By Alfonso Rivera and Carlos Alvarez
Baseball team takes series win defeating Long Beach City College two out of three games last week.
With a chance to sweep their conference rivals, Huskies lost, 2-1, in a great pitching duel Saturday, March 24.
The Husky record stands at 11-10, 6-2 in South Coast Conference play. They are in a three way tie for second place with Compton and Long Beach.
“You always want the sweep, but we won the series,” Head coach James Hines said.
The team began the week by defeating Long Beach City College, 2-0, on March 20 at Cal State Los Angeles, behind a stellar pitching performance from Elias Novello.
Novello was dominant once again pitching seven and one third scoreless innings while allowing only three hits.
Leonard De La Rosa came in to shut the door on the Vikings getting his third save of the season.
The offense was led by a pair of Aguilars’ – sophomore catcher Walter Aguilar and freshman third baseman Michael Aguilar.
In the third inning Walter Aguilar got things started when he doubled with one out and later scored on a single by Michael Aguilar who hit safely in his three at bats while collecting three singles with a run batted in.
The Huskies added another run in the fifth inning when sophomore Ernie Aguilera scored on a wild pitch.
In the second game of the series the Huskies traveled to Joe Hicks Stadium in Long Beach defeating the Vikings, 5-2, with an offensive showcase collecting a total of fourteen hits in the game.
The offensive onslaught was led by captain and starting first baseman Manuel Estevez who went three for five while collecting three singles and driving in three runs.
The Huskies took a 2-0 lead in the first providing an early lead for sophomore starting pitcher Juan Vera who got his third win of the season.
Vera (3-3), pitched eight solid innings allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits.
Leonard De la Rosa picked up his fourth save of the season pitching a scoreless ninth inning.
“The offense was big today, it’s great to pitch with the lead,” Vera said.
In the finale the teams meet again at Cal State LA in what turned out to become a great pitching duel.
Husky sophomore Christian Madrid (1-1) and Viking sophomore Omar Jimenez (2-3) were dominant for each team with the Huskies coming up short, losing 2-1.
Madrid suffered the loss after pitching a complete game, scattering eight hits while allowing two runs just one of them earned and striking out four.
Jimenez matched him with seven solid innings, giving up just one earned run while striking out six Husky batters.
Viking closer Edwin Santiago came in to shut the door pitching two scoreless innings while striking out four and recording his fourth save of the season.
The Husky offense once again showed their inconsistency at the plate collecting a total of six hits in the game.
Sophomore Robert Gonzalez hit safely in all four of his at bats collecting four singles while scoring the lone Husky run in the losing effort.