Compton, Calif. - Freshman Shoma Yoshida went 4-for-5 with two RBI and a run, but the Compton baseball team came up short, 10-8, against Long Beach (14-12, 6-5) on Saturday afternoon in the conference series finale.
Freshman Billy Sanchez added a three-hit effort with a run, while freshman Adrian Valtierra recorded a two-hit outing with three RBI.
After trading leads, Long Beach knotted the score at eight all in the top of the ninth before scoring the go-ahead and insurance run in the ninth. The Tartars loaded the bases after Yoshida and Sanchez earned back-to-back one-out singles and freshman David Frontanez worked back from a 2-0 count to earn a free base. But two quick outs ended the game in favor of the Vikings.
Freshman Kevin Smith (0-2) was the pitcher of record after throwing two innings. Freshman Danny Hernandez started the contest for the team, hurling six complete innings.
The baseball team (6-18, 1-9) takes a break from conference play, hosting Fullerton on Tuesday for 1 p.m. first pitch.