Softball Drops Marathon Game to Long Beach

TORRANCE, Calif. --- El Camino College and Long Beach City battled it out for 11 innings and nearly four hours on Friday afternoon with the Warriors eventually falling 11-6 in an epic South Coast Conference game at the ECC Softball Field.

The game was the longest in both innings played and time of game for the Warriors since Jessica Rapoza took over as head coach at ECC in 2015. Friday afternoon's game ran 3:45, the longest game by time since the Warriors and San Diego Mesa played a 2:49 game in eight innings on Feb. 20, 2015, also played at the ECC Softball Field and also a loss for ECC.

The game also marks the most innings played by a Warriors team and first game to reach double digit innings in recent recorded history (since 2012).

On Friday afternoon, the Warriors struck first, plating two runs in the second inning on RBI hits from Skylar Sanchez and Viviana Tamayo to put ECC up 2-0.

But the Vikings quickly responded, scoring four times in the third inning and then two more in the fourth to take a 6-2 lead.

From then on, the Warriors were able to scratch their way back as they used a big fifth inning to trim the deficit to one. Leesa Parral, Destiny Ostroga and Malia Martin all had RBI hits in the inning as the Warriors scored three times.

Then in the seventh, Martin stepped up again with an RBI double to left-center with one out, scoring Parral from second base to tie things up.

In extras, both teams struggled to get the timely hits despite having chances. The Vikings had runners on in every inning from the eighth to the 10th frame but couldn't get the go-ahead run across.

Meanwhile, the Warriors' best opportunity came in the ninth when they had two on with two outs but Vikings starter Olivia Ramirez got a flyout to center from Breanna Padilla to end the frame.

In the eleventh, the floodgates finally opened for the Vikings as they two of the first three batters on base on walks from reliever Noemi Sandoval, prompting the Warriors to bring in Sanchez to pitch again after she started the game and went 2 and 2/3 innings before being pulled the first time.

The Vikings teed off on Sanchez, scoring five times and recording five hits to take an 11-6 lead.

That mountain proved too tall to climb for the Warriors despite Kayla Inzunza leading off the inning with a single. Ramirez would retire the next three Warriors in order to secure the win and put an end to the epic battle with sunset approaching.

Ramirez went all 11 innings for LBCC and threw 172 pitches to secure the victory while Sandoval took the loss after going four and 1/3 innings of relief.

Offensively, Martin led the Warriors as she went 4-for-6 with a double and two RBI with Parral and Vivian Tamayo each recording three hits.

The Warriors will return to action on Monday afternoon with a non-conference game against Santa Ana with first pitch set for 3 p.m.