Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State Travels To Easton Desert Classic
2/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Long Beach, Calif. -
Long Beach State Softball Weekly Release
LEADING OFF
• Long Beach State will face their first road tests of the season, traveling to the Easton Desert Classic hosted by UNLV. The Beach opens with their third meeting this season with Utah, and then will also play Boise State, Nevada, Utah State and Northwestern on the weekend.
• The Beach returns five starters and one starting pitcher from the 2014 Big West Championship club. 2013 Big West Player of the Year and 2014 Big West Defensive Player of the Year Shayna Kimbrough highlights that group, returning after hitting .395 last season as the team's starting shortstop. Also returning are outfielders Leilani Tupua-Tautalatasi (.303) and Darian Tautalafua (13 HR), along with C/DP Lauren Lombardi (.327) and first baseman Ashley Holmes (.308).
• On a pitching side, Long Beach State returns senior Amanda Hansen, who had her best season of her career on the way to earning first-team All-Big West honors. Hansen went 19-8 with a 3.69 ERA, and pitched 163.1 innings for the 49ers in 2014.
OFFENSIVE MINDED
• Over the last two seasons, Long Beach State has put up two of the top offensive campaigns in school history. The 49ers have set school records two years running in batting average, runs scored and RBI, while hitting a school record 53 home runs in 2013 before hitting 74 doubles in 2014. As a team, the 49ers hit .306 in 2014, becoming the first Beach squad to collectively hit over .300, with seven players reaching that mark in 2014.
POWER SURGE
• Long Beach State has seen a number of great power hitters come through the ranks in recent years, and has two in the Top 10 in school history. Ashley Holmes has hit 14 home runs in her two seasons with the 49ers, while junior Darian Tautalafua hit 13 in each of her first two seasons at the Beach. Holmes currently ranks 10th all-time, while Tautalafua is five home runs away from setting the career mark at Long Beach State.
Shayna Kimbrough
• Senior Shayna Kimbrough enters the season as one of the leaders of the 49ers. A two-time first-team All-Big West selection, Kimbrough was the 2013 Big West Player of the Year, and won another major award in 2014 as the shortstop was named the Big West Defensive Player of the Year.
• Kimbrough is within reach of three major career records. The LBSU leadoff batter is 59 hits away from setting the Beach hits record, and with 18 more runs scored this season will have the most runs of any 49er as well. Her career batting average of .349 is also the best in Long Beach State history, outpacing the .324 of Jennifer Griffin, who is the 49er record-holder.
• Shayna Kimbrough's stolen base total has also moved the junior into the Top 10 in school history, where she currently ranks seventh. Kimbrough is over halfway to the all-time career leader, current LBSU head coach Kim Sowder, who stole 50 bases as an All-American at Long Beach State.
PLAYER NOTESB
• Senior Amanda Hansen leads the 49er rotation in 2015, but the 49ers have a deep crop of pitching. Christina Clermont has gotten the early nod as the 49ers second starting pitcher, and Christian Carbajal, Selene Polamalu, and Lacey Alderman have all seen time in the circle over LBSU's first five games.
• The 49ers have two new Division I transfers joining the roster in 2015. Sophomore Christina Clermont struck out 67 batters over 28 apperarances for Syracuse last season, starting 16 games and posting a 5-6 record. Junior Haley Tobler joins a line of Tennessee players who have come to the LBSU program, following Jennifer Griffin and Ashley Holmes under Sowder. Tobler hit .323 while starting 39 games last season for the Volunteers, hitting five doubles and three home runs.
• Long Beach State had an impressive start from their newcomers on week one. Christina Clermont posted a 1-0 record with 13.2 innings pitched, striking out seven in her first weekend in the circle for the 49ers. The 49ers other transfer, Haley Tobler, hit a pair of doubles and hit .313 (5-for-16) on the week. Among the freshman, Hannah Cookson hit .426 (6-for-13) starting all five games at DP and RF, and Irma Sanchez and Julia Lombardi each had a pair of hits at the SoCal Collegiate Classic.
• Sophomore Lauren Lombardi had a tremendous weekend to open the season. The catcher started all five games and hit .556 (5-for-9) driving in a team hit six RBI while also walking six times, reaching base at a .688 rate.
