore Alynna Gonzalez hit a foul ball that ended up getting stuck in the netting above the Citrus dugout, the ball would remain there for the rest of the game. 

The very next pitch Gonzalez hit a single, but that would be the only hit of the inning as the Vikings were unable to extend their lead. 

The Vikings were able to score one run in the fifth inning which came off a single from sophomore Breanna Lucero making the score 6-2.

Freshman Xiomei Geluz extended the Vikings lead in the sixth inning, as Geluz scored off a wild pitch making the score 7-2.

“We stuck to our plan and our plan has been all year to be a good teammate, pound the strike zone, and attack the pitcher,” Martinez said.

The Vikings then defeated Citrus the following day to take away the win in the best of three game series and head to Super Regionals at Palomar College, Mother’s Day weekend.

CRU club builds a faith based community through group activities

Kassie Sainz
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CRU club builds a faith based community through group activities

A circle of six students throwing a burrito around were in the middle of the E quad on Apr. 18, 2024.

CRU club decided to have this week’s meeting out on the lawn, where they played games as a way to get to know each other. 

CRU is a Christian organization on campus where their mission is to share Christianity with people on campus and have a safe space to come together and have fun with one another.

“Being able to find fellowship with people my age has been most fulfilling in this organization. I think that is something hard to find nowadays, so finding people who have that same belief system has been great,” said club leader Elias Cruz.

Cruz is a second year at Long Beach City College and has been working on relaunching the club back up as it stopped during the pandemic. 

As of last week CRU is now an official club on campus.

CRU club has different rotations every week of what they focus on; some weeks being social focused, bible studies, and evangelism times as well. 

In their social meetings the club focuses on getting to know one another and come together as a community, not only growing in their faith but also growing and creating friendships.

This week’s social meeting the CRU club played a game called Throw Throw Burrito, which is a sort of dodgeball card game that keeps you on your toes and throws toy burritos at your friends.

“As a first year student at LBCC, being able to walk on campus and find people immediately who I know would share my values was great. It was really cool to find people who are so welcoming and people I am able to connect with made my transition into LBCC a lot easier,” said member Olivia Campos. 

All who are looking for a faith based community are welcome to join the CRU club on LBCC campus. 

The Future Teachers Club hosted a fundraiser in support of aspiring educators

Kassie Sainz
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The Future Teachers Club hosted a fundraiser in support of aspiring educators

Long Beach City College’s “Future Teachers Club” hosted a fundraiser to support the fellow students pursuing their future in teaching, as a way to increase opportunities for students to access educational programs with fun activities that allow them to develop their full potential.

The club has only ten members this semester and has high hopes that with all the upcoming fun events planned, they will achieve their goals of having more students be a part of the educational journey and helping students become future teachers.

The event took place in the M courtyard at LAC from 12 p.m. -2 p.m. on April 30.

The booth included fun teacher props, boxes of different colored conchas and various drinks to choose from with flyers of education courses to take for any student interested in becoming a teacher.

LBCC students Eric Platera and Jonah Herrera enjoying their conchas. The Future Teacher Club fundraiser took place on Apr. 30, 2024, in the M building courtyard at the LAC campus. (Darla Perez)

The club was selling conchas for $3, beverages like soda and coffee for $2.50 and if you wanted a combo in total it would be $5.

Future Teachers Club has been around since 2015, it’s almost ten years old and is still striving to help students achieve their educational goals.

Social media manager of the club Isabel Valdez keeps LBCC students updated through Instagram by posting updates of the club and any information on future events the club will be doing or have any information about education and teaching. 

“I would love to have the opportunity to expand the club for opportunities for students that want to work in education and have the club get out of the classroom and actually host events and spread awareness to fellow educators,” said Valdez.

The club does volunteer work and works with other colleges like Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Dominguez Hills with their future teacher education programs.

Jose Salazar, the president of the club, is an aspiring teacher and a full-time student at LBCC working to get his AA to transfer and then get his BA and finally his credentials to fulfill his teaching goals. 

Club members Isabel Valdez, Grace Reynolds and Brianna Arachi promoting custom t-shirts. The Future Teacher Club fundraiser took place on Apr. 30, 2024, in the M building courtyard at the LAC campus. (Darla Perez)

“This club is for students that have a desire in education and teaching, it can range from elementary, middle, high school and college. And with this club it will guide you for the classes you need to take depending what level of education you want to go for,” Salazar said.

The next event for the club will be at the annual Science Night which is free and will be on Fri. May 10th from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. in the C and D buildings of LAC. 

At science night, the club will have an obstacle course which will be a space dinosaur theme camp for kids that can make dinosaur hats and be fully engaged in the activities the club has to offer that night that will be educational and fun.

For anyone that is interested in joining, the club meetings are always on the ninth day and twenty-third day of each month at 1 p.m. in room M-322 at LAC.

Vikings drop last game of season 5-3 to Cerritos

Neil Gagna
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Vikings drop last game of season 5-3 to Cerritos

Sophomore Luke Davis launched a single to bring Vikings baseball within two runs but came up short losing the last game of the season 5-3 to Cerritos on Friday. 

“Those first innings we weren’t ready to play, we made a lot of mistakes on the mound and a lot of mistakes on the field, that’s not good,” head coach Casey Crook said. 

Freshman Sean Lovett replaced sophomore Liam Taylor on the mound as Taylor’s day was over before the second inning came to an end.

“Coming in the second inning I always like bases loaded just because one pitch can get you out of it but it was a hard hit ball to third base, I mean there’s nothing you can really do about that,” Lovett said.

Lovett pitched one and a half  innings putting up one hit, zero strikeouts, and one walk before being replaced in the fourth inning. 

The first and second inning did not go the Vikings way as Cerritos came out swinging scoring a combined five runs, two which were scored off of multiple defensive errors by the Vikings allowing Cerritos to load the bases. 

In the third inning the Vikings were able to strike back by gaining three runs off a double from Sophomore Xander McLaurin and a single from Sophomore Luke Davis.

Freshman Logan Carr pitched the fourth inning for the Vikings allowing zero runs, and one walk. 

The Vikings went to the bullpen a total of two more times as freshman Benjamin Dorantes and sophomore Max Sasaki pitched the rest of the game.   

The team was able to load the bases in the fifth inning but Cerritos’ defense was able to get the third out before the Vikings could score another run.

 “We have to be better on defense number one, our pitching has to get sharper, we didn’t  pitch very well when we had the count in our favor today, early in the game anyway, obviously our bullpen did pretty dang good,” Crook said.

With this loss the Vikings have an overall record of 27-13 and a Conference record of 16-8. 

Long Beach City College has since won their first round of regionals to advance to super regionals.

Baseball falls short to Cerritos forcing decider in South Coast Conference playoffs

Ian Salazar
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Baseball falls short to Cerritos forcing decider in South Coast Conference playoffs

Long Beach City College baseball lost in a shutout on the road due to errors and denied on runs as the team lost to Cerritos 8-0 on April 25 losing the South Coast Conference.

Coming from the previous win the Vikings went scoreless due to the Falcons defense with five errors committed with only eight hits.

Along with the lack of the team defenses has allowed the Falcons to score eight runs with three on the bottom of the sixth and eighth losing the chance to claim the title.


The Vikings prepare as the team’s next focus in getting ready for the playoffs according to head coach Casey Crook as they focus on the state championship.

“We still got a lot to play for,” Crook said. “We need to practice bouncing back and use that in our favor in the playoffs.”

On the positive side, starting pitcher Myles Dismute played almost six innings getting two strikeouts while only allowing five runs.

Sophomore Jay Carr was called from the bullpen to end the sixth with one strikeout along with Thomas Adair in the seventh inning getting two and both Benjamin Dorantes and Sean Lovett in the eighth. 

“Tried to do as much as I can as we had a bad day on the defensive side,” Dismute said. “But we have to do is throw strikes and compete.” 

While James Provencio, Ryan Geck, Olin Snakenbor and Xander McLaurin get the team to scoring position with 8 overall hits along with Caleb Brandon stealing bases yet caught in the top of the 4th.

“We’re a better team than them,” Provencio said. “We just have to get ready for the playoffs soon.”

The Vikings will meet the Falcons for one last time in the third game tomorrow for the final home game of the regular season as playoffs are getting close. 

The team beat the Falcons on the first game of the three game series April 23 at home 18-3 as the team would potentially get their chance to do it again. 

“Murder and Adultery” stuns crowd in LBCC’s Courtyard

Lineth Murillo
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“Murder and Adultery” stuns crowd in LBCC’s Courtyard

Murder and Adultery, one of the jazz combos at Long Beach City College, played a surprise performance in the courtyard outside the auditorium at the Liberal Arts Campus on April 18.

The jazz combo class is for student jazz musicians to come together and collaborate on their own music with little to no advisory from professors.

Despite being a surprise performance, a significant crowd gathered to watch the live musicians. 

“We have a really strong music program at LBCC, I just think not a lot of people know about it,” said freshman alto saxophonist Joshua Woofter.

Community and group events are a rare thing at LBCC so it is notable that such a crowd gathered to watch live music together.

A crowd gathers to watch the Murder and Adultery Jazz Band play in the courtyard at LAC on April 18, 2024. (Darla Perez)

Sophomore pianist Noah Ishikawa believes the live performances on campus help to build community.

“Yeah it builds community, I mean look at this turnout,” said Ishikawa.

The set ended with a jazz jam where anyone from the crowd could join in if they brought their instrument and fellow music majors joined in for the performance.

Connections from the players led to energy from the crowd erupting in cheering and applause in big moments during the performance.

“My favorite thing about performance is probably interacting with other musicians,” said Ishikawa.

The nature of the performance being outside and such a quick setup meant some challenges for the musicians.

“It’s never perfect playing outside, but I think with only 20 minutes of setup time, we did pretty good,” Woofter said.

The jazz combo program holds showcases at DiPiazza’s restaurant every few months, and the next one will be on Thursday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m.

LBCC Kicks off APID Heritage Month celebrations

Lineth Murillo
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LBCC Kicks off APID Heritage Month celebrations

Asian Pacific Islander Desi Heritage Month kicks off at Long Beach City College with a celebration event that included music, traditional food, a mini fashion show of students showcasing their cultural attire, live entertainment from professional drummers, and a live mini dance show from APID students.

The annual celebration honored the many contributions and accomplishments of Asian Americans, Pacific Islander Americans, and Native Hawaiians.

The event took place at LBCC’s LAC campus in the A quad on May 2, from 12 p.m.- 2 p.m. 

The ADIP committee announced how LBCC just launched their “MANA Program,” which is dedicated to building cultural and educational community experiences for APID students, and to give them a strong foundation within their community. 

LBCC students perform a dance routine at the Asian Pacific Islander Desi Heritage Month Kick-Off on May 2, 2024 at the A quad on LAC. (Darla Perez)

LBCC students Pallavy Noeun, Alyssa Sao, Mackenzie Nailor, Jennifer Cortes and Kerry Chhay were just some of the students that participated in the fashion show.

“I participated today because I would love to represent my Cambodian culture and especially in the city of Long Beach where there is a very prevalent Cambodian population,” Noeun said, “I think it’s important that we have this aesthetic kinda representation and to also let students know our country and culture is still resilient and I think it’s important to represent here in America.”

Mackenzie Nailor is the secretary of the Japanese culture club at LBCC and her professor asked if she would like to participate in the fashion show and with no hesitation she said yes. 

“My outfit represents a summer yukata, there’s a lot of representation in the flowers, and through the yukata every detail from the birds to the flower it symbolizes something,” Nailor said.

LBCC students showcase their cultural attire at APID fashion show at the Asian Pacific Islander Desi Heritage Month Kick-Off on May 2, 2024 at the A quad on LAC. (Darla Perez)

APID intern director and club advisor Alex Long helps out with all the APID events and promotes awareness of the club.

“I would want students to know and have the empowerment to explore their roots and culture and ask questions like, where am I from? Or where is my family from? And see how much of that impacts them today,” Long said.

The next APID event will be hosted by the ADIP club, which is the “Night Market,” which will be Wed May 8 at LAC in the A quad from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m.

The Night Market is APID student club’s adaptation of the 626 Night Market, with the goal of sharing APID diversity and culture, and all the proceeds from this fundraiser will go directly to the student clubs and organizations. 

For more event details for APID Heritage Month the LBCC website has the event calendar to keep students updated on the upcoming events.

New center in north Long Beach opens with the hope to aid LBCC students

Marty Triplett
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New center in north Long Beach opens with the hope to aid LBCC students

In collaboration with the city of Long Beach, the college has opened its first satellite campus in North Long Beach.

The North Long Beach Higher Education Center is a campus meant to “bridge the digital divide” between students who wish to attend LBCC, but live too far from campus to commute every day, according to trustee Uduak-Joe Ntuk.

Board of trustees member Uduak- Joe Ntuk speaks at North Long Beach higher education ribbon cutting ceremony Monday, May 6th.
The center hopes to help LBCC students who live too far from campus. (Andrea Lawrence)

What was once a dingy, dilapidated building, not even built to support Wi-Fi, has now become a resource for the north Long Beach community.

The center opening also coincides with the city’s recent efforts to revitalize north Long Beach, hoping to rebrand it as Uptown.

“We have always known what north Long Beach has to offer, we just want this corridor to reflect what we already know,” said councilwoman Joni Ricks-Oddie. 

The center was originally slated to open in 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID pandemic. It only opened early 2024 after many setbacks.

Originally, the planning committee for the center faced hurdles with an insufficient budget as well as investors.

Leased by the city, the center is then subleased and staffed by the college, ensuring that staff are able to assist anyone who walks through their doors with their academic or career goals.

Alongside a computer lab open to any LBCC students and local residents, the center offers career and education assistance through free, non-credit business and English second language courses.

Trustee Ntuk also announced the continuation of LBCC’s plan to build student housing in collaboration with the city.

Similarly to the center, the housing lot will be leased from the city, with the college subleasing it and setting up students in town homes near the North Long Beach Campus.

Mayor of Long Beach Rex Richardson speaks at North Long Beach higher education ribbon cutting ceremony Monday, May 6. The North Long Beach higher education center is made to help LBCC students who live too far from campus but still wish to be students. (Andrea Lawrence)

The housing program will seek to provide more affordable and convenient housing for students, giving them easy access to the Michelle Obama public library. 

“(This center) is a great collaboration between two government entities,” said city Mayor Rex Richardson.
Those interested in getting counseling or registration services can go to www.lbcc.edu/northlb to make an appointment or view the center’s event calendar.

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