Long Beach State University
Iowa
Season Ends For Long Beach State In Iowa
5/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 17, 2008
Iowa City, Iowa - Long Beach State's time at the NCAA Regionals ended Saturday night with a 5-2 loss at the hands of Iowa. Ashley Weber was 3-for-4 with a double, but Hawkeyes starter Brittany Weil got out of a number of jams, while Brooke Turner did not, accounting for the difference.
The 49ers piled up eight hits, including three extra-base knocks, but left 11 runners on base over seven innings. Meanwhile Iowa did well against Turner, pitching twice in one day for the first time on the season. Turner only pitched 4 and a third, allowing 10 hits and all five Iowa runs. Chelsey Carmody did most of the damage, scoring two runs and finishing the day 3-for-4 from the plate.
Iowa took the lead early, scoring on some small ball that was the trademark of the Hawkeyes on the day. Carmody hit a hard double to right to start the bottom of the first, and Taylor Leichsenring singled to put Carmody on third. With the runners in position, Summer Downs dropped a perfect squeeze bunt to score Carmody and put the Hawkeyes on the board.
The Hawkeyes would add two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, starting with two doubles from Katie Brown and Erin Riemersma. That pair would bring one run across, and then Riemersma would cross the plate to put Iowa ahead 3-0.
The 49ers would bring the lead back to one with a clutch hit from Danielle Linke. Jessica Beaver started off the fifth with a double down the line, but Weil was able to put down two straight batters. Wanting no part of Jennifer Griffin, the Hawkeyes intentionally walked the junior for a second time to get to Linke, and she responded by driving her ninth triple of the season to the wall, bringing in two runs to make the score 3-2.
Iowa would answer back with more offense, in a near carbon copy of the first inning. Carmody started with a double, a Leichsenring single put runners on the corners, and Leichsenring stole second on a delayed steal just like in the first. However, instead of a squeeze, it was a single from Colleen McGlaughlin that did the damage scoring both runners to again move Iowa ahead 5-2.
Long Beach State threatened in the sixth, loading the bases after a leadoff double by Ashley Weber, but with Brooke LeSage at the plate, Weil got a called strike three to get out of the inning with no damage.
With the loss, the 49ers finish the season with a 40-17 record, the first 40-win season since 2004 in the Big West. Additionally, Long Beach State earned their 18th trip to the NCAA postseason, and won the Big West title for the sixth time in program history.
