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Posted: Mar 19, 2024

Long Beach, Coach Crook Perfect So Far In SCC Baseball

Luke Davis in action for Long Beach.
Luke Davis in action for Long Beach.

Long Beach City College head coach Casey Crook started his tour directing the Vikings' baseball program in 1994 and 30 seasons later his influence as a leader is going strong as LBCC leads the 2024 South Coast Conference baseball race at 9-0 going into games of March 19.

Crook is hoping to guide his Vikings to their 10th conference title in his career. In 2006, he directed LBCC to a state championship. 

Long Beach (19-3 overall) is in the midst of a 13-game win streak overall and has posted 3-game conference series sweeps over Pasadena City, Rio Hondo and LA Harbor. 

The team's explosive offense has produced 10 runs or more in 14 games (13-1 record) and it has scored 55 runs in the last three victories alone. This includes a 13-run, third inning in a 20-3 win over Harbor on Mar. 16. 

Rated #5 in SoCal, Long Beach is paced by the current third-leading hitter in the state in Davis Grawey, leading the SCC with a .466 average. The Vikings have the conference's top four leaders in RBI paced by both Ryan Geck and Olin Snakenborg, both with 29, the top three in home runs, led by Luke Davis with eight, and even the SCC's best two stolen base leaders, topped by Reef Danner with 13 thefts. 

Despite the lofty numbers, it's second place Cerritos (20-4, 11-1 in SCC play) that is ahead in the SoCal Rankings at #4. The Falcons, directed this year by former El Camino long-time head coach Nate Fernley, have won 11 straight games, including consecutive series sweeps over LA Harbor, El Camino, and Mt. San Antonio. 

Cerritos is basing its success on monster pitching. Derek Valdez leads the conference in ERA at 1.29 and mound wins (six) and he's followed closely by Franky Lopez with five wins and a 1.86 ERA, both second in the SCC to Valdez, and Myles Johnson, who also has five victories and is fourth in conference ERA at 2.60 (statistics based on overall games). Closer Calix Armijo has five saves to top the SCC.

The only other conference team above .500 in SCC games only is #18 Mt. San Antonio at 5-4 (#20 Pasadena City and Compton are each 6-6). The Mounties had won four straight in SCC play (sweep over Compton) before getting swept themselves by the Cerritos pitching machine, limited to just six runs in three defeats. Joel Gutierrez is hitting .449 to lead Mt. SAC.

The Lancers are 13-10 overall, but after a 5-game SCC win streak have been slowed down in losing 2-of-3 v. El Camino last week. PCC's Adrian Roman (.404) saw a 22-game hitting streak to start his collegiate career end in a 5-4 loss on Saturday. 

Compton (7-13 overall) had a surprising series sweep over the Warriors (Feb. 27-Mar. 2), all exciting 1-run victories. Compton's Jalen Ringwood is batting .377, including a 4-for-4 performance and home run in a 10-3 win over East Los Angeles on Saturday.

El Camino (10-13) is fifth in the conference at 5-7 and as AJ Hiestand (3-2 record) scattered 12 hits in the series finale win over PCC over eight innings after pitching a gem v. Cerritos when he gave up just three hits and one unearned run in a no decison (2-1 team loss) on Mar. 9.

East LA (9-13, 2-7) has a familiar baseball name in Manny Ramirez Jr., the son of the former MLB All-Star outfielder. Ramirez Jr. hit home runs in back-to-back games v. Mt. SAC and drove in 14 RBI during a hot, 5-game stretch between Feb. 29-Mar. 12. 

Rio Hondo (4-19, 2-7) has only had one true hurrah, handing Cerritos its only loss thus far in conference play in the SCC opener, but hope to snap a 7-game overall losing streak this week when it faces Harbor. Edgardo Lorenzo is leading the team in batting with a .353 average.

Speaking of the Seahawks (9-15), they are 2-10 in the SCC and something will have to give as they have a 9-game losing streak going into the Rio Hondo series. Harbor has a true utility player in Ryan Loptegui, who is hitting .333 with four home runs and 17 RBI while also second in the SCC in pitching saves with four. 

The conference title could come down to a showdown the SCC final week as Cerritos and Long Beach face each other April 23-26.

SCC INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS THROUGH MARCH 18 (overall games)

BATTING--Grawey, Long Beach, .466, Gutierrez, Mt. San Antonio, .449, Connor Meidroth, El Camino, .413
HOME RUNS--Davis, Long Beach, 8, Xander McLaurin, Long Beach, 5, Geck, Long Beach, 5
RBI--Geck, 29, Snakenborg, Long Beach, 29, Davis, 29
STOLEN BASES--Danner, Long Beach 13, Caleb Brandon, Long Beach, 10, Evan Chavez, East LA, 9, DJ Massey, Cerritos, 9, Ethan Kang, LA Harbor 9
PITCHING WINS--Valdez, Cerritos, 6, Johnson, Cerritos, 5, Lopez, Cerritos 5
ERA (minimum 45 innings)--Valdez, 1.29, Lopez 1.86, Jameson Ferraro, Pasadena, 2.06
STRIKEOUTS--Nathan Mertens, East LA, 65, Lopez 46, Kyle Calzadiaz, Mt. San Antonio, 45

Cerritos ace Derek Valdez