Long Beach State Softball Travels To Tucson For Arizona Hillenbrand Invitational

Photo by: John Fajardo

Long Beach State Softball Travels To Tucson For Arizona Hillenbrand Invitational

2/15/2022 10:35:00 AM | Softball

The Beach will play four games in Tucson, three against ranked opponents.

By: Roger Kirk, Associate Athletics Director, Communications & Broadcast

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State continues tournament play this coming weekend by taking part in the Hillenbrand Invitational hosted by Arizona. The Beach will play the host Wildcats twice, including their first game of the tournament on Friday, as well as taking on No. 19 Kentucky and Loyola Marymount over the weekend.

LEADING OFF
• For the third time, Long Beach State took part in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge to open up the season, and ended the first week with a 2-3 record. Freshman Marissa Caballero led the team in batting with a .462 batting average while making no errors in five starts at shortstop. Senior Justine Briones and sophomore Sara Olson both were named to the All-Tournament Team as well for the event, as Briones had a 3-run home run and Olson had five RBI on the weekend.

• Long Beach State will face a tough road right out the gate, playing seven teams ranked in the Top 20 in the first 14 games of the year, and four games against teams in the Top 10. That started right away, as the Beach played Arkansas and Washington in Mexico and faces Arizona twice this weekend.

• Last season, the Beach finished the season which primarily featured conference play with a Big West record of 22-2 to capture the program's ninth Big West Championship and the first since 2014. Cal State Fullerton visited the LBSU Softball Complex unbeaten entering the final week of the season, but the Beach swept the Titans in three straight games with Kellie White leading the way, throwing every inning of the series to claim the title.

• As a team, Long Beach State set a new record last season by batting .320 on the year, besting the .306 mark shared by the 2014 and 2018 programs while hitting over .300 for the third time. The .320 mark ranked 15th in the nation, as two batters hit .400 and four other regulars finished the season batting over .300.

• Long Beach State will get a lift from some key returning players. Among those is senior Naomi Hernandez, who returns for her fifth year with the program. A national freshman of the year finalist in 2018, as well as the Big West Freshman Player of the Year, Hernandez has played a pivotal role with the program. A two-time All-West Region selection, Hernandez has also been named All-Big West three times, and was a first time honoree for the second time in 2021.

• Hernandez has already claimed plenty of space in the LBSU record books. She starts the season 4th all-time in batting with a .337 average, and ranks in the career Top 10 in runs scored, doubles and walks at the Beach.

PLAYER NOTES
• Catcher Justine Briones joins Noami Hernandez in her fifth year with the program. Having started over 100 games behind the plate in her career, Briones was an All-Big West selection in 2021 and hit .289 with 16 RBI in Big West Conference action. Briones started the year by hitting .375 with a three-run home run in Puerto Vallarta, earning All-Tournament team honors.

• Samantha Fowler was the breakout pitcher in the circle for the Beach one year ago, and will be counted on to lead the staff in 2022. Fowler made two starts in Mexico, recording six strikeouts against Memphis in the season opener before combining with Shelby Frutoz to allow just one hit in six innings pitched against Lamar. In 2021, Fowler posted a 4-2 overall record and pitched 47.0 innings on the year with 55 strikeouts, and finished in the Top 10 in the Big West in ERA, opposing batting average and strikeouts.

• Two lefties will play a part in the pitching staff this season, as Mo Quinlan returns after pitching 17.0 innings in 2021 for her third year at the Beach, while Sophia Fernandez made her first start, pitching 6.0 innings and earning the win against Memphis in the opening week of the year. Also making their debuts in the circle for Long Beach State were two redshirt freshmen, Shelby Frutoz and Addison Kostrencich.

• Kyra Snyder is another returning starter for the Beach, after hitting .261 last season for LBSU. Snyder opened the year by hitting .438 in Puerto Vallarta, starting all five games either at first base or as the DP. She returns for her third year with the program after transferring from Louisville.

• Cam Cecil started 38 games at shortstop for Long Beach State a year ago, and hit .293 with 18 RBI. Cecil started all five games for the Beach in Mexico, and hit .364 to start her junior season after transferring from Iowa back prior to the 2021 campaign.

• Sophomore Sara Olson was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, coming up with clutch hits in both of Long Beach State's wins, finishing the weekend with five RBI. Olson hit .338 in the shortened 2020 season as a true freshman, and is off to a hot start in 2020.

• In the outfield, the Beach will be looking for a return to form for two veterans. Senior Rylie Seip started 23 games in the shortened 2020 season, hitting 3 home runs and batting .350, while junior Maddy Ruffin hit .313 in that season after earning Honorable Mention All-Big West honors as a freshman in 2019.

• Turning to the newcomers, graduate transfer Ashleigh Inae will be counted on to make an immediate impact for the Beach. Inae started 180 games at shortstop for ECU and finisher her career there with a .290 batting average. Inae will have one season of eligibility with Long Beach State.

• Two freshman have started off the season starting in the middle infield. Jacquelyn Bickar made four starts at second base and hit a double while in Puerto Vallarta, while Marissa Caballero started every game in Mexico at shortstop, hitting .462 during the opening weekend while not making a single error in an impressive start to her career.

• Other freshmen who are pressing for early action include Savannnah Magadan and Rebekah Durazo, who will be backing up Justine Briones at catcher, while Bella Flexen and Corissa Sweet also both made their Division I debuts. Sweet singled in her only plate appearance, and scored three runs over the course of the five games in Mexico.