Saturday, March 19
Riverside, Calif.
1 p.m.

Long Beach State University

at

UC Riverside

Team

Softball Opens Big West Play At UC Riverside

3/16/2022 10:18:00 AM | Softball

The Beach was picked to finish second in the conference by the coaches in the preseason.

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State begins begins Big West conference play this weekend on the road, traveling to Riverside for a three-game set against the Highlanders. The series will start with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday, followed by a final game Sunday also starting at 1 p.m. from Amy Harrison Field.
 
LEADING OFF
• The Beach will be riding solid momentum after one of the team's best performances of the year. Sophia Fernandez got the start and three innings, Shelby Frutoz two and the win and Samantha Fowler two and the save as the trio finished off the second combined no-hitter in program history, the 32nd overall for the Beach. Naomi Hernandez hit a solo home run in support of the staff, who struck out eight on the way to the win.
 
• Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton led the way in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll. Long Beach State, the defending champions, received four first-place votes and were picked to finish in second place with 74 points, while the Titans received five first place votes and topped the poll with 77 points. UC Davis, Hawai'i and UC San Diego were also highlighted as contenders for the upcoming season.
 
• The Beach had a solid weekend at the San Diego Classic, going 3-1with their lone loss coming in extra innings. As a staff, Long Beach State had an ERA of 2.33 and held two opponents to just a single run while Naomi Hernandez and Marissa Caballero both hit over .600 while starting each game.
 
• Long Beach State faced a tough road right out the gate, playing eight teams ranked in the Top 25 in the first 14 games of the year, and six games against teams in the Top 10. The Beach grabbed a win against No. 24 BYU, and is 4-2 in the rest of their games so far this season.
 
• The Beach went 3-2 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate classic. Sophia Fernandez pitched a complete game against No. 24 BYU, and the Beach defeated Southern Utah and Texas Tech with big offensive showings, while their two losses came to Top 10 teams in No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 9 Oregon.
 
• For the third time, Long Beach State took part in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge to open up the season. 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.
 
• Senior Naomi Hernandez is having another outstanding season, batting .394 with 12 RBI and two home runs to lead Long Beach State. Now in her fifth year with the program, Hernandez was a national freshman of the year finalist in 2018, as well as the Big West Freshman Player of the Year. A two-time All-West Region selection, Hernandez has also been named All-Big West three times, and was a first team honoree for the second time in 2021.
 
• Hernandez has already claimed plenty of space in the LBSU record books. She is fourth all-time at LBSU with a .344 career batting 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, and leads the team with two home runs while hitting .261 on the year with nine RBI.
 
• Long Beach State's pitching staff has come together and is working as a unit, exemplified no better than a three-pitcher combined shutout against California Baptist, just the second in school history and the first with more than two pitchers. Four pitchers have four or more starts, and none more than eight this season on the pitching staff.
 
• Samantha Fowler was the breakout pitcher in the circle for the Beach one year ago, and leads the staff in starts and strikeouts this season. In a team-high 14 appearances, Fowler has 32 strikeouts over eight starts as well as a team-high three saves, tied for the national lead in the category.
 
• Sophia Fernandez leads the staff with 45.0 innings pitched with a 3-3 overall record with 28 strikeouts, including a complete game victory against No. 24 BYU. Shelby Frutoz has also pitched 30.0 innings as a redshirt freshman, leading the team in wins with a 4-3 record over 12 appearances for the Beach. Mo Quinlan has made six starts for LBSU and Addison Kostrencich has also pitched 14.2 innings in her debut season rounding out the staff.
 
• Kyra Snyder is another returning starter for the Beach. Snyder opened the year by hitting .438 in Puerto Vallarta, and is batting .302 on the year, fourth on the team over 20 starts split between DP and fist base.
 
• 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 has now started in 23 games for Long Beach State, and is hitting .299 on the year.
 
• Freshman Corissa Sweet is leading a collection of true freshman who are making a big impact in their first season. Sweet is second on the team in slugging at .469 while batting .327 with five doubles, a triple and eight RBI.
 
• Freshman Marissa Caballero has started every game at shortstop for Long Beach State, and is hitting .333 with two doubles and eight RBI on the year. Her primary middle infield partner is also a freshman, Jacquelyn Bickar, who has started 23 games at second base and hit a two-run home run against Oklahoma.
 
• Sophomore Sinclair Lawhorn has now started 13 games at first base, while junior Cam Cecil is hitting .229 with 11 starts in 2022 after starting 38 games one season ago after transferring from Iowa. Sophomore Mikayla Ceballos has also started six games behind the plate for Long Beach State with 4 RBI.
 
• 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, and has started in 22 games at third base for the Beach.
 
• 2021 Honorable Mention All-Big West selection Lilyanna Martinez made her debut last week, and singled against California Baptist in her second plate appearance on the year. Martinez hit .351 a year ago before an injury prematurely ended her season, and just made her return from rehab.
 
• Long Beach State will be without two key infielders, as junior Emily Salazar suffered a season-ending knee injury and Carly Robbins, a transfer from South Carolina, will sit out the season as a redshirt. Also currently sidelined due to injury is defending Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year Shannon Haddad.
 
THIS AND THAT
• A four-time Big West Coach of the Year selection, Kim Sowder finished her 15th season as head coach at Long Beach State, her Alma Mater, where she was an All-American shortstop. Sowder ranks fifth in career wins as a member of the Big West, and the coach is closing in on 500 career wins as the skipper of the Beach.
 
• After the first win against Cal State Fullerton in the final weekend of the regular season in 2021, Sowder joined Pete Kolze of Pacific, Judi Garman of Cal State Fullerton, and Long Beach State legend Pete Manarino as the only coaches to record 200 conference victories in the Big West.
 
• In addition to Sowder, Associate Head Coach Panita Thanatharn also played for the program, finishing her career as an All-Big West selection in 2007. Assistant Coach Kevin Castillo begins his sixth year with the program, and is a member of the USA Men's Fastpitch Softball National Team. Mariah Ramirez returns for her fourth season as the team's Volunteer Assistant Coach following a standout career at Utah.
 
• Long Beach State continues to have continued historical success, and has reached the 20-win mark in 36 straight completed seasons including 2021. Additionally, Long Beach State has competed in 5 Women's College World Series, made the NCAA Tournament 25 times, and claimed 9 Big West titles.
 

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