Softball Hosts Army Wednesday Before Heading To Palm Springs

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- It's the busiest week of the season for Long Beach State with six games on the schedule. The Beach will host Army on Wednesday morning before heading out to the desert to compete in one of the largest national tournaments, playing five games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic starting on Thursday.

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Missing the first seven games of the season with injury, Fry came through in the clutch Sunday in LBSU's win over Oregon State. In extra innings, Fry's first hit of the season was a two-run walkoff home run in a 6-4 win over the Beavers.

PLAYER NOTES
• Sophomore Alyssa Gonzalez is leading the team this season, hitting .400 with four walks and no strikeouts while sharing the team lead with four doubles. Gonzalez sat out 2018 after transferring from Ole Miss where she hit .290 as a true freshman with four home runs.

• 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. After two weeks, Rowland is hitting .333 with five walks and has six RBI.

• 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 tied the fourth-longest hitting streak in school history at 15 games with Nichole Fry from the end of last season to the start of 2019, and is hitting .267.

• Sophomore Justine Briones has been a steady presence for the Beach, starting all nine games behind the plate and hitting .391. Her .500 on-base percentage leads the team, and the sophomore has thrown out four potential base-stealers in nine games this season.

• Breezy Wise came to the Beach as a Division I transfer from Arizona State and made an immediate impact in the opening weekend, hitting .385 with a pair of home runs. Wise has now started seven games and is hitting .273 on the season.

• 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 now has 67 RBI in her career at the Beach.

• Junior Devyn Magnett returns to the circle after a ten-win season for the Beach in 2018, and leads the team with a 2.42 ERA in five appearances.

• Ashley Coleman is now 3-1 this season, leading Long Beach State in innings pitched following her return to competitive softball. The Cal Baptist transfer has started four games for the Beach, and threw a complete game against Oregon State over eight innings in her last appearance.

• Kellie White has been the other arm in the circle for the Beach, striking out nine in her first start against North Dakota. After five appearances, White leads the Beach with 20 strikeouts and has pitched two complete games.

• Another transfer debut came from Sydney McCollum. The junior college transfer from Cypress College has started every game for Long Beach State, and leads the team with seven walks. McCollum has an on-base percentage of .424 on the year.

Calendar

Softball Hosts Army Wednesday Before Heading To Palm Springs

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Players Mentioned

Justine Briones

Ashley Coleman

Tierra Falo

Nichole Fry

Alyssa Gonzalez

Naomi Hernandez

Devyn Magnett

Sydney McCollum

Taylor Rowland

Kellie White

Breezy Wise

Jamie Wren

Long Beach State University Athletics