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Long Beach City College softball is looking to stay hot throughout their season this year.
Head coach Megan Martinez and the Vikings have started off the year 6-1 and are looking to stay on the incline.
“We’re ranked four in Southern California out of 50,” Martinez said. “We were ranked seventh last week out of 116 teams.”
Martinez said her team sports some experienced veterans with a good amount of fresh faces.
Among the top returners is sophomore catcher Breanna Lucero.
“She’s our returning starter,” Martinez said. “We’re excited to have her control the bases.”
Lakewood High School graduate and sophomore infielder Alejandra ‘Ale’ Mota is also back for the Vikings. Martinez said Mota is one of the returning captains this year.
In the outfield, LBCC has returning sophomore Alynna Gonzalez. Martinez said these returners all hold several offers from other schools.
The Vikings have some talented freshmen that hold several offers, as well.
Freshman pitcher Bayleigh Frye is in the circle for LBCC. Frye is from Apple Valley, CA and Martinez said she signed a Division I offer before deciding to stay local for two years.
“She’s undefeated on the mound, and she leads in strikeouts,” Martinez said. “So we’re really pumped about her.”
Frye has 33 strikeouts through six starts.
Backing her up on defense is freshman shortstop Xiomei Geluz. Martinez said Geluz was the Southern California Player of the Year for CIF. Geluz was on varsity for Banning High School all four years, spotting a .628 average her senior year.
“She’s a good kid,” Martinez said. “She has several offers already and is completely dominant at shortstop.”
Frye and Geluz are just two fresh faces in what Martinez said is her best recruiting class yet.
“It’s just a really good feel out here,” Martinez said. “We have a lot of camaraderie. They’re really good. They’re very selfless.”
The Vikings’ squad for this season is made up of 28 players; Martinez’s biggest squad ever. With so many players, Martinez said her team’s goal for the year is to be a good teammate.
“We’re really teamship focused and selfless focused,” Martinez said. “Being a good teammate unveils so many different things, there are so many different ways to be a good teammate. We’re really excited that this group seems to be taking advantage of that. It seems to be working.”
Aside from being a good teammate, Martinez said her team’s offense also contributes to their early success.
“We’re probably one of the best hitting teams right now to date,” Martinez said. “We’re just attacking the ball and our pitchers are attacking the zone. We are really just playing basic softball.”
While the Vikings are looking to stay winning, Martinez said overall, her team is grateful.
“We’re really grateful just to be out here every single day,” Martinez said. “We have a grateful attitude and are focused on being one big family.”
LBCC opens conference play Feb. 22 when they travel to L.A. Harbor.
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