The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
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.
This Moore League baseball season has been unpredictable since the start, and it’s damn sure been entertaining.
Lakewood and Long Beach Poly played possibly the most exciting game of the season on Wednesday afternoon at Spud O’Neil Field, with the host Lancers earning a 7-6 walk-off victory in the bottom of the seventh, capping off a perfectly imperfect ballgame.
Nick Gallegos scored the game-winning run with two outs in the seventh, racing home on an errant throw while advancing on a pitch in the dirt. His run canceled out a three-run rally by the Jackrabbits in the top of the seventh to tie it, giving Lakewood a season split with Poly to keep them firmly in the Moore League title chase.
The Lancers were able to score in a variety of ways on Wednesday, hitting for power, using the bunt game beautifully, and capitalizing on mistakes from the Poly defense. They also made some key plays in the field to support their pitching staff and gutted out a win by any means necessary.
“You’re absolutely right. And we’ve practiced that stuff,” said Lakewood coach Spud O’Neil of his team’s all-around performance. “It wasn’t working at the beginning of the season, and now they’ve bought in, and hopefully this game will turn the tide for us … You know, our record isn’t very good, but we’re playing better now, and that’s what it’s all about.”
In the other dugout, Poly head coach Solomon Williams was frustrated with his team’s defensive performance, especially late in the game. The Jeckarabbits were charged with six errors, including four in the last two innings.
“It’s tough to beat a good team like that that puts the ball in play,” said Williams of Lakewood. “All nine of their guys were tough at-bats with two strikes. But yeah, our defense just hasn’t been good lately. And if it’s going to be like that, it’s hard to win competitive games.”
Lakewood was able to take the lead in the second inning on a 2-out RBI from Tanner Miramontes, bringing home Jayden Pea for an unearned run and a 1-0 advantage.
The Lancers tacked on runs in the third, as Nate Gallegos smacked a leadoff triple and scored on an RBI double from Anthony Rueda. Then in the fourth, Nick Gallegos reached on an error, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a balk, then came in to score on a second wild pitch to make it 3-0 Lancers.
Lakewood starting pitcher Lathan Rivas kept the visitors off the scoreboard through those first four innings, striking out the side in the first and finishing with five punchouts on the day. He’s been a real lift for the Lakewood pitching staff lately, and was also feeding off the run support he got Wednesday.
“We had our gameplan, and it’s all about execution. Making the right pitches at the right times and executing,” said Rivas. “it’s fun going out there. I look forward to pitching after (the offense) gets a couple hits. You don’t even have to score a run, just getting a few hits is all I need. It just fuels me to go out there and make more pitches.”
Rivas got out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the third inning thanks to a terrific snag at third base by Rueda, which started an inning-ending double play.
But Lakewood couldn’t keep the Poly offense down forever, and Will Trunnelle’s RBI triple got the Rabbits on the board in the fifth. He would later score on an AZ Zuger sac fly to cut the deficit to 3-2.
The teams traded runs in every half inning for the rest of the day, starting with a suicide squeeze bunt laid down by Noah Nunez with the bases loaded. That scored pinch runner Daniel Manriquez to make it 4-2 Lakewood.
Next it was Poly’s turn to score, and an RBI double by Fausto Gaxiola III plated Caleb Safotu to get things back to a one-run game, 4-3 Lakewood in the sixth.
The Lancers responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the sixth, benefitting from some miscommunication in the Poly outfield on a blooper over second base. The ball dropped in for a hit for Rueda, allowing Xavier Nunez to score. Then Rueda brought home a second run on an RBI single from Joel Melena, making it 6-3 Lakewood headed to the final inning.
But the Jackrabbits didn’t lay down, and got back-to-back one-out singles from Trunnelle and Zuger. Tate Hammond was next up and sent a missile into right center. The ball rolled underneath the outfield fence and out of play, causing the converging Lakewood outfielders to raise their hands. After a conference and an inspection by the umpires, it was appropriately ruled a ground-rule double, putting the tying run at second base for Poly.
After an RBI groundout brought Poly down to its final out, Gaxiola III delivered a clutch single through the left side to score Hammond and tie the game at 6-6. The Jackrabbits scored all six of their runs after the fifth inning, but their late offensive charge proved to be just a little too late.
Gallegos reached on an error with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, and moved up to second on a wild pitch. On another ball in the dirt, he made an aggressive attempt to swipe third base, and the throw down was high and into left field, allowing him to score the winning run.
Impressively, the Lancers scored at least once in every inning except the first, and collected 10 hits on their way to victory. Their lineup has definitely improved as the season has gone on, and it’s a welcome change for O’Neil and company.
“If you look at our last 5-8 games, we’ve been getting eight hits a game, so it just fits,” O’Neil said of his team’s recent success at the plate. “We just haven’t learned how to win, and hopefully we’ll continue this.”
Lakewood (9-15, 6-2) has now beaten every team in the league except Millikan this season, and controls its own destiny with four games left to play. The Lancers visit Compton on Friday in their next contest.
Long Beach Poly (14-9, 5-3) remains in good position for a playoff spot, and are facing Cabrillo on Friday on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.
