The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
Long Beach Poly. 1600 Atlantic. Home of Scholars and Champions — with an emphasis on champions.
The historic school was the first high school in the city, founded in 1895. Since CIF’s founding in 1914, the Jackrabbits have won 133 titles.
That was until today. After a 6-2 win over Warren, the Long Beach Poly softball team won the school’s 134th CIF title and the first in program history. It is also the fourth CIF title for the Jackrabbits during the 2024-2025 school year.
“If anybody was going to do it, it was going to be us,” Head coach Elizabeth Sanches said. “It all came together at the right time.”
Poly started the championship game on the right foot and, despite some sparks from Warren, never took their foot off the gas.
Even though their offense has brought the power, the first play of the game let the Jackrabbits flex their defensive muscle as well. A hard hit ball in the 5-6 hole shifted shortstop Bailey Holder over and allowed her to flash the leather in a great backhanded play that got the first out.
Starting pitcher Tegan Breaux forced the next two hitters to ground out as well, taking down Warren 1-2-3 in the first inning.
“It’s amazing being able to pitch in the championship,” the sophomore Breaux said. “I feel like that’s a big honor, especially with this amazing team that we have.”
Her team came to the plate ready to back up their pitcher and wasted no time getting on the board. After Persja Lam Sam was walked and moved over to second on a groundball, junior Ki’ele Ho-Ching stepped up to the plate.
Warren’s starting pitcher Emi Ibarra tried to keep the Jackrabbits off balance with a nice offspeed pitch. But, Ho-Ching was ready for it, as she sat on the pitch and smacked an RBI double to right center field to score P. Lam Sam.
“Being that I wasn’t able to play the field this season, I just had to help my team out on the flip side of things with my bat. And I’m just really, really glad I did, especially in the first inning setting the tone,” Ho-Ching said.
Through their first three batters, the Jackrabbits had already put a run on the board. This support from her offense helped Breaux relax in the circle, as she started the second inning with a looking strikeout.
“I feel like I could go up there and pitch my game knowing my team was behind me,” Breaux said.
The Bears were quiet through the first four innings, but Poly was making some noise. And it was loud.
They say history repeats itself. But no one at Deanna Manning Stadium knew it would happen in the bottom of the third inning.
Just like their first at bats, Persja Lam Sam got a rally started with a lead off single to center field. She was moved over to second on another groundball from Emoni Lam Sam when Ho-Ching returned to the plate.
The junior took her second pitch and hit a high fly ball over the right fielder’s head to bring P. Lam Sam around again with a triple. When Warren fumbled on the relay, Ho-Ching didn’t hesitate to take the final 60 for an inside-the-park home run.
“She loves those inside-the-park home runs probably more than she loves the ones that leave the park, because she gets to demonstrate her speed and her agility around the base path,” Sanches said of Ho-Ching. “People are out there thinking, ‘I just got hit my cut, because there’s no way she’s going to go,’ and in the second they doubt her, she’s gone.”
Kween Tauala followed Ho-Ching’s big hit with a double to right center. She was brought around on an RBI single to left field by Sunni Vaafuti. After three innings, the Jackrabbits were up 4-0.
The next inning kept the same energy in the home team dugout, with the same names bringing the boom for Poly. There were runners on first and second after P. Lam Sam hit a double and Ho-Ching was intentionally walked.
A passed ball allowed both runners to move into scoring position with Tauala back at the plate. The senior hit a double down the left field line to bring in both runners and increase Poly’s lead to 6-0.
Warren tried to get something going in the top of the next inning when Andrea Garcia hit a single to right field and made it to second on an error. Garcia stole third on a wild pitch and tagged up on a fly ball to center to give the Bears their first run of the game.
The momentum almost seemed to be shifting, especially in the top of the seventh inning with Warren down to their final at bats. Bella Gonzalez led off with a double and then was brought around when the next batter, Lexi Cortez, hit an RBI single to centerfield.
But, the game all came back around to Breaux, who was looking to go the distance in a complete game for the Jackrabbits. After a ball started the final at bat, Breaux stayed composed and retired the final Bear for a swinging strikeout.
Ho-Ching, who went 2 for 3 at the plate with 3 RBIs, said this championship win was a total team effort.
“Everyone did their job today, whether it was getting a base hit or making productive outs, everyone is here for each other,” Ho-Ching said. “It feels amazing to say that we won as a team, and it wasn’t a single person that did it all, everyone just contributed.”
For the entirety of their CIF run, Sanches has described her team as “dawgs.” The team has been like a family who constantly lift each other up, but they also knew they were fighting for something bigger than themselves.
“These girls don’t know how to lose. They don’t know how to give up,” Sanches said. “When you’re fighting for so much more than just a win, it makes a difference. We’re a family, and we’re fighting for an entire community. We have our entire city lifting us up.”
Next year’s Jackrabbits will look very similar to this year’s championship team. The squad will only lose four seniors with an entirely new freshman class coming in. Even with the inevitable changes that will come, Poly will have this historical title serve as their momentum for the future.
“This is what we’re going to fall back on forever,” Sanches said. “If we could do it today, we can do it any day, and we have to remind ourselves of that. No matter what, it always comes down to family. It always comes down to that sisterhood, win or lose.”
