The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Poly alum Jayon Brown and PlayFair Sports Management.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by JuJu Smith-Schuster and the JuJu Foundation.
The562’s coverage of Jordan Athletics is sponsored by John Ross, Class of 2013.
The last time Poly stepped onto Bohl Diamond at Blair Field they earned a thrilling walk-off victory over Katella. On Wednesday night, things were a lot less dramatic for the Jackrabbits as they opened Moore League play with a 12-0 win over Jordan in six innings.
Senior Lucas Scott struck out 10 batters in four shutout innings for Poly, and the Jackrabbits scored five runs in two separate innings to pull away for the comfortable win. Sebastian Byrd and Elijah Ludwig each pitched a scoreless inning in relief to finish off the shutout.
“I think pitching went well today, first by Scott then Bird and by Ludwig,” said interim Poly head coach Curtis Thompson. “They all threw a lot of strikes, and hitting-wise we put the ball in play and we made it happen. It’s good to get that first win on the table, you know, 1-0.”
Leadoff hitter Nate Berumen got the Jackrabbits started in the bottom of the first after wearing a pitch and stealing second. He would later score on a wild pitch to put Poly up 1-0 in the first. Berumen reached base in each of his first three trips to the plate, and also scored twice and drove in a run on a sac fly.
Poly added five runs on five hits in the second, with an RBI single by Marcus O’Keith and an RBI double by Max Pemberton the big hits of the rally. O’Keith added two more RBIs with a double in the fourth as Poly put up another five-spot. Yahir Torres started the rally in the fourth with a two-run single to left field, scoring Jae Simon and Pemberton.
That was plenty of run support for Scott, who struck out the side in the first, third and fourth to keep Jordan’s offense at bay.
Sophomore Oswaldo Martinez got the start for Jordan and battled through the first three innings, allowing all five of his hits during that five-run second frame. Two of the runs he allowed were unearned in the second, and he was able to work around a pair of free passes to strand two runners in a scoreless third.
Defensively, Jordan shortstop JJ NIelsen made a couple of terrific diving plays, including a snag on a line drive to end the second.
Meanwhile, Poly’s offense racked up 13 hits and stole six bases on the night.
“I think we're doing well,” said Thompson of Poly’s 6-1 start to the season. “Our chemistry is building up on and off the field. And in practice, I think the guys are working hard. They're knowing their roles, and they're staying ready if we’ve got to get them in there. And even if they're not getting in the game, they're still ready to pump our team up. I think our dugout energy has a lot to do with how we're doing on the field.”
Next up, Jordan will visit Lakewood on Friday while Poly is at Cabrillo.
