The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Former Jackrabbits Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
It had the feel of a hometown battle between Long Beach Poly and St. Anthony at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field on Monday, a non-league contest between two local teams separated by just a mile. While it looked to be neck-and-neck after a few close innings, the Jackrabbits eventually pulled away from St. Anthony with a big afternoon at the plate to earn a 10-2 win.
Poly earned seven of its 10 runs while scattering eight hits through six innings, with five different players recording a hit. The Jackrabbits also drew nine walks and took advantage of three errors that led to runs.
“I was happy with this outcome—we’ve had a lot of really good offensive days this season, and this was another one,” said Poly coach Soloman Williams. “It’s not just one, two or even three guys who can hit. We have a bunch of guys and I don’t even know who it’s going to be every day, and that’s fun to coach.”
The Jackrabbits were led at the plate by senior catcher Caleb Safotu, who went 2-for-3 while driving in three runs and scoring a pair of his own. Both of Safotu’s hits went for extra bases, including a two-RBI triple that gave Poly the go-ahead runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
“I feel like this was a big team win and brought us a lot of confidence,” Safotu said after the game. “Going up against a good program like St. Anthony, breaking through and showing ourselves what we’re capable of is really important at this point in the season, and I feel like this will carry into the week when we play Cabrillo and Millikan.”
The Jackrabbits also had a solid overall outing on the mound, which included the first appearance of the season from senior right-hander Ryan King. The Cal State Bakersfield commit tossed just one inning but set the tone with a 1-2-3 first, before the Jackrabbits got four strong innings from Az Zuger, who scattered three hits and allowed two runs. Shortstop Tate Hammond then came in to pitch a pair of innings and surrendered just one hit en route to the win.
Hammond also got Poly’s first rally going in the bottom of the first, drawing a walk before advancing to third on a pair of wild pitches. Safotu and Neil Morris then drew walks before an RBI single from Braylen Reyes scored Hammond. An error on the same play also brought in Safotu to give Poly an early 2-0 lead.
St. Anthony found its first bit of rhythm on the basepaths in the top of the third when Nick Galluccio and Evan Cañon both drew walks. Aidan Ruiz then knocked in a two-RBI double to clear the bases before getting tagged out trying to stretch it into a triple, but not before tying the game at two runs apiece.
Poly regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning after Will Trunnelle singled and Hammond drew an intentional walk. That’s when Safotu drove a ball deep to center field at the wall to score the two go-ahead runs before advancing on the play and coming home on a passed ball, giving the Jackrabbits a three-run lead.
“I was just thinking I’ve got to get my A swing off,” Safotu said of his approach. “It was 2-0 and he had to attack me, so once I saw that fastball, I knew I had to do damage and bring in my teammates.”
Poly didn’t score again until the sixth inning, when the Jackrabbits went on one final burst to tack on five more runs. Cameron Christen scored on a Braylen Reyes RBI single before Zuger came home one at-bat later on an error. Reyes then scored on a bases-loaded walk before Hammond knocked a two-RBI stand-up double to cap the scoring for Poly.
St. Anthony started its ace in left-hander Jaylen Butler, who racked up seven strikeouts through 3.2 innings while allowing four hits and five runs. Aidan Ruiz pitched 1.1 innings, allowing no hits with one strikeout, while Luke Frazier had three strikeouts but gave up four hits and five runs in one inning pitched.
Both teams will have quick turnarounds back into league action, as St. Anthony hosts a Camino Real League matchup against first-place Paraclete tomorrow, while Poly travels to Cabrillo on Wednesday before facing Millikan on Friday. For Williams, the matchup against St. Anthony was the perfect addition amid Poly’s Moore League schedule.
“This is not the St. Anthony team I faced in high school in 2011. They’re just as good as anyone in our league, so to get a game with them at Blair in the middle of Moore League play is perfect,” Williams said. “They had a really good lefty on the mound, and we’re going to face some good lefties with Millikan and Wilson, so it was a good intercity win.”
