The Long Beach State Dirtbags are off to their best start since 2016 thanks to a sweep of No. 17 Wake Forest last weekend. The Dirtbags are now ranked No. 25 in multiple polls, and host San Diego tonight at 6 p.m. at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.
Long Beach City College Baseball
The Vikings (12-3, 3-0) won their first three South Coast Conference games of the season last week by sweeping Compton.
First baseman Zach Rivas drove in five runs and hit a home run in the 19-1 win at Compton. Noel Soto got the win after allowing two hits and one run in five innings. LBCC scored six runs in the last three innings of their 8-4 win on Thursday in the second game. Mitchell Knight improved to 3-0 this season with 4.2 scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts.
LBSU Men’s Basketball
Another strong defensive effort helped LBSU hold on to a 64-60 win over Hawaii on Saturday at Walter Pyramid. The Beach (10-18, 5-7) handed the Rainbow Wahine (15-11, 6-6) their first home conference loss two weeks ago.
“I’m happy for our guys because they’re starting to get rewarded for their identity,” LBSU coach Dan Monson said. “We’ve figured out that if we’re going to win games, it’s going to be at the defensive end. It’s got to be with our rebounding. It’s got to be with our toughness.”
Sophomore Michael Carter III scored a team-high 15 points, and sparked a 13-2 run in the first half that helped give LBSU a 34-24 halftime lead.
LBSU led by as many as 16 in the second half, but Hawaii got back into the game while LBSU made 11 turnovers in the last 8 minutes. However, the Beach was able to hold on at the free throw line to seal a crucial victory in terms of the conference standings.
The Beach is still only two games out of second place in the Big West with four games left on the regular season schedule. LBSU has won three of its last four games.
LBSU had a 40-33 rebounding edge on Hawaii while six Beach players had at least six points. Seven players had four or more rebounds, led by senior Jordan Roberts’s seven.
“After the injury to Romelle Mansel, I felt like I had to bring more of a defensive mentality to the lineup,” Roberts said.
Freshman Joshua Morgan finished with 10 points to go with six rebounds and two more blocks. Morgan is now tied for ninth all-time in career blocks with 67 at the Beach.
LBSU hosts Cal State Northridge on Wednesday.
LBSU Men’s Volleyball
No. 4 LBSU registered its highest hitting percentage (.500) of the season in a 25-15, 25-13, 25-15 sweep of Westcliff at Walter Pyramid last Friday. Junior Ryan Poole led the Beach with nine kills and eight digs.
LBCC Women’s Basketball
The No. 20 Vikings (20-8, 10-0) clinched the undefeated South Coast Conference Championship with a 57-33 victory over El Camino at the Hall of Champions Gym. Sophomore guard Isabel Lizarraga scored a game-high 17 points while grabbing five rebounds and four steals.
LBCC Men’s Basketball
A disappointing season finished on a high note for LBCC (18-10, 5-5) with an 88-76 win over El Camino on Sophomore Night. The Vikings were ranked in California when star Jace Bass suffered a season-ending injury.
Sophomore Aaron Jelks led LBCC double-double 27 points and 10 assists in the season finale on Saturday. Freshman guard and Cabrillo High alum Elijah McGee chipped in six points, five rebounds and a steal. He was the 2019 Spirit Of Long Beach award winner.
LBSU Softball
Senior Sydney McCollum hit .474 with 5 RBI in five games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last weekend. LBSU won three of them, and McCollum delivered the game-winning hit in a 2-1 win over Oregon State. Senior pitcher Ashley Coleman went 2-0 in the circle with a pair of complete games and a 0.93 ERA.
LBCC Men’s Volleyball
The Vikings (6-1) picked up their fourth consecutive win last week with a sweep of San Diego Mesa. Freshman middle blocker Arsene Ponsin was the only player with 10 kills, and freshman outside hitter Erik Hernandez chipped in nine kills and five digs.
LBSU Women’s Basketball
The Beach (11-4, 6-6) dropped its only game last week to UC Irvine 70-61. Justina King and Cydnee Kinslow in a tough setback against UCI. Sophomore Justina King finished the game with a team-high 16 points and five assists, while senior Cydnee Kinslow scored all 12 of her points from 3-point range.
LBCC Softball
An 8-5 win over Rio Hondo on Saturday pushed the Vikings (7-5, 4-3) above .500 in conference play. Sophomore pitcher Daisy Torres picked up the win in the circle while striking out three in six innings. Sophomore Jade Whitman leads the LBCC offense with 28 hits and 16 RBIs this season.
LBSU Women’s Water Polo
The Beach took 13th place at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational last weekend. Jamie Oberman, Orsi Hertzka and Anne de Kleer each had a hat trick in the only win over Pacific.
LBSU Women’s Tennis
After a loss at San Diego, LBSU (5-2, 2-0) bounced back with a 5-0 Big West win at UC Riverside last weekend. The Beach has never lost to UCR.
LBSU Women’s Golf
Sophomore Hannah Ko finished in 11th place and LBSU was fifth overall at the Rebel Beach Invitational, hosted by Spanish Trail Country Club in Las Vegas. That is also where two-time defending conference champions LBSU will be hosting the Big West Championships to close the regular season.
LBSU Men’s Golf
Senior and Wilson alum Hunter Epson led the Beach with a 12th place finish at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii after shooting a 68 in the final round. The Beach finished 12th in the 21-team tournament, and was the best of four competing Big West schools.
(Statistics thru Feb. 24)
