The Long Beach Coast is preparing for Pioneer Baseball League playoffs after clinching a spot in their inaugural season. The Coast went 4-1 in the final week of regular action, and playoffs are set to start Sept. 10.
Long Beach spent their week at home hosting the Modesto Roadsters. In their first game of the final series, the Coast picked up a 4-2 win. Gary Grosjean started on the bump for the first time since July 4, tossing five scoreless innings and only allowing two hits with four strikeouts.
Center fielder Emilio Corona smacked a three-run homer in the second inning to support Grosjean, putting the Coast up 4-0 at the end of two innings. Long Beach held onto the lead to give Grosjean his sixth win of the season.
In game two, the Coast dropped the game in a Knockout Round loss. Long Beach battled to a 6-6 tie by the end of nine innings behind a fourth inning rally. The Coast caught up with the Roadsters thanks to back-to-back hits from Cuba Bess and Matthew Bardowell, and Jacob Jablonski put Long Beach up with an RBI double.
Bess managed to tie the game 6-6 in the seventh inning with a two-run single. In the Knockout Round, Cuba Bess and Modesto’s Bryce Cannon both hit two home runs to go to round two.
In the second round, Tyler Williams hit three consecutive home runs to put the Roadsters up. Jablonski came up short to give Modesto the win.
Long Beach got their revenge the very next day, securing a knockout win over Modesto in three rounds. The Coast got started early, knocking in two runs in the first inning. The Roadsters quickly battled back to go up 3-2 heading into the fifth frame.
Third baseman Benjamin Rosengard had a productive day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Rosengard’s performance kept the Coast even with the Roadsters before Corona smashed a homer in the eighth inning to put Long Beach up 5-4.
Modesto’s Tyler Williams kicked off the ninth inning with a solo blast to even the score and send the game into the Knockout Round. The home run derby went to three rounds, where Jaxon Byrd slugged the game-winner to give Long Beach the W.
This momentum carried over to the next game, where the Coast dominated in an 11-0 win. Starter Nathan Hemmerling led the way to the victory, becoming the first pitcher in franchise history to reach 100 strikeouts.
After the third inning, Hemmerling and reliever Steven Ordorica combined to retire 16 consecutive Roadsters. Center fielder Robert Pitts Jr. supported his pitchers with his offensive performance, going 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs.
On Saturday, Long Beach and Modesto went back to the Knockout Round and secured a comeback win to finish atop the PBL standings. Over halfway through the game, the Coast trailed 8-1 before their offense sparked the 9-8 win.
Corona was huge in the comeback win. The center fielder hit a grand slam in the seventh inning to cut Modesto’s lead to 8-6. Bess hit an RBI double in the eighth inning to tie the game up and send the teams to their third Knockout Round of the series.
Bess was the Knockout hero, slugging three home runs to secure the Coast’s win. Long Beach finished with an overall record of 68-27 in their first PBL season. The Coast will kick off playoffs at home Sept. 10 with first pitch set for 6:35pm.
