When sophomore shortstop Daniel Lopez (Montebello HS) went down with a season-ending injury just seven games into the season, the dilemma was who would fill in at that position. For the last 11 games, it has been freshman Benny Arce (Santa Monica HS) and he had perfomed well in the role. But on Saturday, it was a pair of Arce errors that led to all three Long Beach City College run in a 3-2 South Coast Conference loss at Kincaid Field. The Falcons (12-9, 6-3) will now start a three-game series against ECC Compton Center with the first game at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Compton.

LB City (11-9, 7-2) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning when Robert Castaneda led off with a double. He advanced to third base and scored when Arce had trouble with a ground ball by Zach Wainwright, which brought home a run. That would be the lone run allowed by freshman pitcher Travis Bonner (Cabrillo HS), who stepped into a starting role in the absence of sophomore ace Kyle Carpenter (Mayfair HS), who is out with an injury.

In his four innings of work, Bonner (1-1) allowed just four hits and struck out six batters, including the final two he faced before stepping aside for freshman Adrian Ramirez (Santiago HS). On the day, the Falcons used four pitchers.

It became a 3-0 Vikings lead when a two-out throwing error by Arce brought home Stevie Castro and Justin Davis, who both singled off Ramirez. Sophomore George Mendoza (Bell Gardens HS) came in and recorded the second out of the inning and was then victimized by the error on a ground ball by pinch-hitter Aaron Fawcett.

Cerritos did get within striking distance in the sixth inning, as they loaded the bases with no outs against starting pitcher Schuyler Hill (2-2). Sophomore second baseman Justin Walsh (Katella HS) led off with a base hit before Arce was hit by a pitch and freshman designated hitter Mike Heenan (JSerra HS) drew a walk. Sophomore first baseman Brett Thompson (Corona del Mar HS/Saddleback College) welcomed relief pitcher Evan May with a single to right field that scored a pair of runs. On the play, Heenan was caught trying to advance to third base on the throw to the plate and was cut down for the first out of the inning.

Another baserunning error cost the team a chance to score a run in the fifth inning, as sophomore outfielder Shane Preston (Deer Creek, OK HS) tried to move to third base on a pitch in the dirt, but was thrown out for the second out of the inning. The Falcons also stranded a runner on third base in the seventh inning.