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The Long Beach Coast’s inaugural season in the Pioneer Baseball League came to an end on Friday night, as the Coast dropped Game 2 of the Championship Series in Montana, falling 14-11 to complete a sweep by the Billings Mustangs.
It was another explosive inning that the Coast surrendered to the Mustangs in the series, as Billings scored five runs in the first inning, led by a John McHenry grand slam. The home team then added four more runs in the third inning to take a 9-0 lead just three innings into Game 2 of the series.
The Coast didn’t go out without a fight, though, as Long Beach erupted for seven runs in the top of the sixth inning with RBI hits from Trevor Rogers, Benjamin Rosengard, Cuba Bess and a two-run home run from Jacob Jablonski, cutting the lead to just 9-7.
Long Beach’s comeback effort was met with a 40-minute lightning delay, which the Mustangs came out of and immediately got back to work. Adam Cootway launched a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth before Bodee Wright followed with an RBI double to cap Billings’ scoring and give the Mustangs a 14-7 lead.
The Coast’s final push came in the top of the eighth, as Bess hit a two-run homer before Spence Coffman added a pair of runs on a two RBI hit. That would cap the Coast’s comeback effort, as Long Beach fell 14-11 to conclude an incredible first year as the newest franchise in the Pioneer Baseball League.
The Coast finished its inaugural season as the second-place team in the overall regular-season standings with one more loss than the Mustangs, going 67-29 while also winning the first half of the season and becoming the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot.
Long Beach had the best bullpen in the league, with a league-best 5.31 ERA while also allowing the fewest hits in the league. The Coast had to manage signing new players throughout the season due to injuries and other factors, while the pitching staff also waved goodbye to the first Long Beach Coast player to be signed by an MLB organization, as Julien Hernandez was picked up by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Coast broke numerous records in its first season, as right-hander Zach Voelker became the first player in Pioneer League history to rack up 20 saves, finishing with 22. At the plate, leadoff man Eddie Pelc set a new single-season record for walks with 120, shattering the previous record of 86 that stood for 55 years.
It was also safe to say that the city was more than happy to welcome the new team to Long Beach in its first year. The Coast had great turnouts at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field, which featured nightly themes and celebrations, first-pitch honorees, giveaways and more, along with multiple performances from Warren G when the team played as the Regulators.
