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In a thrilling second game of their opening-round playoff series, the Vikings—AKA Casey’s Comeback Crew—pulled off another comeback against the Grossmont Griffins…and another, and another, overcoming deficit after deficit to clinch the home series. <\/span>With the dramatic 10-8 win in the tenth inning, the Vikes now advance to the State Regionals, where they’ll face Palomar or Orange Coast.<\/p>\n Vikes coach Casey Crook wasn’t surprised. <\/span>“They’ve played hard and not given up all season long,” Crook said after the game. <\/span>“They’re tough kids.”<\/p>\n The slugfest started early in the game, as Griffins catcher Kevin Silvett hit a solo jack over the left field fence in the bottom of the first inning. <\/span>Silvett had a homer in Friday’s opener, in which the Vikes overcame an early deficit to win. <\/span>Then, in the top of the second, LBCC answered back quickly. A one-out error put right fielder Randy Guite on base to start the rally. The Vikings then got back-to-back run-scoring doubles from designated hitter Brian Loard (3-5 with 2 RBI) and first baseman Cory Buchheim (2-4 with 2 RBI) to take the lead. Two batters later, left fielder Matt Homstad singled to bring in Buchheim and give LBCC the 3-1 advantage.<\/p>\n Second baseman Trevor Costin added a solo shot of his own in the top of the third to push the score to 4-1.<\/p>\n After that Vikings pitcher Blake Golding went to work, mowing through the Griffins, facing only three batters an inning from the second through the sixth. <\/span>The game looked like it was going to end in an easy LBCC win, about an hour and a half after it began…until the seventh inning, when the Vikes decided to make sure their fans got their money’s worth.<\/p>\n A defense that had stood tall behind Golding suddenly got Vaseline on their gloves, and committed three errors. <\/span>A two-run double by designated hitter Nick Palcane and a two-run single by first baseman Kevin Tenny put Grossmont ahead 5-4, and ended Golding’s excellent afternoon—he finished with seven hits and two earned runs allowed in just over seven innings of work. <\/span>Grossmont added two more in the bottom of the eighth, as Silvett hit another <\/i>home run, and Placone singled in third baseman Adam Aspaas to give the Griffins a commanding 7-4 lead. <\/span>Once more, the Comeback Crew was in a hole, this one much more imposing, with only three outs left to climb back out.<\/span><\/p>\n But that’s exactly what they did, as starting pitcher Zach Anderson finally ran out of gas, walking two and giving up a single to load the bases with no outs to start the inning. Relief pitcher Greg Labarre’s was called for a balk to bring in Guite and make the score 7-5. Labarre struck out third baseman Andy Hernandez for the first out of the inning, but pinch hitter Jared Smith laced a two-run double down the left-field line to tie the game. Two batters later, Grossmont shortstop Brian Lagun’s two-out error allowed pinch runner Phillip Jefferson to score the go-ahead run, putting LBCC up 8-7.<\/p>\n But it wasn’t over. <\/span>In the bottom of the ninth, Vikes pitcher Teddy Mitrosilis struck out the first two Griffins, then center fielder Sequoyah Stoncipher reached first on an error, bringing up Silvett. <\/span>When Stoncipher advanced to second, it seemed an opportune time to walk Silvett (who was 8-9 with three home runs in the series at that point). <\/span>But the Vikes pitched to him, and he made them pay with a pokey double into right that tied the game back up. <\/span>The Crew would have fallen in nine if not for a great play at the plate—Ryan Hulbert hit a double, and Silvett made it to home just after the ball did, as he was tagged out by Jonathan Keener to save the game.<\/p>\n Then, in the tenth, the Vikings took another lead—Keener opened the rally after reaching base on another Grossmont error. Guite followed that with a sacrifice bunt attempt. But pitcher Mark Bellatti’s throw to second trying to get Keener was too late. After Kenner and Guite stole third and second, Loard hit a fielder’s choice grounder to first. The throw home to get Keener was too late allowing the go-ahead run to score. Buchheim smoked a RBI single to left for an insurance to give Long Beach the 10-8 lead.<\/p>\n This time the Vikings made it stick, playing their usual error-free ball in the bottom of the inning, as Mitrosilis struck out two and got Kevin Tenny to fly out—fortunately he wasn’t asked to face Silvett again. <\/span>“Yeah, that guys can hit,” said Crook.<\/p>\n The high-scoring win was out of character for the scrappy Crew, who have been known all season for their pitching and solid defense. <\/span>“But,” said a smiling Crook after the game, “We got ten runs when we needed it.” <\/span>Those ten runs, and the several comebacks, have put the Vikes into the next round, where they’ll face a strong Orange Coast team, or a strong Palomar team. <\/span>But when you pull off three comebacks in one game, anything is possible.<\/p>\n With reports by LBCC’s Chris Ruiz<\/span><\/p>\n