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.
The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
The first pitch of the Moore League softball season was a tone-setter, as Long Beach Poly’s Persjah Lam Sam drilled a home run over the right field fence to open up a fun night for the Jackrabbits.
Behind three extra-base hits from Lam Sam, Poly smacked 15 hits in their 10-0 victory over Lakewood in six innings on Thursday night. The Jackrabbits also launched three home runs: a solo shot by Lam Sam, a three-run homer by Janelle Morris in the second inning, and then a two-run shot from freshman Harper Daniel in the fourth.
Poly head coach Elizabeth Sanches wanted to see consistency from her offense tonight, and she did, with the Jackrabbits scoring in each of the first four frames, and only putting up a zero once in six chances. Through just three non-league games, the Jackrabbits hadn’t shown that consistent production, but it was helpful on Thursday night in keeping the Lancers at arms reach.
“We would come out and score five runs in the first and then sit on two or three innings with nothing, and we told the team before tonight’s game, Lakewood is not one of those teams that you can do that with,” explained Sanches. “Lakewood is going to keep their foot on the pedal the entire game regardless of what the score is. It doesn’t matter because it’s a very well-coached team. And as you saw tonight, the score doesn’t really reflect what challenge tonight’s game was.”
The Lancers stranded 12 runners on base in six innings, leaving the bases loaded on three separate occasions. Jackrabbit starter Tegan Breaux went the distance and was able to escape trouble all night, scattering six hits, two walks and three hit batters to still preserve a shutout. Her seven strikeouts were well-timed, as six came with runners on base and four were with the bases loaded.
“She had to work her butt off tonight. But we’re so proud of how professionally she handled that,” Sanches said of Breaux. “She was able to maintain her composure, kept it super professional, and she fought her way through the entire game … With Tegan, she uses the whole plate. She can go up, down, in, out. It doesn’t matter. Off-speed, change up. But tonight, her lights-out pitch was her rise ball. It was hopping, it was jumping. It was doing really, really well.”
The offense continued to give her breathing room, and Lam Sam was a big part of it with hits in each of her first three at-bats, adding a pair of doubles to her game-opening blast. She scored twice and drove in a pair, setting the table for a potent top of the lineup for the Jackrabbits.
“It felt great, especially being an on-base hitter and just setting the tone for my team,” Lam Sam said. “Because I know we wanted to win this game really badly.”
The top of the Jackrabbits order did most of the damage in Thursday’s victory, going a combined 9-for-15 (.600) with two home runs, two doubles, seven runs scored, and six RBIs. Lam Sam was followed by Emoni Lam Sam, Bailey Holder (3/4, 3 runs) and Morris, a seasoned group of hitters who can all do major damage.
“I feel like our lineup is really strong,” Persjah said. “Having Emoni and Bailey and Janelle right behind me, that’s just a big first four batters.”
Junior Sunnie Vaafuti also added three hits for the Jackrabbits, including an RBI single in the top of the first. The Jackrabbits scored seven of their 10 runs with two outs, including all four in the second inning to take an early 6-0 lead.
Senior catcher Katelynn Lewis led the way for Lakewood with a pair of base hits, but the Lancers could never quite get that clutch knock to crack the scoreboard.
Both teams will be back in Moore League play on Tuesday, as Lakewood visits Jordan and Poly hits the road to face defending Moore League champions Millikan in a key early season showdown.
