Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Hosts CSUN In Critical Big West Series
4/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Long Beach, Calif. -
LEADING OFF
• It might be a little over dramatic to say the season comes down to this weekend, but a series between teams in first and second place in the Big West makes for a great matchup as the 49ers host CSUN for a trio on Saturday and Sunday. The series starts with a doubleheader 1 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the final game Sunday at 1 p.m.
PLAYER NOTES
• Long Beach State's own sister act of Lauren and Julia Lombardi has been a highlight of the 2015 season. Through 43 games, the pair has combined for 86 hits, 41 runs scored, 15 home runs, 32 walks and 73 RBI. The pair are also second and third this season in hitting, with Lauren hitting .352 and Julia hitting .318. Together, the pair accounts for half of the team's home runs and 40 percent of the team's RBI.
• Sophomore Christina Clermont has been Long Beach State's most consistent pitcher in 2015, ranking in the Big West's top five pitchers in ERA, opponent batting average and strikeouts in 144.2 innings pitched.
• Clermont has steadily improved throughout the season, and has been outstanding in Big West play. The sophomore has gone 8-0 in league, posting a 1.62 ERA and has pitched a complete game in five straight starts, and 12 of her last 13 games, with the only game not finished a 8.0 inning start against UCR that went into extra innings.
• With two grand slams in LBSU's last series against the Titans, sophomore Lauren Lombardi tied the Long Beach State record for RBI in a season, and has 46 on the year with nine games to play. Lombardi is tied with current 49er Darian Tautalafua, who drove in 46 RBI during her freshman year two seasons ago.
• Tautalafua herself is closing in on an RBI record - the junior is four RBI away from matching volunteer assistant coach Jessica Beaver-White's 115 career RBI with the 49ers. Tautalafua has driven in 26 RBI this season for the Beach, third on the team.
• Shayna Kimbrough will set two major career records before she leaves LBSU. Her 122 runs scored stands as the school record, and her .350 career batting average is also the best among all softball players at the Beach. Additionally, Kimbrough will finish her career in the top five in career hits, where she is currently third with 242 over her four seasons.
WHAT'S THE SCORE
• All games for the remainder of the season can be followed via Gametracker at www.longbeachstate.com, the home of Long Beach State athletics.
OPPONENT PREVIEW
• CSUN, picked before the season to finish in 6th place, has rolled off 12 straight wins to start the season, and stand alone in first place in front of the 49ers. The Matadors have done it with all-around excellence: CSUN leads the Big West in all games in both batting average (.316) and in pitching (2.21 ERA).
• When looking at the Big West numbers, it's the pitching that has led the way for the Matadors, and it sets up an exciting matchup over the weekend. CSUN is leading the conference with a 1.92 staff ERA, just in front of Long Beach State, who comes in with a staff ERA of 2.05.
• Freshman Zoe Conley leads the staff for CSUN, posting an 18-4 record with a 1.45 ERA in 130.1 innings pitched. The Matadors also boast another strong starter in Brianna Elder, who has 160 strikeouts on the year in 144.2 innings pitched, and has gone 15-3 with a 2.18 ERA.
