Long Beach State University
26-9
California
17-15
Softball Takes Doubleheader Split With Walkoff Win Over Cal
5/8/2021 7:18:00 PM | Softball
Samantha Fowler struck out eight in a nine-inning complete victory.
The two games were a late addition to the schedule, and Long Beach State (27-9) came away with a critical win in dramatic fashion in game two in support of Fowler, who was outstanding. The redshirt sophomore allowed just one hit over the first five innings against Cal (17-16).
The Beach took an early lead in the second inning, as Breezy Wise singled with one out and after moving to third on a stolen base and a wild pitch, came home to score on a ground ball from Sara Olson.
That would be the only scoring until late in the contest, as Fowler was able to strike out Alexis Bishop in the sixth inning to kill a rally, one of eight strikeouts and looked to close out the complete game shutout. In the top of the seventh a single from Kennedy Thomas led to a run as two errors trying to throw out pinch runner Diamond Holland sent the game in to extra innings.
A solo home run from D'Asha Saiki threatened the game once more as Cal took its first lead of the contest, but the Beach rallied once more in the bottom half. Olson and Cam Cecil drew walks to put a runner in scoring position, who then scored on a double from Naomi Hernandez. Kyra Snyder then crushed a ball into the gap, scoring Cecil from third to end the contest in a 3-2 win for Long Beach State.
WALK IT OFF BEACH! Kyra Snyder into the gap wins it in support of a fantastic, complete game effort from Samantha Fowler! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/tTqpDnxGaq
— LBSU Softball (@LBSUSoftball) May 9, 2021
The end of the day was a swing in momentum from the start of the day in game one, as Cal got off to a quick start in the opener. After the first two batters reached base, a double from Bishop got the Golden Bears on the scoreboard, and Makena Smith hit a three-run home run to make the score 4-0 before LBSU got a turn at bat.
Cecil doubled home Kyra Snyder in the second inning to cut into the lead, but that would be the only scoring for the Beach as Chloe Romero went the distance for Cal, striking out six. The Golden Bears would add three more insurance runs as well late in the game to take a 7-1 win.
The regular season will come to a close with a fantastic series as the top two teams in the Big West will face off head to head with the conference title on the line. Long Beach State will host Cal State Fullerton beginning on Friday, May 14 for a four-game series, with the first three set to determine the title. All four games will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Romero, Chloe (8-4)
L: White, Kellie (13-6)
Batting:
2B: Bishop, Alexis 1 ; Zobac, Kacey 2
HR: Smith, Makena 1
RBI: Coelho, Mikayla 1 ; Bishop, Alexis 3 ; Smith, Makena 3
SH: Zamora, Morgan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nunez, Sabrina 2 ; Coelho, Mikayla 1 ; Bradley, Amani 1 ; Smith, Makena 1 ; Holland, Diamond 1 ; Zamora, Morgan 1
CS: Nunez, Sabrina 1
HBP: Zamora, Morgan 1
Batting:
2B: Cecil, Cam 1
RBI: Cecil, Cam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Snyder, Kyra 1
SB: Martinez, Lilyanna 1 ; Brookshire, Suzy 1
HBP: Snyder, Kyra 1
