The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
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.
It’s not often a must-win game comes this early in the season, but it sure felt like one for Wilson and Long Beach Poly after finding themselves in a four-way tie atop the Moore League standings.
Coming off a narrow loss to Lakewood last week, Wilson entered Thursday’s matchup at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field in search of an offensive spark. The Bruins got just enough of that, backed by left-handers Cooper George and Shane Guy, who combined for a three-hitter while allowing no earned runs in a 5-1 win.
“What was most pleasing to me was getting a couple hits and scoring some runs in the second inning to take pressure off our defense and pitchers. It’s no secret we’ve struggled to score this year, but we scraped some together in a big game against a team that’s playing good ball,” Hall said. “It’s a much-needed win especially after last week, and it’s good to get off the schneid a little and get back to a position where we’re in first place.”
Wilson surrendered a run after Poly’s leadoff batter Tate Hammond singled and later scored on a shortstop error, pausing to let the ground ball pass before coming around to score. The unearned run was Poly’s only run of the game, as George and Guy stranded the remaining six baserunners.
George got the start and allowed just one more hit over five total innings, finishing with seven strikeouts and no earned runs. Fellow senior left-hander Shane Guy came on in relief and scattered one hit across two scoreless innings with three strikeouts to close out the win.
“Since freshman year it’s always been me and him,” George said of he and Guy. “All of us want to make a huge difference, and all of us pitchers believe in each other, so we trust whoever comes in. After that first run, we just flushed it, and I focused on throwing strikes for my team which worked out.”
Wilson found its first bit of offensive rhythm in the second inning, starting with a double and a single from Eddie Becker and Russell Centanni, respectively. Desi Whelan then smacked a single back to the pitcher to score Becker before Centanni came home one at-bat later on a bases-loaded balk.
The Bruins capitalized on another Poly mistake in the top of the third with runners at the corners following a George single. Poly catcher Caleb Safotu then fired a throw to an empty second base as George stole the bag, allowing Penn Peters to come home from third and tack on another Wilson run.
“We’ve had struggles through this whole season, but we had a team meeting last week and it’s all been coming together since we faced Lakewood,” George said of his team’s offense. “We have to keep it going, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Wilson kept it going for the time being, adding some cushion in the top of the seventh inning. The Bruins had a pair of runners reach base on an error and a fielder’s choice before James Mirabile smacked a two-RBI single into left field to extend the lead with a half-inning to play.
Poly got a solid start from its ace, Ryan King, who gave up three runs over six innings with four strikeouts. Malakai Pruitt came on in relief and tossed a pair of innings, allowing two runs while totaling three strikeouts.
With the win, Wilson stays tied atop the Moore League with Millikan at 5-1, while Poly sits tied with Lakewood for third place at 4-2. Both teams will return to Moore League action on April 15 following spring break, as Wilson faces Cabrillo while Poly takes on Jordan.
