Long Beach Leading SCC Softball, Others Showing High RPI

The strength of the South Coast Conference is showing in a tight softball race that has Long Beach City College on top thus far at 7-0, just ahead of Mt. San Antonio at 6-1.

The Vikings (17-4 overall) have won 11 straight, but will have to complete a halted game from Mar. 7 stopped due to poor weather with host Mt. SAC leading 7-5 in the top of the seventh. That game will be played at that point on April 18 when the two will also play a full game at Mt. SAC. 

Long Beach twice beat third-place El Camino, including rallying from 8-0 down by scoring six runs in the seventh for wild 10-9, walk-off on Feb. 23. Alynna Gonzalez ripped a 2-run triple for the game-winning hit.

The Mounties (16-6) are on an 8-game win streak, including paying back its conference-opening loss to Compton by winning 8-0 (six innings) in a rematch at home on Mar. 14. Aleyna Urbina tossed a 5-hitter in that shutout.

One of the big developments in the conference is the high SoCal RPI for so many teams. Mt. SAC leads the bunch at #4, followed by Long Beach at #6, El Camino at #7, Cerritos at #11, and Compton at #12. 

In the most recent State Top 20 Rankings, Long Beach was #7, Mt. SAC #10, El Camino #15, and Cerritos #17.

The Warriors (13-8, 6-3 in SCC play) earned a solid win at Cerritos, 6-0, then got past Compton, 3-2, in recent conference matchups. Cerise Cervantes launched a 3-run homer in the win over the Falcons. 

Cerritos (12-6, 4-3 in conference) outlasted Compton, 7-3, in 10 innings on Mar. 1 when the Falcons scored four runs in third extra inning, keyed by a 2-run double by Natalie Basurto. 

Compton (14-7, 5-4 in SCC games) stopped a 4-game losing streak overall by getting past Pasadena City, 6-3, on Mar. 15. Serena Velez batted 3-for-4 with two RBI in that victory.

Also last Friday, East Los Angeles won a slugfest over LA Harbor, 14-12. The Huskies had 5-for-5 day from Leiloni Pina, who belted two doubles with three RBI. 

The Seahawks impressed with a 5-4, extra-inning, non-conference win at #15 RPI Southwestern on Mar. 16 as Vanessa Carranza won it in the eighth on a run-scoring double. Southwestern split a doubleheader in beating Harbor in the second game, 6-0. 

While Pasadena has been mired in a losing streak, the Lancers nearly upset Bakersfield, before falling to the #8 RPI Renegades, 7-6 in a game played at Fullerton on Saturday. The Lancers led at one point, 5-0, helped by Alexis Garcia's 2-run double in the second inning.

SCC INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS THROUGH MARCH 18 (overall games)

BATTING--Jordyn Villanueva, Long Beach, .544, Anaya Togia, Long Beach, .508, Robin Garcia, Long Beach, .500
HOME RUNS--Mercedes Alba, Mt. San Antonio, 5, Togia, 4, Janis Espinoza, Mt. San Antonio, 3
RBI--Togia, Long Beach, 34, Gonzalez, Long Beach, 29, Alba, 24
STOLEN BASES--Jazmine Macias, Cerritos, 23, Espinoza 15, Emma Garcia, El Camino, 12, Lilly Lewis, El Camino, 12
PITCHING WINS--Reanna Carranza, Cerritos, 12, Bayleigh Fry, Long Beach, 10, Mariah Zapata, Long Beach, 7, Celeste Quintanilla, LA Harbor, 7 
ERA (minimum 45 innings)--Urbina, Mt. San Antonio, 1.36, R.Carranza, 2.09, Madilyn Radeke, El Camino, 2.17
STRIKEOUTS--Fry, Long Beach, 72, R.Carranza 59, Urbina 48

Mt. SAC's Janis Espinoza (19) is the returning SCC Co-Player of the Year