Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Hosts Louisville Slugger Invitational
2/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Long Beach, Calif. -
Complete Softball Weekly Release 
LEADING OFF
• The Beach hosts their major home tournament this weekend, the annual Louisville Slugger Invitational, split between three host venues at Mayfair Park, Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton. 11 teams are participating, and LBSU will play five, starting with Seattle on Thursday before playing No. 12 UCLA, Stanford, Weber State and Southern Utah in a rematch from the 2014 postseason.
• Long Beach State's own sister act of Lauren and Julia Lombardi is one of the best in the nation. Through 15 games, the pair has combined for 28 hits, 15 runs scored, 2 home runs, 13 walks and 2 RBI. Second and third on the team in batting, Julia is hitting .333 on the year and slugging .564, while Lauren is hitting .366 with an on-base percentage of .471.
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 49 hits away from setting the Beach hits record, and with 15 more runs scored this season will have the most runs of any 49er as well. Her career batting average of .352 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 NOTES • 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 this season.
• Christian Carbajal has really come on of late, posting a 2-0 record with 7.2 innings of scoreless relief at the Easton Desert Classic, before pitching a complete game victory against Syracuse. The senior missed last season due to injury, but has emerged as a solid third option, holding opponents to .240 hitting on the year.
