Softball Back In Action Friday At San Diego Classic

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Tournament play continues this weekend for Long Beach State as the team is scheduled to play five games as part of the San Diego Classic. The Beach will play all five on the campus of San Diego State, starting against San Jose State on Friday morning at 11:30 a.m.

LEADING OFF
• Senior Nichole Fry had a hand in all eight of Long Beach State's runs in the win over No. 24 North Carolina, the first ranked win of the season for LBSU. Fry hit a pair of home runs for five RBI and scored three runs in the 8-4 comeback win.

• 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 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, who joined the Top 25 this week.

• 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. The senior leads the team with 20 RBI and has hit a pair of grand slams in 2019.

• Junior Sydney McCollum stepped up against the competition at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic and had a big week, hitting .563 while reaching safely in all five games last week. A junior college transfer after starring for two seasons at Cypress College, McCollum has started every game for the Beach in 2019 and leads the team in stolen bases as well as batting average at .350 and on-base percentage at .480.

• 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.

PLAYER NOTES
• Sophomore Alyssa Gonzalez is hitting .333 with four walks and just one strikeout while sharing the team lead with five 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 junior 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. A season ago, Rowland set a new LBSU single-season record with 58 RBI, and has 10 already this season, hitting .277 with five doubles and a home run.

• Long Beach State's other big bat in the middle of the lineup, Tierra Falo is hitting .333 on the season while starting nine games with four walks on the year. Falo begins the season with 11 home runs and now has 69 RBI in her career at the Beach.

• Naomi Hernandez returns for the Beach following a tremendous first season that saw the outfielder earn Big West Freshman Player of the Year honors. Starting every game in 2019, Hernandez continued a hitting streak that ended at 15 games, the fourth-longest in school history, and is batting .310 with a team-leading 11 walks.

• Sophomore Justine Briones has been a steady presence for the Beach, starting all 14 games behind the plate and hitting .342 with a pair of home runs. Additionally, her defense has been excellent, throwing out eight potential base-stealers and not making any errors.

• 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 nine games and is hitting .222 on the season.

• Junior Devyn Magnett returns to the circle after a ten-win season for the Beach in 2018, and leads the team with a 2.95 ERA in seven appearances.

• Ashley Coleman is leading Long Beach State in appearances following her return to competitive softball. The Cal Baptist transfer has started six games for the Beach, with her best performance coming in a complete game against Oregon State over eight innings.

• Kellie White has been the other arm in the circle for the Beach, striking out nine in her first start against North Dakota. In eight appearances, White leads the Beach with 29 strikeouts as well as innings pitched at 33.0.

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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