The562’s baseball coverage in 2025 is sponsored by the Millikan, Long Beach Poly, Lakewood and Wilson baseball boosters.

The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.

The famous expression goes, “once is a mistake, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern.”

So what do you call it when Long Beach Poly Baseball wins four consecutive home playoff games via walk-off? Jackrabbit Magic, perhaps.

History repeated itself once again on Tuesday afternoon at LBCC, where the Jackrabbits earned another thrilling playoff win, this time over Riverside Poly by a score of 4-3.

The dramatic conclusion almost felt inevitable as senior Deven Munoz stepped into the batter’s box with a chance to win it, and he came through with a line drive to center field to set off another celebration on Joe Hicks Memorial Field. The same way the last three games Poly’s played on that field have ended.

“That was actually my first walk-off I ever hit, and it felt amazing,” said Munoz after getting mobbed by his teammates. “When I hit the ball, I already knew it was getting down. I was just pumped. And all my guys running towards me, it’s a feeling I’ve never felt before.”

Tuesday’s game wasn’t a perfect performance from the Jackrabbits, who committed three errors during the game and fell behind 2-0 in the first inning. But they didn’t panic and made enough plays to win, earning a trip to the CIF-SS Division 5 quarterfinals.

“I think that was the best version of Poly Baseball,” said Jackrabbit head coach Solomon Williams.  “It doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t have to be home runs and triples. It can be the dirty stuff of reading balls in the dirt, wearing pitches, and taking another 90 feet, and that is Poly Baseball. So, yeah, it wasn’t our cleanest, but we’re happy with it.”

Ryan King got the start on the mound for LB Poly, and pitched well across six frames. He ran into some trouble in the first after a one-out walk and an error put two Riverside Poly runners on base. That set the table for a two-run double by Lucas Burton to make it 2-0 Bears.

But from there, King allowed just one more run in the third, after a pair of infield singles set up Burton with another RBI opportunity. His run-scoring single put the Riverside Poly lead back to 3-1, and King didn’t allow another hit the rest of the game. In total, the righty allowed a pair of earned runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

Senior Daylen Carey came out of the bullpen to work the top of the seventh inning, working around an error and striking out a batter to pick up the win in relief.

“We’ve had two horses all year. It’s been Carey and King, and that was exactly what we expected from him,” Williams said of his starter. “After those two runs that the team gave up, we needed him to get kind of mad. I think you saw him get fired up a couple times, get mad, and kind of take this game under control.”

The Jackrabbits were able to respond to the early deficit with a run in the bottom of the first. Leadoff man Tate Hammond ripped a single up the middle on the first pitch he saw, then moved around to third base before scoring on a two-out throwing error by the Bears.

Long Beach Poly was then able to rally for a pair of runs to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth, starting with a leadoff base hit from Fausto Gaxiola. After a sacrifice bunt, Riverside Poly elected to intentionally walk Hammond to put the tying run on base.

Izaiyah Gutierrez followed that up with a bloop single to right field, loading the bases with just one out. Matthew Garcia then lined a single into right center to score the second run for the Jackrabbits, trimming the deficit to 3-2.

After a popout, catcher Caleb Safotu stepped in for a lengthy plate appearance, eventually working a walk to bring home Hammond and tie the game.

That’s where things remained until the bottom of the seventh, when Gutierrez lined a one-out base hit to center. He would promptly steal second base, then move to third on a wild pitch to get in prime scoring position for Munoz’s walk-off.

“Before going up, I asked God, I was like, ‘Please, if you give me this moment, I’m gonna make the most out of it,” said Munoz of his game-winning hit. “And I got the moment, and I didn’t let it go to waste. Confidence-wise, I always go up thinking I’m better than the other team–I try to be a dog, and I hope everyone has the same mindset. Because honestly, a lot of these guys on our team can hit, we just need to stay clean and consistent throughout the game.”

The Jackrabbits will be on the road for the quarterfinals on Friday when they visit Camarillo High School for a 3:15 p.m. first pitch.

Here’s a look at how the girls water polo sectionals went for the Journal-area:
 
Saturday, May 17 (sectional finals)
 
Stevenson 8, Libertyville 6: No. 1 Stevenson (33-0) won its 55th game in a row with an exciting victory over No. 2 Libertyville (24-4) to head to state for the 19th time since the IHSA started sponsoring the sport in 2002. Stevenson has won a state trophy each of the last 10 seasons, including six state titles. Victoria Duncan (2 goals) gave Stevenson a 7-4 lead with …

DECATUR, Ill. – Members of the Millikin University community gathered Tuesday morning, May 20, to send off three Big Blue Track and Field athletes on their journey to the 2025 NCAA DIII Track and Field Championships.

Millikin sophomore Kyle Hensley (Mt. Zion H.S.) and first-year athletes De’Andranay Chism (Belleville East H.S.) and Ibrahim Diakite (Chicago Roger Sullivan H.S.) each qualified for the NCAA Championships and will compete at SPIRE Institute’s Outdoor Track & Field facility in Geneva, Ohio, May 22-24.

“ When you play football, you line up against another team and know who you’re competing with on the other team. Track is unique in that sometimes you could be qualifying against somebody running a thousand miles away, and you don’t know. All you can do is to do your best,” said Millikin Associate Athletic Director Bryan Marshall. “What these three athletes have accomplished is amazing, and they are all in the top 10 in the country. That is a great accomplishment.”

Hensley will compete in the pole vault on Saturday, May 24, at 11 a.m. CT. He tied for the best Pole Vault performance in the NCAA DIII back in April, clearing 5.18 meters (17.0 feet). He was the 2024 NCAA Indoor Pole Vault National Champion and finished in second place at last year’s Outdoor Championships. In March, Hensley finished in fourth at the 2025 Indoor Track and Field Championships.

“Kyle is an incredible young man, and as just a sophomore, this is his fourth National Championship. Kyle is also a brilliant student in our Engineering Science program. He works really hard, and he does a great job there,” Millikin Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Andrew Craycraft said. “The pole vault is a very dangerous and a very scary event, and you couldn’t find somebody more fearless.”

Chism and Diakite, both first-year students, will run in the 200-meter prelims on Thursday, May 22, starting at 5:40 p.m. CT. The 200-meter finals will be on Saturday at 2:40 p.m. 

Diakite had NCAA Division III’s sixth fastest time of the season, turning in his qualifying performance last Wednesday, winning the 200 at the Augustana Twilight Final qualifier in 20.94 seconds. 

He broke the Millikin record in the 200 that dated back to 2000, held by Big Blue track legend Carl Alexander at 21.15 seconds. Alexander was a seven-time All-American, including the 2018 National Champion in the 100 Meters. 

Diakite was the Male Track Athlete of the Meet at the CCIW Championships, winning the 200 Meters in 21.19 seconds and finishing in second in the 100 Meters in 10.66 seconds. Diakite also ran legs on two Big Blue Relay Teams that earned All-Conference honors, finishing third in the 4×100 and 4×400 Relays.

“Ibrahim is just a freshman, and he’s been a welcome addition. Running 20.9 is a hard thing to put in perspective for 200 meters. Breaking Carl Alexander’s school record and being ranked in the top 10 in the country right now is just incredible,” Craycraft said. “Breaking 21 seconds is elite.” 

Chism’s qualifying mark of 23.78 was the fourth fastest in NCAA DIII, and she turned in the time at the CCIW Championships to finish second. She was named the CCIW Outdoor Track Championships Women’s Track First-Year Student Athlete of the meet. In addition to her second place in the 200 Meters, Chism was third in the 100 meters in 12.03 seconds, breaking her own Millikin record.

“De’Andranay has broken almost every sprint record she can as a freshman. It has been an inspirational story. She made the indoor National Championships this year and has been consistently, from the beginning of the indoor season until now, the top female long sprinter in the country,” Craycraft said. “She is a fearless competitor and has been fun to watch. We are so proud of her.”

Acting President Mary Black presented the athletes with shirts signed with well wishes by Millikin staff members. 

“We are all so excited for you to be heading to the National Championships,” Black said. “We want you to know that all of these folks here today are behind you, and the entire University is behind you. Congratulations and best of luck.” 

Thirteen Reno High athletes will sign national letters of intent with colleges Wednesday during a signing-day ceremony at 11:30 a.m. in the Huskies’ gym. Those players, which were provided by the school’s athletic administration, include:

Division I

* Grace Macharg, track and field, University of Montana

* Erick Simpson, track and field, Eastern Washington University (preferred walk-on)

Division II

* Sydney Porter, track and field, Concordia University

*Keira Dwindell, soccer, Northwest Nazarene University

Division III

* Lily Houston, volleyball, University of Redlands

* Melis Kavlicoglu, cross country/track and field, Pratt Institute

* Isabella Pfleiger, swim, Hendrix College

NAIA

* Haylie Banes, golf, Ottawa University

Junior college

* Jackson Berg, baseball, Yuba City

* Conall Chick, baseball, Centralia College

* George Hawk, Feather River CC

* Sawyer Morris, soccer, Truckee Meadows CC

* Tate Robertson, baseball, Feather River CC

* Hudson Sadler, baseball, Mendocino College

Staff report

GREENSBORO — UNC Wilmington captain Cooper Wright finished his track and field career with some great efforts in the Coastal Athletic Association Championships held at North Carolina A&T.

Wright was obviously fast when he was at East Rowan and had plenty of potential as a 6-foot-2 receiver, but he had no luck as far as injuries, and he also came through East during the two school years affected by COVID.

Track and field became Wright’s sport at East. He racked up all-county and all-conference accolades as a Mustang. Track and field also took him to the next level at UNC Wilmington, where he ran some terrific times in the 200 and 400. The 400 became his main event.

In the 2021 CAA Championships, Wright ran a 21.63 200 for fourth place. He was second in the 400 in 47.57 seconds and ran a leg on a third-place 4×400 team.

In the 2022 CAA Championships, Wright ran a PR 21.36 in the 200 for third. He was conference champ in the 400 with 48.46 clocking. He also ran on the championship 4×400 team that was timed in 3:20.68.

Wright battled some injuries after that. He was on the fifth-place 4×400 team in the 2024 CAA Championships.

He came back with a great year as a fifth-year performer.

He ran a PR in the 400 — 47.37 — in last week’s CAA Championships and finished sixth.

A more amazing effort came in the 4×400 where he ran the swiftest 400 of his life to close his career — 46.52 — on the third leg. UNC Wilmington finished third in the event, but it was a school record run for the Seahawks.

Wright graduated with a degree in accounting and finance and is launching a career as a financial planner.