Softball Hosts First Home Games This Weekened

Friday, February 15

Long Beach, Calif.

11:30 a.m.

Long Beach State University

Fresno State

2/13/2019 11:08:00 AM | Softball

Game Notes - Week 2

The Beach will host eight games as part of the Stacy Winsberg Invitational

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The Beach returns to the LBSU Softball Complex for the first time this season starting Friday, hosting eight games and playing in four as part of the Stacy Winsberg Invitational, co-hosted by UCLA. Long Beach State's first game comes on Friday, when the Beach faces Fresno State at 11:30 a.m., followed by Oregon State.

LEADING OFF
• Long Beach State opened 2019 with five games in Las Vegas, and had a big weekend offensively, piling up 43 runs in total on the way to a 3-2 record, with both losses coming by a single run. The Beach finished the weekend hitting .342 as a team, and hit eight home runs and 13 doubles in the opening weekend.

• The Beach returns all of the top of the lineup from a 2018 team that set multiple offensive records. The team's .306 batting average, 486 hits and 91 doubles were new season marks, with the runs and RBI totals just behind new records. Combined, the top three hitters for the Beach (Hernandez, Fry, Rowland) hit .370 to pace the team one year ago.

• The first year for the program was in 1981, but in just 38 years Long Beach State is aiming for the program's 25th NCAA Tournament appearance. LBSU has also made five Women's College World Series appearances.

• Senior Jamie Wren had the big bat for Long Beach State in the opening weekend, hitting .421 with eight hits, including three doubles and two home runs. Wren hit a grand slam in the season opening win against Southern Utah, and had 13 RBI in the first five games of the season after finishing last season with 23 total on the year.

• Sophomore Justine Briones was another returning player that had an excellent opening weekend in Las Vegas. Starting all five games at catcher, Briones hit .538 with a home run and a double, reaching base at a .625 clip for the weekend.

• Senior Nichole Fry returns for her fourth season as a starter at shortstop and catalyst at the top of the order for the Beach. She was one of 50 players selected to the preseason USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year watch list, highlighting her importance for LBSU. The senior was a first-team All-Big West selection in 2018.

• Fry has been consistent and productive for the Beach through her career. She is well-placed to finish her career ranked in Long Beach State's Top 10 in eight different categories. In addition to being Long Beach State's 10th career .300 hitter, Fry is set to join the best ever at the Beach in hits, RBI, Walks, and At-Bats. She also already sits in the top ten in triples, and can easily finish her career with the most doubles and runs scored in school history.

• Returning for her sophomore season, Taylor Rowland became the fifth player in school history to be recognized as an All-American in 2018, and the first since Brooke Turner in 2008. Rowland finished the season hitting .351, leading Long Beach State in home runs with 12 and in slugging at .619, and ranked 26th in the nation with 58 RBI, a new single-season record at the Beach. Rowland made the second team as a designated player, and was also a first-team All-Region pick. Rowland hit .333 in the opening weekend and hit her first home run of the season, driving in four RBI in Las Vegas.

• Naomi Hernandez returns for the Beach following a tremendous first season that saw the outfielder earn Big West Freshman Player of the Year honors. Hernandez led the Beach with a .387 batting average and finished with 75 hits and 48 runs scored while also earning first-team All-Big West honors. Hernandez hit safely in all five games to start the season in Las Vegas, and is now riding a 15-game hitting streak dating back to last season. That ties Nichole Fry's fourth-longest streak in program history.

PLAYER NOTES
• Breezy Wise came to the Beach as a Divison I transfer from Arizona State and made an immediate impact in the opening weekend. Starting four games in the outfield, Wise hit .385 with a pair of home runs as well as a pair of doubles while walking three times.

• Also making her debut for Long Beach State was Alyssa Gonzalez. Hitting .429 in the opening weekend, Gonzalez sat out 2018 after transferring from Ole Miss where she hit .290 as a true freshman with four home runs.

• Long Beach State's Tierra Falo will continue to compete for time as well, as the senior hitter continues provide some pop for the Beach lineup. Hitting .289 with three home runs one season ago, Falo began the season with 11 home runs and 65 RBI in her career at LBSU.

• Junior Devyn Magnett returns to the circle after a ten-win season for the Beach in 2018, and had a team-low 1.58 ERA in the first weekend, making three appearances and pitching a team-high 13.1 innings, including a critical 5.2 inning relief appearance in the team's 3-2 win over Utah Valley.

• Ashley Coleman posted a 2-0 record in the circle for Long Beach State in her first action since 2017. The Cal Baptist transfer picked up the win in relief against Southern Utah, and then pitched four hitless innings against Seton Hall on the way to her second win this season.

• Kellie White also made her debut for the Beach, striking out nine in her first start against North Dakota. In three appearances, White has struck out 15 batters for LBSU after transferring over the summer from Utah State.

• Another transfer debut came from Sydney McCollum. The junior college transfer from Cypress College started all five games for the Beach at second base, hitting .333 with a stolen base.

• The left side of the infield had a pair of underclassmen starters in the opening week in Katelyn Hanson and Emily Salazar. A sophomore, Hanson hit .364 with a home run while true freshman Salazar had three hits while making five starts for the Beach.