The562’s coverage of Cabrillo Athletics is sponsored by the Cohn Family.
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.
Bats were on fire for both the Jaguars and the Jackrabbits on Wednesday evening, as Cabrillo hosted Long Beach Poly for a Moore League clash. With a total of 21 hits and 18 runs scored, both teams fought through every pitch until the last.
Poly’s offense carried the heavier weight of that total, managing 14 hits and 12 runs for a final score of 12-6 and another Moore League win to add under their belt, keeping the Jackrabbits unbeaten and tied with Wilson atop the league standings. They proved the power of consistent offense, putting up runs in five out of the seven innings.
Starting catcher Caleb Safotu wore the medal for most RBIs in the game, driving in three runs from his plate appearances with a single, a two run shot over the right-centerfield fence, and a sac fly that allowed Azeryah Zuger to score from third. With a stolen base as well, Safotu demonstrated great aggression offensively, inching his team to their victory.
“I felt good about my hitting today. I just always tell myself that I have to do my job up there and get runs in, no matter the score,” said Safotu. “Hitting that home run put our team back on top and put the momentum back on our side when it looked like Cabrillo were starting to come back on us.”
Leading the Jackrabbits in hits against the Jaguars was UCLA commit Tate Hammond, who tallied three hits out of his four at-bats. Hammond clutched a line drive single to center field that allowed him to advance to second on a fielding error, smacked a clear triple to center, a hard-hit single to right, and was even a hit-by-pitch.
The rest of Poly’s roster was able to push the score up as well, with strong contact from Neil Morris, Logan King, Freddie Parish V, Braylen Reyes, Malakai Pruitt, Manny Gonzales, Will Trunnelle, Zuger, and a two-run homer to right field from Fausto Gaxiola III. They helped the Jackrabbits jump out to an 8-0 lead, but the Jags were able to battle back and make things interesting.
Damian Marquez started the game on the rubber for the Jackrabbits, remaining there until the fourth inning. Up until the fourth, Marquez allowed three hits, striking out two, walking three, and preventing any runs from scoring.
However, the fourth inning was where all six of Cabrillo’s runs were manufactured. The Jaguars fought back with three hits from Eli Torres, Alex Vargas, and Fabian Vigil. Marquez struggled to find the zone in the fourth, walking five batters during the rally. The fielding behind him struggled as well, making a few errors, which Cabrillo used to their advantage in order to gain runs and close the scoring gap.
Catcher Alex Vargas was able to squeeze out two hits throughout the game for the Jaguars, as well as two RBIs and a walk.
To put an end to Cabrillo’s rally, Hammond moved from shortstop to the mound in the bottom of the fourth. Throwing just three pitches for the last two outs, Hammond was able to halt the rally and allowed his team to move onto the next inning. These two outs came from an exciting double play from Trunnelle, where he caught a line drive hit to first and tagged the nearby runner immediately after.
“All that was going through my mind was to throw strikes for my boy Damian and get us back in there,” said Hammond of his short, but significant, time on the mound.
Going into the fifth inning with a score of 8-6, the Jackrabbits knew they had to continue scoring in order to seal their win, and they did just that, putting up another four runs in the fifth and sixth innings to bump up the score to 12-6.
With Will Trunnelle moving from first base to the rubber, Poly was truly able to maintain their lead and eventual victory, as the righty shut out Cabrillo’s offense for the remaining three innings of the game.
“Will did an excellent job,” Poly coach Solomon Williams said. “I needed a guy to come in and shut down that game, and he was that guy, like he has been all year.”
With the victory, Poly improved to 11-4 on the season and 3-0 in Moore League play. They will try to maintain their unbeaten streak when they travel to face Millikan on Friday at 4 p.m., riding a seven-game winning streak.
On the other side, Cabrillo falls to 7-5 on the year, still searching for their first league win. The Jags will be at Hawthorne on Sunday and host Millikan next Tuesday.
