At the end of every school year we look back to reminisce on the accomplishments that defined Long Beach sports over the last 12 months. This year has been extra special because of the variety of schools and sports represented on this list— which is a hallmark of our diverse city and athletic community.
No. 10 – Poly Football Beats Mission Viejo
No. 9 – Poly Adds Girls’ Flag Football
No. 8 – Lakewood Hosts CIF Championship
No. 7 – Wilson Boys’ Tennis Makes School History With CIF Title
No. 6 – Millikan Girls’ Golf Wins First Ever CIF Championship
No. 5 – Long Beach Takes All The Hardware At CIF-SS Track Finals
No. 4 – Long Beach Poly Softball/Baseball Walk-off Wins
Not only did the Long Beach Poly baseball and softball teams win CIF Southern Section playoff games via walk-off hit on the same day, they did so on the same street and at almost the exact same time.
On May 9 at Joe Rodgers Stadium, Long Beach Poly softball trailed visiting King High School 4-3 in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs. In the bottom of the seventh inning when Tiare Ho-Ching doubled into left center field, here sister Kiele came up next and sent a shot to the fence in right center. The speedy sisters both came in to score on the 2-run home run as Poly walked off winners 5-4. It’s the first time in history the Jackrabbits have won two postseason games.
Seconds after Ho-Ching scored, fans at the softball field heard a roar from nearby Bohl Diamond at Blair Field. It was the sound of Poly baseball beating Flintridge Prep 1-0 in the Division 3 quarterfinals thanks to another walk-off hit from Max Pemberton. The junior had three walk-off hits in the last seven games for the Jackrabbits.
And since it is the Jackrabbits leaving the other team on the field with a walk-off hit, we just call this the day of the Hop-Offs.
