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.  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.

Vikes coach Casey Crook wasn’t surprised.  “They’ve played hard and not given up all season long,” Crook said after the game.  “They’re tough kids.”

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.  Silvett had a homer in Friday’s opener, in which the Vikes overcame an early deficit to win.  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.

Second baseman Trevor Costin added a solo shot of his own in the top of the third to push the score to 4-1.

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.  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.

A defense that had stood tall behind Golding suddenly got Vaseline on their gloves, and committed three errors.  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.  Grossmont added two more in the bottom of the eighth, as Silvett hit another home run, and Placone singled in third baseman Adam Aspaas to give the Griffins a commanding 7-4 lead.  Once more, the Comeback Crew was in a hole, this one much more imposing, with only three outs left to climb back out.

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.

But it wasn’t over.  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.  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).  But the Vikes pitched to him, and he made them pay with a pokey double into right that tied the game back up.  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.

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.

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.  “Yeah, that guys can hit,” said Crook.

The high-scoring win was out of character for the scrappy Crew, who have been known all season for their pitching and solid defense.  “But,” said a smiling Crook after the game, “We got ten runs when we needed it.”  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.  But when you pull off three comebacks in one game, anything is possible.

With reports by LBCC’s Chris Ruiz

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