Long Beach Clinches First-Half Pennant

MODESTO, CA — The Long Beach Coast (37-11) secured home-field advantage for the 2026 playoffs with their 8-2 victory over the Modesto Roadsters (27-21) on Sunday afternoon.

Rookie southpaw Matthew O’Brien made his second start for Long Beach, keeping the Roadsters without a hit until the fourth inning. O’Brien faced 19 batters in his first five full innings on the mound, having allowed only four Roadsters aboard and stranded all of them.

The Long Beach offense provided immediate run support for the UC Riverside product, grabbing a 5-0 lead after scoring in all of the first three innings.

Long Beach left fielder Eddy Pelc got the Coast on the board on the third pitch of the game. Modesto starter and reigning PBL Pitcher of the Month, Omar Serrano served a pitch Pelc drove over the right field wall for his seventh home run of the season.

The largest inning of run support occurred in the top of the third, when Long Beach loaded the bases with zero outs, all of which scored before Serrano retired the eighth batter he faced that inning.

O’Brien entered the bottom of the sixth with a 6-0 shutout, following Coast center fielder Emilio Corona’s third consecutive RBI hit of the game in the top of the same frame. The Coast starter recorded the first two outs of the sixth in four pitches, but then loaded the base path with a single and two walks to the next three Modesto batsmen.

Ryan Faulks relieved O’Brien and induced a ground ball from Roadsters designated hitter Dom Rodriguez on his third pitch to leave the bases loaded in the fourth successful shutdown inning of the game.

Coast designated hitter Cuba Bess knocked across two of his three RBI on the day in the top of the seventh, extending the shutout lead to 8-0.

Modesto’s top hitter, Osiris Johnson, entered the game defensively in the top of the seventh, then led off the bottom half with a double off of Faulks. Two batters later, leadoff Max Handron and Tyler Williams hit back-to-back RBI base knocks, ending the shutout and forcing Faulks out of the game.

Long Beach submarine reliever Steven Ordorica entered the game in the bottom of the eighth with a six-run lead and a runner on first. The second-year righty faced the minimum in the final two Modesto offensive frames, gave up one hit in the process, but secured his first save of the season to end the series.

Long Beach wore their alternate identity “Regulators” uniforms every game in the series at Modern Woodmen Field, now 10-2 in their 12 games under their secondary moniker.

The Sunday victory finished Long Beach’s first half of their inaugural season with their sixth series sweep. The 37th win in the first 48 games tied the Pioneer League MLB Partner League-era record for most in the first half, set by the reigning 2025 PBL Champion Oakland Ballers last season.

The win also secured the top spot in the standings, guaranteeing home-field advantage in the playoffs they clinched on Tuesday night at Blair Field.

O’Brien (1-1) received his first professional win in his fourth appearance since signing with Long Beach on June 30. Serrano (3-1), who allowed six of the eight Coast runs on Sunday, recorded his first professional loss in the first-half finale.

The Long Beach Coast will begin the second half with a 12-game homestand. The Coast will face three teams, the first of which is a three-game set against the Oakland Ballers, starting on Tuesday night at Blair Field. The Beach Ball Pregame Show will air at 6:15 PM PDT, first pitch set for 6:35 PM.

Joey Miller