Softball Continues Tournament Play Friday At Arizona

Friday, February 14

Tucson, Ariz.

8 a.m.

Long Beach State University

Bryant

Photo by: John Fajardo

2/12/2020 10:52:00 AM | Softball

Week 2 Hillenbrand Invitational

Long Beach State will have three games against teams ranked in the Top 5

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Tournament play continues this weekend for Long Beach State as LBSU will travel to Tucson, Ariz. to complete in the Hillenbrand Invitational. In addition to two games against the hosts, No. 4 Arizona, the Beach will have a rematch with No. 2 Oklahoma and serve as the opening game of the season for Bryant. LBSU's other opponent will be Northern Iowa, who the Beach will be playing for the first time since 2003.

LEADING OFF
• On opening weekend, Long Beach State competed in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge for the second time, and despite coming in under .500 played well over the first five games. The offense carried the day in two blowout wins over Nevada and George Washington, and the Beach acquitted themselves well against then No. 3 Oklahoma and a 4-1 defeat to Oregon, who joined the Top 25 after last weekend.

• The Beach returns six starters from last season and 13 total letterwinners, supplementing that strong core with a pair of Division I transfers and five other newcomers in a group that has experience and will look to lead LBSU to a 25th NCAA postseason appearance.

• Earning a pair of first-place votes, Long Beach State was picked to finish second in the Big West by the conference's coaches in advance of the season. The Beach was picked just behind defending champions Cal State Fullerton and in front of other contenders Hawai'i, CSUN and UC Davis.

• Long Beach State continues to be a strong offensive team, and has batted over .280 as a team in six of the last seven seasons. The Beach is well on their way in 2020, batting. 309 overall as a team after five games, led by Breezy Wise (.429) and Sydney McCollum (.389) after one week.

• In the circle, Long Beach State returns 98.7 percent of its innings pitched from a year ago, and all 50 starts. A trio of seniors were responsible for a large part of that, as Kellie White and Ashley Coleman both pitched over 130 innings in 2018 and were supplemented by 36 innings from Devyn Magnett.

• In 2019, Long Beach State battled back from six games under .500 to close out the season at 25-25, finishing in fourth place in the Big West with a 12-9 overall record, but did not advance to the postseason.

• Beach softball closed out the 2019 season by winning four straight series and took five out of seven in Big West action. The Beach had a few signature wins in the non-conference schedule and ultimately had a Top 100 RPI to close the season of 80. Long Beach State was 4-10 against the Top 50, and had wins against North Carolina, Oregon State and San Jose State in addition to beating Cal State Fullerton in Big West play.

PLAYER NOTES
• Senior Taylor Rowland was named the fifth All-American in program history in 2018, and begins her senior season just two home runs away from joining the Top 10 in program history in home runs. Her 58 RBI in 2018 were a single-season record, and she earned All-Big West honors for a second straight season. Rowland hit .333 with a pair of RBI to start the season.

• Senior Kellie White is off to a strong start in 2020. Earning All-Tournament Team honors at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, White made four appearances in the circle and went 2-1, throwing a one-hitter in a win over Nevada and then striking out a season-high nine in a loss to Oregon.

• Ashley Coleman was the other main arm for the Beach last season, and the senior made two appearances on opening weekend, putting together 6.1 innings pitched while striking out four and making one start, taking the loss in a 3-2 defeat to Utah Valley.

• True freshman Morgan Quinlan was the other main arm last weekend, throwing 5.1 innings and making the start against Oklahoma, striking out four Sooners in 4.0 innings pitched. Senior Devyn Magnett also made an appearance in the circle, finishing off the George Washington game. Magnett has now thrown over 200 career innings in her four season at the Beach.

• Junior Alyssa Gonzalez lived up to her hype in 2018 during her first season at the Beach after transfering from Ole Miss, earning All-Region and All-Big West honors. Gonzalez hit .338 on the year, third-best on the year with 10 doubles, a triple and five home runs while finishing the year as one of four players with an OBP over .400. The offensive threat also tied a pair of school records against Boston, smashing a pair of home runs while knocking in seven RBI. This season, Gonzalez is fourth on the team in batting, hitting .313 with four RBI.

• Senior Sydney McCollum earned third-team All-Region honors in her first season with Long Beach State a year ago as a junior college transfer, and is off to a hot start in 2020. Hitting safely in all five games of the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, McCollum is batting .389 and leads the team with three stolen bases.

• Naomi Hernandez returned for the Beach following a tremendous first season at the Beach in 2019. The Big West Freshman of the Year in 2018, Hernandez started 49 games for the Beach and hit .287 and led the team with 25 walks on the year, earning honorable mention All-Big West honors. Hernandez leads the team in 2020 with 5 RBI and has an on-base percentage of .450, among the team leaders.

• Freshman Maddy Ruffin delivered in the clutch for Long Beach State in Big West play during 2019, earning honorable mention All-Big West honors in addition to an All-Freshman team selection. In league play, Ruffin was second on the team with 14 RBI, and hit .318 while stealing four bags against Big West foes. Ruffin had a pair of outstanding defensive plays opening weekend, two diving catches in center field.
• Senior Breezy Wise earned a sport in the starting lineup and has delivered, earning all-tournament honors at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge after hitting .429 with a pair of doubles and five runs scored. Wise hit .273 overall last season and .417 in Big West Conference play.

• Junior Justine Briones will play a key role behind the plate this season for the Beach, returning as the team's starting catcher. Briones started 38 games behind the dish last season and had a pair of home runs while throwing out 11 baserunners. Briones caught all but one inning last weekend in Puerto Vallarta

• Sophomore Emily Salazar played in 31 games as a true freshman for the Beach and played multiple positions while also serving as a pinch hitter and runner. Holding down third base on opening weekend, Salazar had a trio of hits against George Washington and is hitting .308 after the first weekend.

• Senior Abby Lockman started all five games as the designated player for LBSU after coming in as a graduate transfer from Tennessee. A two-run home run against Oklahoma was a highlight from the opening weekend, as Lockman finished with four RBI, four hits and four RBI.

• Other contributors included junior college transfer Rylie Seip and fershman Sara Olson two first-year players who each had a pair of hits off of the bench, as well as Louisville transfer Kyra Snyder.