The Long Beach Coast clinched a spot in the Pioneer League championship on Saturday, beating Modesto, 6-3.
The Coast will play the Billings Mustangs in a best-of-three series, beginning with a Tuesday home game at Blair Field, starting at 6:35 p.m. Gates open for the final round of the Pioneer League Playoffs at 5:35 p.m.
Game 2 of the series (and Game 3, if needed) will be played at Billings, Montana.
In Saturday’s win, right fielder Cooper Vest hit his second playoff home run in three games and continued to play standout defense, and third baseman Benjamin Rosengard hit a two-run single.
Long Beach also turned three double plays in the infield.
Long Beach didn’t play Billings during the regular season. Billings advanced to the championship series with a pair of wins over Missoula. The Mustangs went 67-28 for the season and outscored opponents 1,035-706. They’re led by outfielder A.J. Shaver, who hit .434 for the season with 21 home runs and 121 RBIs. Justin Johnson led the team with 28 home runs.
For Long Beach, Emilio Corona and Cuba Bess each hit 27 home runs in the team’s first season.