Baseball: Long Beach Wilson loses third game and ace

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They have the label: ‘National Champions.’ They have the talent. And they have the respected coach.

But they also have been scuffling... just a little.

The Long Beach Wilson Bruins lost their third game this season just the other day; that matches their loss total for all of last season. The Bruins (11-3-1, 1-1-0) also lost something more critical: ace Ray Hanson, who recently broke his glove hand during a pick-up basketball game. Hanson, who is 3-0 with 32 strikeouts in 19.2 innings, will likely miss two to three weeks.

In the meantime, Coach Andy Hall will shuffle the pitching staff, rely on hitting juggernauts Aaron Hicks and Zach Wilson and get his team to play for wins, not national rankings. ‘We don’t chase numbers -- the numbers chase us,’ Hall said. ‘But, if we finish in the top 50 [nationally] this season, that would be sweet.’

-- Anthony Stitt