Friday, April 30
Manoa, Hawaii
7 p.m.
Long Beach State University
at
Hawai'i
Photo by: John Fajardo
Softball Plays Hawai'i In Final Road Games Of Regular Season
4/29/2021 12:52:00 PM | Softball
The Beach will play four games in Honolulu starting on Friday.
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State heads off to the islands for the final road trip of the regular season, facing Hawai'i starting on Friday, April 30.
Â
LEADING OFF
• Similar to two other earlier series, Long Beach State and Hawai'i will play four times, with only the first three counting towards conference play. All four games will be streamed, with the first doubleheader starting at 7 p.m. PT on Friday and the second set to begin at 5 p.m. PT Saturday.
Â
• A balance of strong hitting and pitching has led the Beach to success in 2021. As a team, the program is hitting .3231, 13th in the nation, while the pitching staff has the 11th best ERA in the country at 1.66. Both marks lead the Big West. Of Long Beach State's six losses, four have come by just one run.
Â
• Long Beach State's stars have been shining in 2021. Kellie White and Shannon Haddad in the circle, along with Naomi Hernandez, Alyssa Gonzalez, Suzy Brookshire and Breezy Wise are all having huge years in 2021, with five of those six having claimed Big West Weekly honors already this season.
Â
• Alyssa Gonzalez was the latest recipient, as the junior continued her hot start. The junior is riding a 15-game hitting streak that is tied for the fourth-longest in school history. Gonzalez continues to lead the Big West and the Beach in batting, and ranks seventh nationally in average at .494.
Â
• Naomi Hernandez, who burst onto the national scene as a freshman, is having a return to the form that caught national attention 2018. Hernandez is batting .436 has reached base in 20 straight games while leading the Beach with 17 walks. At the top of the lineup, Hernandez has an on-base percentage of .541 which ranks 26th nationally.
Â
• Suzy Brookshire is also hitting over .400 this season at .415, and leads Long Beach State and the Big West with 40 RBI and 9 home runs in just 28 games. Brookshire ranks nationally in both of those categories, as well as in slugging at .866 this season.
Â
• In the series finale against UC Riverside, Suzy Brookshire etched her name in the Long Beach State record books, going 3-for-3 with a trio of home runs, the first player in the 41-year history of Beach Softball to hit three home runs in a game.
Â
• Senior Breezy Wise returned after leading the Beach in batting in 2020, and is having another outstanding year, batting .333 with eight doubles, five triples and a home run while driving in 28 RBI. Wise ranks second on the team in the RBI and is in the nation's top 10 in triples.
Â
• Long Beach State and No. 2 UCLA identified May 5 as a date to resume their March 4 game. Now a doubleheader, first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the LBSU Softball Complex.
PLAYER NOTES
• In the circle, Long Beach State has been led by a 1-2 punch of Kellie White and Shannon Haddad. The pair rank in the league's Top 5 in ERA, opposing batting average,wins and strikeouts this season.
• Kellie White leads the Big West with an 0.92 ERA in conference play, and has posted a 11-4 overall record with one save while ranking 20th in the nation with a 1.11 ERA. Her 80 strikeouts also lead the team, as do her 88.1 innings pitched.
• Meanwhile, as a freshman, Shannon Haddad has posted an unbeaten 8-0 record in 11 starts, and is second behind only White in strikeouts during conference play with 56. With 64 strikeouts on the year and just 10 walks, Haddad ranks 24th in K/BB ratio nationally and has played a part in four shutouts this season.
• Junior Emily Salazar went 7-for-12 with two doubles and triple against UC San Diego, and extended her hitting streak to 12 games, which was tied for the seventh-longest in school history and active heading into the UCSB series. The infielder is now batting .300 on the year for Long Beach State.
• Cam Cecil has all but two games this season shortstop for Long Beach State, including every game in Big West play. Hitting .303 with 16 RBI and a pair of home runs, Cecil has also been excellent defensively, making just four errors on the year while slugging .500.
• Two juniors have split the duties behind the plate this season, returner Justine Briones and transfer Ashley Machado. Briones is hitting .346 now with a home run and three doubles in 10 starts, while Machado is hitting .208 with 8 RBI, including a critical three-run home run against Loyola Marymount.
• Lilyanna Martinez has been a bright spot among the true freshman who have joined the program this season. Martinez has made 14 starts and is hitting .395 as well as showcasing her speed on the basepaths, a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts. Sophia Fernandez has also had a strong start at the plate, hitting .300 with a pair of walks in 13 plate appearances.
• In addition to Kellie White, Long Beach State had three other pitchers returning. Samantha Fowler has made the most of her time in the circle, posting a 1.71 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 16.1 innings pitched,while Morgan Quinlan has made a pair of starts and struck out 12 with a 2-1 record.
Â
Â
LEADING OFF
• Similar to two other earlier series, Long Beach State and Hawai'i will play four times, with only the first three counting towards conference play. All four games will be streamed, with the first doubleheader starting at 7 p.m. PT on Friday and the second set to begin at 5 p.m. PT Saturday.
Â
• A balance of strong hitting and pitching has led the Beach to success in 2021. As a team, the program is hitting .3231, 13th in the nation, while the pitching staff has the 11th best ERA in the country at 1.66. Both marks lead the Big West. Of Long Beach State's six losses, four have come by just one run.
Â
• Long Beach State's stars have been shining in 2021. Kellie White and Shannon Haddad in the circle, along with Naomi Hernandez, Alyssa Gonzalez, Suzy Brookshire and Breezy Wise are all having huge years in 2021, with five of those six having claimed Big West Weekly honors already this season.
Â
• Alyssa Gonzalez was the latest recipient, as the junior continued her hot start. The junior is riding a 15-game hitting streak that is tied for the fourth-longest in school history. Gonzalez continues to lead the Big West and the Beach in batting, and ranks seventh nationally in average at .494.
Â
• Naomi Hernandez, who burst onto the national scene as a freshman, is having a return to the form that caught national attention 2018. Hernandez is batting .436 has reached base in 20 straight games while leading the Beach with 17 walks. At the top of the lineup, Hernandez has an on-base percentage of .541 which ranks 26th nationally.
Â
• Suzy Brookshire is also hitting over .400 this season at .415, and leads Long Beach State and the Big West with 40 RBI and 9 home runs in just 28 games. Brookshire ranks nationally in both of those categories, as well as in slugging at .866 this season.
Â
• In the series finale against UC Riverside, Suzy Brookshire etched her name in the Long Beach State record books, going 3-for-3 with a trio of home runs, the first player in the 41-year history of Beach Softball to hit three home runs in a game.
Â
• Senior Breezy Wise returned after leading the Beach in batting in 2020, and is having another outstanding year, batting .333 with eight doubles, five triples and a home run while driving in 28 RBI. Wise ranks second on the team in the RBI and is in the nation's top 10 in triples.
Â
• Long Beach State and No. 2 UCLA identified May 5 as a date to resume their March 4 game. Now a doubleheader, first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the LBSU Softball Complex.
PLAYER NOTES
• In the circle, Long Beach State has been led by a 1-2 punch of Kellie White and Shannon Haddad. The pair rank in the league's Top 5 in ERA, opposing batting average,wins and strikeouts this season.
• Kellie White leads the Big West with an 0.92 ERA in conference play, and has posted a 11-4 overall record with one save while ranking 20th in the nation with a 1.11 ERA. Her 80 strikeouts also lead the team, as do her 88.1 innings pitched.
• Meanwhile, as a freshman, Shannon Haddad has posted an unbeaten 8-0 record in 11 starts, and is second behind only White in strikeouts during conference play with 56. With 64 strikeouts on the year and just 10 walks, Haddad ranks 24th in K/BB ratio nationally and has played a part in four shutouts this season.
• Junior Emily Salazar went 7-for-12 with two doubles and triple against UC San Diego, and extended her hitting streak to 12 games, which was tied for the seventh-longest in school history and active heading into the UCSB series. The infielder is now batting .300 on the year for Long Beach State.
• Cam Cecil has all but two games this season shortstop for Long Beach State, including every game in Big West play. Hitting .303 with 16 RBI and a pair of home runs, Cecil has also been excellent defensively, making just four errors on the year while slugging .500.
• Two juniors have split the duties behind the plate this season, returner Justine Briones and transfer Ashley Machado. Briones is hitting .346 now with a home run and three doubles in 10 starts, while Machado is hitting .208 with 8 RBI, including a critical three-run home run against Loyola Marymount.
• Lilyanna Martinez has been a bright spot among the true freshman who have joined the program this season. Martinez has made 14 starts and is hitting .395 as well as showcasing her speed on the basepaths, a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts. Sophia Fernandez has also had a strong start at the plate, hitting .300 with a pair of walks in 13 plate appearances.
• In addition to Kellie White, Long Beach State had three other pitchers returning. Samantha Fowler has made the most of her time in the circle, posting a 1.71 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 16.1 innings pitched,while Morgan Quinlan has made a pair of starts and struck out 12 with a 2-1 record.
Â
Players Mentioned
C
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballSoftball Game Highlights vs California Baptist 3/20/2024
Thursday, March 21
Long Beach State Wins Big West Dennis Farrell Commissioner's Cup
Wednesday, May 31
NCAA Stanford Regional Postgame Comments - Long Beach State Softball
Saturday, May 20
60 Seconds at The Beach: Softball Nichole Fry
Monday, July 11
