Friday, May 14
Long Beach, Calif.
1 p.m.
Long Beach State University
28-9, 20-2
3
vs
2
Cal State Fullerton
38-13, 21-1
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2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Cal State Fullerton
0
0
0
2
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0
0
2
4
0
Long Beach State
0
0
0
0
0
3
X
3
6
1
Photo by: John Fajardo
Softball Wins Two Over Cal State Fullerton To Force Championship Showdown Saturday
5/14/2021 7:39:00 PM | Softball
Kellie White was fantastic on Friday, allowing three runs and striking out 14 over two complete game victories against the league leading Titans.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The highly anticipated rivalry matchup lived up to its billing as the top two teams in the Big West met for the first time this season and Long Beach State won both games Friday against Cal State Fullerton, rallying for a 3-2 win before dispatching the Titans 8-1 in game two.
Long Beach State (29-9, 21-2 Big West) trailed the Titans by two games to start the day, as Cal State Fullerton (38-14, 21-2 Big West) came into the series unbeaten in Big West play. With no conference tournament, the regular season winner takes the Big West championship and so LBSU had to win the first three games of the series to claim the title.
Kellie White pitched both halves of the doubleheader for Long Beach State and was outstanding. The senior threw every inning and struck out 14 batters over the two games, limiting the Titans to three runs and seven hits on the day.
Both White and Cal State Fullerton starter Sophie Frost were in command early in game one, as both teams quickly went through three scoreless innings. After a leadoff walk in the fourth, Cal State Fullerton took the lead with a Hannah Becerra home run, moving in front 2-0.
Frost worked around a jam in the fifth inning, but ran into trouble again in the sixth as the Beach rallied for the win. Suzy Brookshire got the Beach started with a leadoff triple, and came home to score on an RBI single from Breezy Wise. Cam Cecil picked up a single to extend the inning with two outs, and Justine Briones hit the first of two crucial extra-base knocks on the day, a two-run triple that gave the Beach a 3-2 lead. White closed out the Titans in the seventh to collect her first win of the day.
Cal State Fullerton scored first in the second game as well, despite White going five innings without allowing a hit. After a leadoff walk to open the second inning, pinch runner Remington Ross stole second and advanced to third before scoring on an RBI groundout to make the score 1-0.
Long Beach State threatened throughout and would finally break through against game two starter Dani Martinez. After loading the bases in the first inning and a close double-play call keeping the team off the board in the second, the Beach went to work with the top of the order in the fifth.
Naomi Hernandez, Rylie Seip, Alysssa Gonzalez, Suzy Brookshire and Breezy Wise hit five straight singles to give the Beach a 2-1 lead, and then Justine Briones broke the game open with a bases-clearing double to make the score 5-1.
After a sacrifice fly from Gonzalez in the sixth, Wise hit a two-run home run to add on three more runs, plenty of support for White who again went the distance in the win.
The teams will play two games tomorrow, with just the first game counting towards the conference standings setting up a winner-take-all game one. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m., and both the title game and the non-conference second game scheduled after will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The Beach will also recognize their four departing graduates in Kellie White, Breezy Wise, Suzy Brookshire and Alyssa Gonzalez following the game.
Long Beach State (29-9, 21-2 Big West) trailed the Titans by two games to start the day, as Cal State Fullerton (38-14, 21-2 Big West) came into the series unbeaten in Big West play. With no conference tournament, the regular season winner takes the Big West championship and so LBSU had to win the first three games of the series to claim the title.
Kellie White pitched both halves of the doubleheader for Long Beach State and was outstanding. The senior threw every inning and struck out 14 batters over the two games, limiting the Titans to three runs and seven hits on the day.
Both White and Cal State Fullerton starter Sophie Frost were in command early in game one, as both teams quickly went through three scoreless innings. After a leadoff walk in the fourth, Cal State Fullerton took the lead with a Hannah Becerra home run, moving in front 2-0.
Frost worked around a jam in the fifth inning, but ran into trouble again in the sixth as the Beach rallied for the win. Suzy Brookshire got the Beach started with a leadoff triple, and came home to score on an RBI single from Breezy Wise. Cam Cecil picked up a single to extend the inning with two outs, and Justine Briones hit the first of two crucial extra-base knocks on the day, a two-run triple that gave the Beach a 3-2 lead. White closed out the Titans in the seventh to collect her first win of the day.
Triple me again! Briones to right field and Long Beach State takes the lead! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/DQ66ECQrv0
— LBSU Softball (@LBSUSoftball) May 14, 2021
Cal State Fullerton scored first in the second game as well, despite White going five innings without allowing a hit. After a leadoff walk to open the second inning, pinch runner Remington Ross stole second and advanced to third before scoring on an RBI groundout to make the score 1-0.
Long Beach State threatened throughout and would finally break through against game two starter Dani Martinez. After loading the bases in the first inning and a close double-play call keeping the team off the board in the second, the Beach went to work with the top of the order in the fifth.
Naomi Hernandez, Rylie Seip, Alysssa Gonzalez, Suzy Brookshire and Breezy Wise hit five straight singles to give the Beach a 2-1 lead, and then Justine Briones broke the game open with a bases-clearing double to make the score 5-1.
Briones does it again! Bases clearing double for the catcher and it's 5-1! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/RaLapLjvzR
— LBSU Softball (@LBSUSoftball) May 15, 2021
After a sacrifice fly from Gonzalez in the sixth, Wise hit a two-run home run to add on three more runs, plenty of support for White who again went the distance in the win.
Triple me again! Briones to right field and Long Beach State takes the lead! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/DQ66ECQrv0
— LBSU Softball (@LBSUSoftball) May 14, 2021
The teams will play two games tomorrow, with just the first game counting towards the conference standings setting up a winner-take-all game one. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m., and both the title game and the non-conference second game scheduled after will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The Beach will also recognize their four departing graduates in Kellie White, Breezy Wise, Suzy Brookshire and Alyssa Gonzalez following the game.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: White, Kellie (14-6)
L: Frost, Sophie (20-4)
Batting:
HR: Becerra, Hannah 1
RBI: Becerra, Hannah 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Delgadillo, Megan 1 ; Becerra, Hannah 1
CS: Delgadillo, Megan 1
Batting:
3B: Brookshire, Suzy 1 ; Briones, Justine 1
RBI: Wise, Breezy 1 ; Briones, Justine 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Brookshire, Suzy 1 ; Wise, Breezy 1 ; Cecil, Cam 1
SB: Olson, Sara 1
Game Leaders
lf/dp
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ SoftballUTL
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
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