Saturday, April 27
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
1 p.m.
Long Beach State University
at
Cal Poly
Photo by: John Fajardo
Softball Plays Final Road Games At Cal Poly This Weekend
4/24/2019 3:55:00 PM | Softball
The Beach will close the season with six games at home after this series.
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The Beach gets set for their final road games of the season, traveling to the central coast to face Cal Poly for three games. The series will begin with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. followed by a Sunday finale also beginning at 1 p.m.
LEADING OFF
• The Beach dropped their first game of the UC Santa Barbara series, but battled back to take two out of three and win the series. In game two, home runs from Nichole Fry, Maddy Ruffin and Taylor Rowland helped LBSU roll to a 6-1 win, and then a solid relief effort and a thrilling comeback allowed the Beach to rally for a 6-5 walkoff win on Saturday.
• Cal Poly dropped two out of three games in Northridge in their last series, and come into Saturday with a record of 9-33 and 3-9 in Big WEst play. The Mustangs have struggled offensively, hitting just .210 as a team and featuring just two batters hitting over .250 on the season in Hailey Martin and Makenna Young. The batting average for the Mustangs in Big West play has been worse, hitting .just .184 while LBSU is second at .297 in league.
• 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 on track to be Long Beach State's 10th career .300 hitter, Fry ranks in the top ten in triples, home runs, RBI and hits.
• The senior is close to two career marks, needing to score two runs to set a new school record with 139 and is five doubles away from setting that record as well.
• 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. Fry also played a role in all eight of LBSU's runs in a win over #24 North Carolina, scoring three and driving in five RBI in the win. The senior has now hit seven home runs, leading the team.
• Senior Jamie Wren has been outstanding in 2019. Opening the season hitting .421 with 13 RBI in Las Vegas, Wren has hit a pair of grand slams in her six home runs, and is leading the team in batting at .348 and RBI with 38, slugging .580 with a team-high 10 doubles. The senior has started every game this season in left field and stolen three bases.
• Offensively, LBSU has been very good in league play, hitting .297 as a team with eight regulars hitting .300 or better, led by Maddy Ruffin who is batting .348 overall, just in front of a trio in Jamie Wren, Alyssa Gonzalez and Taylor Rowland who are all hitting .333.
PLAYER NOTES
• Taylor Rowland returned to action after missing seven games, and the 2018 second-team All-American is coming back into form. Hitting .429 while starting the last five games, Rowland has raised her batting average to .287 on the year and is slugging .414.
• Sophomore Alyssa Gonzalez tied a pair of school records against Boston, smashing a pair of home runs while knocking in seven RBI. The transfer from Ole Miss is now batting .336 and has 35 RBI, second on the team along with nine doubles and five home runs on the year.
• Lauren Lombardi has started 11 of 12 games in conference play and is playing extremely well. Hitting .300 with two home runs, Lombardi is tied for the team lead with seven RBI in Big West games as well as walking eight times.
• Junior Sydney McCollum has also given Long Beach State a lift. The junior college transfer is second on the team in batting at .345, hitting nine doubles as well as leading the team with seven stolen bases on the year. McCollum has also played multiple positions defensively, making just three errors in the infield and sparking a triple play with an incredible catch at UC Riverside.
• Long Beach State's other big bat in the middle of the lineup, Tierra Falo is hitting .292 on the season while starting 28 games with 10 walks on the year. Falo now has 12 career home runs as well as 76 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. Hernandez continued a hitting streak that ended at 15 games to start the season, and is batting .292 with a team-leading 21 walks with an OBP of .400.
• Sophomore Justine Briones has been a steady presence for the Beach, starting 35 of 41 games behind the plate and hitting .235 with a pair of home runs. Additionally, her defense has been excellent, throwing out ten potential base-stealers while making just two errors on the season.
• Katelyn Hanson returned from an early-season injury and has now started 28 games for Long Beach State, hitting .250 with a five doubles, a home run and 12 RBI.
• Freshman Maddy Ruffin had an outstanding series against UCSB, hitting .500 over three games. Hitting her first career home run in game two, Ruffin then went 3-for-4 in the finale, including driving in the tying and winning runs in the team's 6-5 victory.
• Senior Kasey Hutton has joined Ruffin in playing center field for the Beach, primarily as a defensive replacement, while junior transfer Breezy Wise has also competied in the outfield, hitting .245 including a pair of pinch hit singles against UCSB.
• Ashley Coleman is leading Long Beach State in appearances following her return to competitive softball. The Cal Baptist transfer has started 19 games for the Beach with eight complete games. Leading the team with 11 wins and two saves, the junior is holding batters to .243 hitting and has thrown six shutouts this season.
• Kellie White has been the other arm in the circle for the Beach, striking out nine in her first start against North Dakota. In 22 appearances, White leads the team with 72 strikeouts and is second in innings pitched at 97.0. White struck out six with no walks in a complete game shutout to close the UC Riverside series.
• Junior Devyn Magnett returns to the circle after a ten-win season for the Beach in 2018, and has recorded a 2.75 ERA in 14 appearances.
• Two freshmen have also played their part in the circle for the Beach this season. Samantha Fowler made an impression against Hawai'i, retiring 12 straight batters with a career-high five strikeouts and has now thrown 16.2 innings with 12 Ks. Presley Miraglia has also had four appearances, totaling 6.0 innings pitched on the year.
LEADING OFF
• The Beach dropped their first game of the UC Santa Barbara series, but battled back to take two out of three and win the series. In game two, home runs from Nichole Fry, Maddy Ruffin and Taylor Rowland helped LBSU roll to a 6-1 win, and then a solid relief effort and a thrilling comeback allowed the Beach to rally for a 6-5 walkoff win on Saturday.
• Cal Poly dropped two out of three games in Northridge in their last series, and come into Saturday with a record of 9-33 and 3-9 in Big WEst play. The Mustangs have struggled offensively, hitting just .210 as a team and featuring just two batters hitting over .250 on the season in Hailey Martin and Makenna Young. The batting average for the Mustangs in Big West play has been worse, hitting .just .184 while LBSU is second at .297 in league.
• 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 on track to be Long Beach State's 10th career .300 hitter, Fry ranks in the top ten in triples, home runs, RBI and hits.
• The senior is close to two career marks, needing to score two runs to set a new school record with 139 and is five doubles away from setting that record as well.
• 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. Fry also played a role in all eight of LBSU's runs in a win over #24 North Carolina, scoring three and driving in five RBI in the win. The senior has now hit seven home runs, leading the team.
• Senior Jamie Wren has been outstanding in 2019. Opening the season hitting .421 with 13 RBI in Las Vegas, Wren has hit a pair of grand slams in her six home runs, and is leading the team in batting at .348 and RBI with 38, slugging .580 with a team-high 10 doubles. The senior has started every game this season in left field and stolen three bases.
• Offensively, LBSU has been very good in league play, hitting .297 as a team with eight regulars hitting .300 or better, led by Maddy Ruffin who is batting .348 overall, just in front of a trio in Jamie Wren, Alyssa Gonzalez and Taylor Rowland who are all hitting .333.
PLAYER NOTES
• Taylor Rowland returned to action after missing seven games, and the 2018 second-team All-American is coming back into form. Hitting .429 while starting the last five games, Rowland has raised her batting average to .287 on the year and is slugging .414.
• Sophomore Alyssa Gonzalez tied a pair of school records against Boston, smashing a pair of home runs while knocking in seven RBI. The transfer from Ole Miss is now batting .336 and has 35 RBI, second on the team along with nine doubles and five home runs on the year.
• Lauren Lombardi has started 11 of 12 games in conference play and is playing extremely well. Hitting .300 with two home runs, Lombardi is tied for the team lead with seven RBI in Big West games as well as walking eight times.
• Junior Sydney McCollum has also given Long Beach State a lift. The junior college transfer is second on the team in batting at .345, hitting nine doubles as well as leading the team with seven stolen bases on the year. McCollum has also played multiple positions defensively, making just three errors in the infield and sparking a triple play with an incredible catch at UC Riverside.
• Long Beach State's other big bat in the middle of the lineup, Tierra Falo is hitting .292 on the season while starting 28 games with 10 walks on the year. Falo now has 12 career home runs as well as 76 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. Hernandez continued a hitting streak that ended at 15 games to start the season, and is batting .292 with a team-leading 21 walks with an OBP of .400.
• Sophomore Justine Briones has been a steady presence for the Beach, starting 35 of 41 games behind the plate and hitting .235 with a pair of home runs. Additionally, her defense has been excellent, throwing out ten potential base-stealers while making just two errors on the season.
• Katelyn Hanson returned from an early-season injury and has now started 28 games for Long Beach State, hitting .250 with a five doubles, a home run and 12 RBI.
• Freshman Maddy Ruffin had an outstanding series against UCSB, hitting .500 over three games. Hitting her first career home run in game two, Ruffin then went 3-for-4 in the finale, including driving in the tying and winning runs in the team's 6-5 victory.
• Senior Kasey Hutton has joined Ruffin in playing center field for the Beach, primarily as a defensive replacement, while junior transfer Breezy Wise has also competied in the outfield, hitting .245 including a pair of pinch hit singles against UCSB.
• Ashley Coleman is leading Long Beach State in appearances following her return to competitive softball. The Cal Baptist transfer has started 19 games for the Beach with eight complete games. Leading the team with 11 wins and two saves, the junior is holding batters to .243 hitting and has thrown six shutouts this season.
• Kellie White has been the other arm in the circle for the Beach, striking out nine in her first start against North Dakota. In 22 appearances, White leads the team with 72 strikeouts and is second in innings pitched at 97.0. White struck out six with no walks in a complete game shutout to close the UC Riverside series.
• Junior Devyn Magnett returns to the circle after a ten-win season for the Beach in 2018, and has recorded a 2.75 ERA in 14 appearances.
• Two freshmen have also played their part in the circle for the Beach this season. Samantha Fowler made an impression against Hawai'i, retiring 12 straight batters with a career-high five strikeouts and has now thrown 16.2 innings with 12 Ks. Presley Miraglia has also had four appearances, totaling 6.0 innings pitched on the year.
Players Mentioned
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