Saturday, April 17
Santa Barbara, Calif.
1 p.m.
Long Beach State University
8
at
2
UC Santa Barbara
Photo by: John Fajardo
Softball Rallies To Win Tenth Straight
4/17/2021 6:22:00 PM | Softball
Two-out rally in the top of the seventh inning caps comeback for Long Beach State.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Long Beach State rolled to an 8-2 victory in the first of two games on the road at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday before scoring three runs in the top of the seventh with two outs to snag a 5-4 win in game two.
Long Beach State (19-5, 14-1 Big West) rolled to a tenth straight win with an incredible comeback in game two. Shannon Haddad and Emily Schuttish, the starting pitchers for LBSU and for UC Santa Barbara (8-24, 5-7 Big West) respectively raced through the first four innings with no runs scored, a sense of calm before the wild finish.
The Beach struck first in the fifth inning. Lilyanna Martinez singled as a pinch hitter for a spark, and after a double from Naomi Hernandez put two runners in scoring position, Alyssa Gonzalez singled to score both and give the Beach a 2-0 lead.
UC Santa Barbara got a big hit to threaten the Beach in the bottom of the sixth however. After a single and a walk, a single from Tyler Goldstien loaded the bases and designate player Korie Thomas cleared them with a triple to give the Gauchos a 3-2 lead. An error would then bring home Thomas as UCSB took a 4-2 lead into the final inning.
Emily Schuttish, who went the distance for the Gauchos, picked up two quick outs to start the seventh but ran into trouble with the heart of the LBSU order. Gonzalez singled to spark the rally, and Suzy Brookshire followed with her ninth home run of the season, tying the game with one swing.
Breezy Wise kept the action going with a single, and after another hit from Emily Salazar, Cam Cecil singled through the middle to allow Wise to score just in front of the throw as the Beach retook the lead 5-4.
Kellie White, who came on in relief for Haddad in the sixth in her second appearance of the day saw two runners reach after a two-out error, but a hit to shallow center was caught by a diving Maddy Ruffin to seal the comeback win for the Beach.
In the opening game, Long Beach State got a lift from the bottom of the lineup to take an early lead in the second inning. Following a one-out walk to Wise, Salazar singled and Cecil walked to load the bases in front of the eight and nine hitters for the Beach. Justine Briones brought home one with and RBI groundout, and Martinez followed with run-scoring single to give LBSU a 2-0 lead over UC Santa Barbara (9-23, 6-6 Big West).
Gonzalez singled to score Hernandez after a leadoff hit in the third inning, and a sacrifice fly from Brookshire made the score 4-0 after three. The Beach would add another run in the top of the fourth inning on an unearned run to open up a five-run cushion for the starter White.
The Gauchos would push across solo runs in the fifth and sixth, but a three-run home run for Gonzalez, her third in as many games would provide even more support as White went the distance with seven strikeouts to collect the win.
With wins in all three games, Long Beach State has now won all five of its conference series so far this season. The team will remain in Santa Barbara for one additional day, playing an extra non-conference contest against the Gauchos. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, with coverage on BigWest.TV.
Long Beach State (19-5, 14-1 Big West) rolled to a tenth straight win with an incredible comeback in game two. Shannon Haddad and Emily Schuttish, the starting pitchers for LBSU and for UC Santa Barbara (8-24, 5-7 Big West) respectively raced through the first four innings with no runs scored, a sense of calm before the wild finish.
The Beach struck first in the fifth inning. Lilyanna Martinez singled as a pinch hitter for a spark, and after a double from Naomi Hernandez put two runners in scoring position, Alyssa Gonzalez singled to score both and give the Beach a 2-0 lead.
UC Santa Barbara got a big hit to threaten the Beach in the bottom of the sixth however. After a single and a walk, a single from Tyler Goldstien loaded the bases and designate player Korie Thomas cleared them with a triple to give the Gauchos a 3-2 lead. An error would then bring home Thomas as UCSB took a 4-2 lead into the final inning.
Emily Schuttish, who went the distance for the Gauchos, picked up two quick outs to start the seventh but ran into trouble with the heart of the LBSU order. Gonzalez singled to spark the rally, and Suzy Brookshire followed with her ninth home run of the season, tying the game with one swing.
Breezy Wise kept the action going with a single, and after another hit from Emily Salazar, Cam Cecil singled through the middle to allow Wise to score just in front of the throw as the Beach retook the lead 5-4.
Kellie White, who came on in relief for Haddad in the sixth in her second appearance of the day saw two runners reach after a two-out error, but a hit to shallow center was caught by a diving Maddy Ruffin to seal the comeback win for the Beach.
In the opening game, Long Beach State got a lift from the bottom of the lineup to take an early lead in the second inning. Following a one-out walk to Wise, Salazar singled and Cecil walked to load the bases in front of the eight and nine hitters for the Beach. Justine Briones brought home one with and RBI groundout, and Martinez followed with run-scoring single to give LBSU a 2-0 lead over UC Santa Barbara (9-23, 6-6 Big West).
Gonzalez singled to score Hernandez after a leadoff hit in the third inning, and a sacrifice fly from Brookshire made the score 4-0 after three. The Beach would add another run in the top of the fourth inning on an unearned run to open up a five-run cushion for the starter White.
The Gauchos would push across solo runs in the fifth and sixth, but a three-run home run for Gonzalez, her third in as many games would provide even more support as White went the distance with seven strikeouts to collect the win.
With wins in all three games, Long Beach State has now won all five of its conference series so far this season. The team will remain in Santa Barbara for one additional day, playing an extra non-conference contest against the Gauchos. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, with coverage on BigWest.TV.
Players Mentioned
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UTL
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UTL
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OF
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INF
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P
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OF
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