Long Beach State University Athletics
Homestand Continues To Open Big West Play Against UC Davis
4/5/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Long Beach, Calif. -
LEADING OFF
• Long Beach State's homestand to begin Big West play continues this weekend, as the Beach hosts UC Davis for three games. The series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m., and concludes with a final game Sunday also beginning at 1 p.m.
• Sophomore Nichole Fry has been the key hitter for Long Beach State thus far in 2017. The shortstop has started 33 games and is hitting .316 while leading the team with a .484 slugging percentage and reaching at a .431 rate. Fry leads the team in doubles, triples, walks and HBP and has scored 22 runs this season. Fry was named the Big West Player of the Week after the opening weekend.
• Rachel Loera has been a great surprise for Long Beach State this season. The junior had just 19 at-bats entering the season, but is now leading the Beach with a .341 batting average, having scored seven runs and hitting two triples in 14 starts on the year.
• Long Beach State has gotten an lift from Iowa transfer Sammi Gyerman. The senior graduate transfer has played in all 34 games for Long Beach State, starting 33 and is hitting .317, thirdbest on the tea,. Her 33 hits are best on the team, and her three stolen bases also lead the 49ers.
• What began as a quick start is turning into a tremendous season for Hannah Cookson. The junior cooled off after fast starts in her first two seasons at the Beach, but has been one of the best hitters on the team in 2017. Her .340 batting average is second-best on the team, while she is one of three players slugging over .400 on the year.
• Christina Clermont returns for her third season with Long Beach State after earning first-team All-Big West honors in each of her first two seasons at LBSU. The 2015 Big West Co-Pitcher of the Year, Clermont went 23-12 one season ago and struck out 205 batters in 230.1 innings pitched. In 2017, Clermont leads the team with 103.1 innings pitched, and has a 7-7 record with a 3.32 ERA and one save.
• Clermont is within striking distance of a number of career records as Long Beach State. The senior passed Taylor Petty for fourth place in career strikeouts at LBSU, and she now as 50 wins which ranks 9th in school history.
WHAT'S THE SCORE
• All games played at the LBSU Softball Complex can be followed through StatBroadcast at www.beachlivestats.com. Long Beach State will also have live radio at selected broadcasts through KBEACH.org.
• The Beach will also be broadcast nationally four additional times this season. Long Beach State's final game of the rivalry series at home against Cal State Fullerton on April 30 will be shown live on ESPNU, while the entirety of Long Beach State's home series with UC Santa Barbara will be carried live on ESPN3.
PLAYER NOTES
• Christina Clermont and Cielo Meza shared one mark in 2016, as each pitcher recorded 15 strikeouts in a game. Clermont reached the mark for the second time in her 49er career against Colorado State, while Meza struck out 15 less than one week later against San Jose State. The 15 strikeouts tied Brooke Turner for the most in a regulation game; Turner also struck out 16 in a 10-inning victory over Florida in 2008.
• Meza is working her way back into the rotation, and made her first start of the season against CSUN, striking out four in four scoreless innings after making her season debut last Tuesday against LMU. Meza struck out 85 batters in 67.2 innings pitched before missing the second half of the 2016 season with injury, and her recovery stretched through the first 30 games of 2017.
• Claiming the majority of those innings has been freshman Devyn Magnett. Making three early relief appearances before making her first start against Utah, Magnett combined in a no-hitter on opening day with Clermont, and has now pitched 66.1 innings this year. She has now made eight starts, and has posted a 4-6 record with a 3.34 ERA.
• Another newcomer making an impact in 2017 is Jessica Flores, a transfer from Arizona Western CC who is living up to her utility position designation. Flores was a two-way star for Arizona Western, and has done both for the Beach, throwing 42.1 innings in the circle with five starts and also starting seven games in the outfield.
• Freshman Aniesa Maulupe has delivered at the plate in 2017, leading the team with 15 RBI on the year. Walking nine times, Maulupe has driven in multiple RBI a team high four times this season, including four in Long Beach State's win over Oregon State.
• Junior LT Torres has all but one game for the Beach over the last three seasons at second base, and is hitting .211 this season. Another junior, Lauren MacLeod, has stepped up in the absence of Lauren Lombardi, starting 29 games behind the plate and hitting .259 on the year. MacLeod had a great weekend in Santa Clara, hitting .462 including a grand slam against Grand Canyon.
• Julia Lombardi has played well of late, and is riding an 11-game hitting streak that has raised her batting average to .247 on the year after a slow start. Her six doubles and 12 RBI are both second on the team this season.
• Both Lombardi sisters are climbing the power ranks at Long Beach State. Having each played two seasons, Lauren ranks seventh all-time with 17 home runs in her career, while Julia Lombardi is one away from joining the Top 10, after hitting a solo home run against Weber State. Additionally, Lauren joined the top 10 in RBI, and now ranks 10th with 82 in her career.
• Tierra Falo is leading the team with three home runs this season after hitting solo shot against Grand Canyon in Santa Clara. Falo has driven in eight runs, and has walked 13 times to lead the team.
• Mattie Scheele and Kelli Finan have split time at third base this season, with Scheele getting the majority of time of late. Scheele has twice driven in a crucial run, once with the game-winner against Indiana and then again vs. Northwestern, bringing home the first run of the game in a 2-1 extra inning victory.
THIS AND THAT
• Twice named Big West Coach of the Year, Kim Sowder completed her 10th season in 2016 as head coach at Long Beach State, her Alma Mater, where she was an All-American shortstop. Sowder passed Margie Wright of Fresno State for sixth in career coaching wins as a member of the Big West earlier this year, and the 11th year coach now has 347 wins at the helm of the Beach.
• Once again Long Beach State will play one of the best schedules in the country. The 49ers played 11 teams ranked in the coaches' preseason poll, and an additional six teams receiving votes in the same poll. The team will also play at home for a record 29 games, all at the LBSU Softball Complex.
• Among the games of note at home in 2017 were single game against #8 Washington on Valentine's Day, Long Beach State's annual tilt with #10 UCLA on March 11, and a three-way round-robin contest between Long Beach State, #5 Arizona and defending national champions #9 Oklahoma.
• That schedule paid dividends in strength of schedule and quality wins, as Long Beach State was No. 71 in the most recent RPI published on April 5.
